A7

LISA KEENAN
COMMENTARY

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I'm not sure that it will receive as many hits as Abraham Zapruder's film footage of John F. Kennedy being shot, or Susan Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," but video footage of Prime Minister Stephen Harper receiving the Holy Eucharist at Romeo Leblanc's funeral last week managed to send the Internet into a tizzy just as things were winding down from the Michael Jackson funeral. In the future it may be known as "The clip that launched a thousand blog entries!"

Enlarge Photo

The Canadian Press

Pallbearers from the Royal Canadian Regiment carry the flag-draped casket of the former governor general, Romeo LeBlanc, in Saint Thomas Church in Memramcook on July 3. Governor General Michaëlle Jean, her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, look on.

I would have missed the "scandal" entirely if I hadn't gone for my morning Tim's and run into a Liberal colleague, who chuckled, "We're going to force for an election over this!"

"What now?" I asked, with a pained expression.

"It seems your leader took communion in your church."

I didn't need to rush back to my office and add my name to the list of hits on the CPAC website. I knew exactly what he was talking about. The prime minister of Canada, a Protestant and member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, had been invited to the funeral mass of Romeo Leblanc, a former governor general and a Catholic. He attended the mass out of respect for the family and had probably been seated in the front row (as protocol dictates); had probably been offered communion by the celebrant and had accepted it trying to be polite, unfamiliar with the subtleties of Catholic canon law.

Perhaps his protocol officer should have advised him on the distinctions between substantiation and transubstantiation (why else, after all, does Heritage Canada keep these people on the payroll?); the importance of the sacrament to the church; or how to respond if the celebrant came to him and offered him communion. In fact, he may even have been advised on all this and forgotten when the moment came. Who knows what else may have been on his mind when the priest approached his pew? (For the record, a Canadian soldier had been killed that morning in Afghanistan.)

One thing is certain, though; his protocol officer surely could not have advised that if he slipped up on the rituals of the Catholic Church, he would be criticized in the public square by officials of the very same church - the one that invited him to attend the funeral service.

Politics is a funny business sometimes, but there really are times when I wonder why a politician even bothers to get out of bed. The PM, for all his good intentions, wound up being accused of purloining a consecrated host by one New Brunswick cleric, while another raised the issue of sacrilege.

Please!

Mr. Harper's alleged faux pas, if it is to be called that, managed to take the lead over war in Afghanistan, the faltering economy, and even his pending visit with Pope Benedict as a news story. (Ironically, Mr. Harper's beliefs are probably more in line with those of the Pontiff than many other leaders who actually are Catholic). No wonder they call summer the "silly season" in the news business.

This past week has not been an easy one for the prime minister. He eulogized a friend and former colleague who, laid low by depression, took his own life at the age of 39. He came to New Brunswick to attend the funeral of a man he had great respect for but little personal connection with, to a church full of political adversaries and to a religious service with which he was likely unfamiliar. In return, he was unfairly and publicly rebuked for unconsciously breaking one of the church's rules.

One of the foundations of the Catholic Church is its unyielding stance on the Holy Eucharist throughout the ages, the belief that Christ is present in its form, and the belief that only Catholics in good grace should receive it. Notwithstanding, another tenet of the church, perhaps unwritten, is simple charity: kindness towards others, especially those who may not share the same beliefs as oneself.

These past few days I have thought a lot about my church and my leader. When I was growing up, my best friend and I didn't discuss religion very often. She was a devout Baptist, and I a practising Catholic. We never attended each other's church, but when I got married, she stood up beside me at the altar. On the pillar of the cathedral was a banner which read, "We Open Our Hearts to You." She glanced over and commented "That's very welcoming." I remember feeling good about the fact that my church had taken time to make everyone welcome.

The Catholic Church has every right to deny someone the ability to share in the Holy Eucharist, but it also has an obligation to make people of all faiths feel welcome. Somehow, the message it sent out to the community this week was anything but.

Lisa Keenan of Saint John is a lawyer and the former president of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party. Her column appears on Friday.