Pope Francis does not distribute Communion when he celebrates Mass in public. Now Sandro Magister of L’Espresso explains this new papal policy.
In 2010, then-Cardinal Bergoglio remarked that some people who come forward to receive Communion “take refuge in the Church and do not live according to the justice that God preaches. And they do not demonstrate repentance.”
The future Pontiff said: "I do not want these persons to approach me for a photo."
At the time, Cardinal Bergoglio was speaking about employers who exploited their workers. It is difficult to be sure that such a person is an unrepentant public sinner, he said. Nevertheless he did not want to give such people an opportunity to exploit the Church.
The Pope’s reasoning applies to politicians who flout the teachings of the Church, for example by supporting legal abortion, Magister notes. Pope Francis will not be pictured administering the Eucharist to them.