Kerry celebrates with Communion

While President Bush used the occasion of Easter to comment on Iraq and visit troops injured during the fighting there, John F. Kerry, his Democratic challenger, paid a quiet visit to his local parish -- where the only news was that Kerry took Communion despite some criticism within the Catholic Church over his religious practices.

The Massachusetts senator, cupping his hands together, received a piece of bread as the embodiment of Christ before moving across the altar of The Paulist Center, overlooking Boston Common, to drink from a chalice of wine that commemorated Christ's blood. The senator's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, also received Communion, as did several aides who attended the hourlong service with the couple and several Secret Service agents within Kerry's protective detail.

The service in large part followed the themes of dozens of other Catholic services across the state on Christianity's holiest day, with the Paulist priest, the Rev. Joe Ciccone, offering a children's story, a young girl in a purple arm cast reading from the Scriptures, and an ensemble of guitars, piano, and xylophone playing Easter music. Young children dressed in spring colors cried throughout the service. But reflecting the more liberal Paulist tradition, hymns were sung in a variety of languages, and the pastor was assisted by lay people rather than altar boys. None of the congregants appeared to kneel when they prayed, a common practice at most Catholic parishes. Throughout the service, Kerry and his wife sat six pews back from the altar. During the time for offerings, Heinz Kerry wrote out a check on the couple's behalf.

Kerry's religious practices have been the subject of recent discussion as some Catholics have questioned his support for abortion and the senator has openly split with the church on some teachings, such as by supporting the concept of priests marrying.

He also violated church canon last weekend when he took Communion at a Protestant church, the Charles Street AME Church in Boston. The question of whether he might be denied Communion yesterday was stoked by comments made by Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley and other church leaders.

Last summer, just before being installed, O'Malley issued a statement declaring, "A Catholic politician who holds a public, pro-choice position should not be receiving Communion and should refrain from doing so." But O'Malley also said, "It is not our policy to deny Communion. It is up to the individual."

Kerry also divorced his first wife, raising further questions about his eligibility to receive Communion, but an aide told the Globe in 2000 that Kerry had that marriage annulled. Last week, a Kerry aide reiterated that "the senator is in good standing with his church."

Speaking with reporters last week in Cincinnati, Kerry rebuffed the questions.

"There is separation of church and state in America. We have prided ourselves on that all of my lifetime," the senator told reporters Tuesday. "I fully intend to continue to practice my religion as separately from what I do with respect to my public life, and that's the way it ought to be in America."

The church service wrapped up a weekend in Boston in which Kerry visited with his family, met with aides, taped at least one campaign commercial, and also spent a night on the town. The hockey-playing senator watched the final game of the NCAA men's hockey tournament at the FleetCenter on Saturday, before having a private dinner with his wife at The Federalist on Beacon Street.

Yesterday, John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for Kerry, again said he would not consider the position. "When my kids were smaller, my wife used to wear a T-shirt that said, `What part of `no' don't you understand?' I'd like to start wearing that T-shirt myself. No, no, and no," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press" news program. "I will not leave the Republican Party . . . I will not be vice president of the United States under any circumstances."

Today, Kerry is scheduled to continue his criticism of the economy under Bush, with the release of a "misery index." The Associated Press, which obtained an advance copy of the study, said the index suggests that the soaring costs of gasoline, health care, and higher education have hammered the middle class while personal bankruptcies have risen during the Bush administration.Also today, Kerry kicks off a weeklong college tour at the University of New Hampshire.

Bush, who attended Easter services at Fort Hood, Texas, later said he asked God to protect the troops.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.