Washington ( CNN ) -- Rhode Island 's top Roman Catholic leader has asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy to stop taking Communion over his support for abortion rights , the diocese said Sunday . In a statement issued Sunday , Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin said he told Kennedy in February 2007 that it would be `` inappropriate '' for him to continue receiving the fundamental Catholic sacrament , `` and I now ask respectfully that you refrain from doing so . '' Kennedy , a Democrat , is the son of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy and a scion of the most prominent Catholic family in modern U.S. politics . In an interview published Sunday , Patrick Kennedy told the Providence Journal that Tobin had barred him from receiving communion and instructed priests in the diocese not to administer the sacrament `` because of the positions that I 've taken as a public official . '' Tobin , in a statement issued in response to the Kennedy interview , said his advice to the congressman was `` pastoral and confidential , '' and he was surprised that Kennedy chose to discuss it publicly . `` I am disappointed that the congressman would make public my request of nearly three years ago that sought to provide solely for his spiritual well-being , '' he said . The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes abortion , which has been legal across the United States since 1973 . The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbied for tight restrictions on federal funding of abortion in the health care bill the House of Representatives passed earlier this month . Kennedy opposed a provision that restricted the use of federal money for abortions , but voted in favor of final passage of the bill that included that language . Efforts to reach Kennedy 's representatives were unsuccessful Sunday afternoon . But most bishops and priests oppose using communion as a `` political weapon , '' and Kennedy 's disclosure may be an attempt to push back against the bishops ' support for the abortion restrictions in the House bill , CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen said . `` The Catholic bishops have been fairly successful , at least to date , at putting abortion at the center of the debate over health care reform , and that obviously has generated some resentment from people who do n't share their views , '' Allen said . Kennedy 's decision to come forward `` in effect puts the Catholic bishops in a negative light , because it ends up making them look intolerant , '' Allen said . Tobin said Sunday only that he asked Kennedy not to take Communion . `` I have no desire to continue the discussion of Congressman Kennedy 's spiritual life in public , '' he said . `` At the same time , I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church , misrepresents the teachings of the church or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry . '' In an October interview , Kennedy criticized the bishops for threatening to oppose the overall bill if it did not include those restrictions . That prompted Tobin to call Kennedy 's position `` unacceptable to the church and scandalous to many of our members . '' The latest exchange was comes on the 46th anniversary of the assassination of Kennedy 's uncle , John F. Kennedy , the nation 's first Catholic president . Patrick Kennedy is the last member of his family serving in Congress .
Patrick Kennedy tells newspaper that bishop barred him from Communion . The Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of sexual abuse scandals in recent years and the Vatican is under pressure to respond with more transparency. Bishop says he 's `` disappointed '' that Kennedy made their conversation public . Kennedy fought ban on funding abortion , but voted for health care bill that included the ban .