Bishops not told Clinton was to take Communion

South Africa's Catholic bishops were not informed in advance that President Clinton and his wife Hillary were to receive Holy Communion at Mass in Soweto last Sunday. Nor was the Gospel story on the saving by Jesus of a woman who was being stoned for adultery chosen specifically for the occasion, as also suggested in reports.

The priest who said the Mass, Father Mohlomi Magubane, said that when he saw the Gospel reading that morning he thought "Oh my God". "But what could I do?", he said. "I had to follow the reading of the day." Allegations of sexual misconduct against the President were "American business, not our business," he said.

In a statement yesterday, the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference said Father Magubane had been asked before the Mass by Mr Clinton's staff whether he and Mrs Clinton could receive Communion if they wished to. Mr Clinton is a Baptist, while his wife is a Methodist.

The bishops said Father Magubane responded to the request that he saw no objection to the Clintons receiving Communion as it was a special occasion. Besides, he thought it would be rude to turn them away.

Father Magubane's bishop had not been asked, as required by Catholic Church practice. "It is doubtful whether the priest applied his mind to the conditions that needed to be fulfilled as stated in the 1993 norms published by the Holy See and repeated by the South African Catholic Bishops's Conference Ecumenical Directory," the bishop's statement concluded.

In the current issue of the Catholic Times, Father Magubane is quoted as saying that after reading the bishops' Ecumenical Directory he "took it for granted" Mr Clinton would be allowed to receive Communion. The President was coming to their church "not for a political meeting, but to pray with us at a eucharistic celebration".