The Chronicle quotes Fr. Bretzke as saying, "The general sacramental principle is that you don't deny the sacrament to someone who requests it...The second principle is that you cannot give communion to someone who has been excommunicated." He said such people are designated "manifest public sinners" in canon law.

Presumably, Fr. Bretzke referred to canon 915, but the canon says something different than what he implied. The actual canon reads:

Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin (emphasis added) are not to be admitted to holy communion

Note that the canon addresses three different groups of individuals: the excommunicated, the interdicted, and others who persist in manifest grave sin.

Linguistically, the sentence groups the first two (the excommunicated or interdicted) whom the clerical authority formally disciplines through interdict or declaration of penalty. Use of the word and shows the separate and independent state of the third group from the first two: ("AND others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin").

The canon bans all three groups from Communion. Contrary to Fr. Bretzke's interpretation, excommunication is not a prerequisite for denying Holy Communion. He ungrammatically and mistakenly links excommunication with the ban. The sentence does not; it simply identifies those excommunicated as one of the groups banned.

By misinterpreting the canon Fr. Bretzke leads people to believe that, in order to deny Communion to an individual, the bishop must first excommunicate him. This simply is not true. Those "obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin" may not be admitted to Holy Communion whether or not the bishop excommunicates them first. When they do (Catholic pro-abortion politicians are a good example), it is a grave scandal.

Fr. Bretzke goes onto say, "While I can see Bill O'Reilly and others might be offended, the sisters do not meet the criteria the church has for denying Communion. Over-accessorizing and poor taste in makeup is not an excommunicable offense....Even if these people were bizarrely dressed, the archbishop was following clear pastoral and canonical principles in giving them Communion.... The default is, you give Holy Communion to one who presents himself."

There are glaring errors in Fr. Bretzke's reasoning. We have already pointed out his mistake with regard to excommunication. Now let us look at his statement of the offense. Anyone familiar with the Castro Street Fair going on outside MHR the day of the incident, or the sadomasochistic Fulton Street Fair that took place a few weeks earlier, or the SPI's "Bare-Chested Bingo" knows that the "sisters" engage in a little more than "over-accessorizing."

Since Fr. Bretzke lives and works in San Francisco it is highly likely he knows the full range of bizarre activities engaged in by the SPI. Why does he participate in the spin, i.e., it is all just bizarre costuming? "Over-accessorizing" is beside the point; the sisters are all about promoting sodomy, perversity, and sadomasochism. Their charitable activities provide good cover to justify perversion. The fact is that they are public, obstinate sinners who have yet to show remorse for any of their sacrileges or blasphemies. As Archbishop Niederauer said, he should have denied them Communion. He's apologized and will, hopefully, take further action to prevent this sacrilege from happening again.

The priests of diocese are also bound to defend the Eucharist from such outrages. Perhaps, a lesson on canon law is also in order. If priests wish to discuss the issues they need to quote canon law correctly and interpret it accurately. Paraphrases that distort the meaning are unacceptable. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence who reads canon 915 knows that the Archbishop was correct in his apology and has the duty to deny the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Holy Communion.

To understand canon 915, a requirement for serious Catholics in today's world, consult a real canon lawyer, not a USF moral theologian.

Considering the upcoming election year, Catholics need to be informed on this important subject.

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Joni Durling, homeschool mother of six from the San Francisco Bay Area, is also a Catholic activist and long- time member of the Catholic Media Coalition.

Mary Ann Kreitzer is an activist and founder of the coalition who also edits the Les Femmes, The Women of Truth website.

The Catholic Media Coalition is a nationwide group of publishers using print and electronic media aimed at restoring orthodoxy in the nation's dioceses.