As President Clinton recently discovered, there is no more complex and emotional issue in Christendom than Holy Communion. This issue is even more divisive than church issues linked to sexuality, which always grab headlines. The reality is that today's doctrinal earthquakes about sex are only important to the degree that they crack the rock on which altars stand.
Churches argue about sex.
Churches split over issues linked to communion. Cardinal John O'Connor of New York urged his listeners to see the big picture as he explained why Clinton, a Southern Baptist, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, a United Methodist, should not have received Holy Communion in a Catholic parish in South Africa. Christ Jesus himself. When it comes to Catholic teachings about sacraments, he said, there is a controlling legal authority that gets to make and interpret the laws. Except under extreme circumstances, Holy Communion is reserved for those who faithfully follow the teachings of the Roman Catholic church.