U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy, part of the American political dynasty that produced former President John F. Kennedy and the late Senator Ted Kennedy, claims that he has been restricted since 2007 from taking Holy Communion, which in Catholic belief becomes the body and blood of the religion’s dead savior during the Mass.

Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin “instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me communion,” Kennedy told the Providence Journal. Kennedy says that he was accused of not being “a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official,” especially on the Church’s favorite obsession (besides gay marriage), abortion.

Kennedy has been feuding lately with the conservative bishop over the proposed government option in the healthcare reform package that the House of Representatives recently passed. Though it’s a weak option compared to what healthcare activists propose, Catholic clergy, including the U.S. Conference of Bishops, have denounced it because they think (despite President Obama’s denials) that abortions will be offered as part of that insurance plan. Abortions are perfectly legal in the U.S.

The church outright influenced the drafting of the anti-abortion clause that is included in that healthcare legislation. Its lobbyists (the Catholic Church has political lobbyists in an office that employs 350 people) in D.C. met with anti-abortion Congressmember Bart Stupak (D-MI) and pressured the legislator to introduce an amendment supporting the church position. Fortunately, that amendment seems dead for the moment (but not permanently), Newsweek reports.

It should be noted that Catholic bishops never use similar pressure tactics to stop the wars in the Middle East or capital punishment, both of which take human life. Their fanatical “pro-life” stance only extends to fetuses, not those outside the womb.

The Bishop’s office would not confirm that the Catholic official ordered a ban on Kennedy part-taking in the ritual. “Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving holy communion with pastors of the diocese,” Diocesan spokesperson Michael K. Guilfoyle said in via e-mail.

Is the Church a political or religious organization?

It sure as hell behaves like a political one. Not only because it has lobbyists in D.C., but also because priests used the pulpit in weeks past to urge parishioners to oppose government option healthcare reform. The bishop of Maine donated a chunk of money to the anti-gay marriage initiative on the November 2009 ballot. The Archbishop of San Francisco admitted working with the Mormons to knock down gay marriage in California in November 2008. Now comes word that Tobin punished a politician for his political views by denying him a sacrament of the church. Enough is enough.

The church gets a tax break not only on the donations that people cough up each week in the collection plate, but also on its vast commercial real-estate investments and even its stocks.

It’s time that the IRS stopped harboring this tax-evading political organization and make it help pay for healthcare coverage for all Americans.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is co-editor of Avanti Popolo: Italians Sailing Beyond Columbus, and editor of Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation, which has been nominated for an American Library Association award. His website is www.avicollimecca.com.