Kennedy gains ally in feud with Bishop

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A Pennsylvania lawmaker is defending Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, in his ongoing war of words with Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, is a Democrat and Catholic who, like Kennedy, supports abortion rights.

"It's been disheartening for millions of (Catholics) across the country to see one of our own be banished," Murphy said. "I'm reaching out to Patrick Kennedy and also to my local priests and bishops to make sure they know that we agree on 99 percent of the issues."

In his 2008 book, "Taking the Hill," Murphy wrote that a local parish priest refused to bless his marriage in 2006 to his wife, Jenni, during his first campaign for Congress because of his stance
on abortion rights.

Over the weekend, Kennedy told the Providence Journal that Tobin instructed him not to receive Communion - and said Tobin had also told his priests not to give him the sacrament.

Tobin acknowledges that he wrote to Kennedy in February 2007 asking him not to receive Communion because of his abortion rights stance. But Tobin said he never banned Kennedy from receiving the sacrament and never instructed his priests not to give it to the lawmaker.