Kerry has usual Communion
Democrat is upbeat at church; critics fail to alter his ritual
PITTSBURGH -- Senator John F. Kerry marked Mother's Day yesterday with a morning visit to church and an afternoon lounging at his wife's homestead outside Pittsburgh.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, whose practice of receiving Communion despite breaking with the church's teaching by supporting abortion rights has triggered criticism from some church leaders and conservatives, received the sacrament yesterday, and watched a young parishioner participate in the ceremony for the first time.
"Congratulations to you. Are you excited? It's so special. I remember my first Communion still," the Massachusetts lawmaker said afterward to 8-year-old Emma Prescott, who was dressed in a white hat, shoes, and a veil for the service at St. Scholastica Catholic Church in Aspinwall, a suburb north of Pittsburgh.
The Rev. Robert G. Duch, pastor of St. Scholastica, focused the readings and homily on the theme of "loving one another," according to a pool reporter allowed into the church. Kerry told Duch the homily was "perfect." Before leaving, Kerry donated to an organization named Genesis, which had posted a sign near the church entry that reads: "Help a pregnant woman in need on Mother's Day."
Another parishioner who spoke with Kerry, Charles Ross, told him: "Senator, you have three votes in my family. My granddad was [President Harry] Truman's press secretary." He referred to Charles G. Ross, after whom he was named.
The senator said he planned to spend the day relaxing with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, at her 90-acre farm in nearby Fox Chapel. He confessed he had still not given her a Mother's Day present, adding, "It's coming." He also said he planned to call his 92-year-old aunt, the sister of his late mother, to commemorate the day.
Kerry and his wife also made last-minute plans to host his staff and traveling press corps, all of whom were away from their mothers and wives because of his travel schedule, for cocktail hour at the farm.
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.
