Washington, D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is at the center of the storm brewing over Communion rules.

Should politicians who oppose Church teaching be denied Communion? Register correspondent Edward Pentin spoke to Cardinal McCarrick in Rome after the cardinal participated in the U.S. bishops' once-every-five-year ad limina meetings with the Holy Father.

What memories of your ad limina visit and meetings with the Holy Father will you take back home with you?

I think all of us, every time we see the Holy Father, we see a new enthusiasm because we see this really extraordinary man, now in his mid-80s, so still filled with zeal for the Church, so filled with courage and a willingness to serve. And we look at ourselves and we say, “I should have the courage, I should have that will, I should have that zeal” — so hopefully you bring that with you.

Were the meetings fruitful?

The meetings went well. The Holy Father is so much better than he was in October. We had a good conversation with him, good questions, he asked good questions and so he was obviously paying close attention to everything we were saying. So really it was a great grace for us to be with him. I think all of us feel that way.

I think we bring back to our local Churches the blessing of the Holy Father and the opportunities to tell the story of the opportunities we had to chat with him, to be with our other friends and to be in Rome, which is always a great grace in itself.

You're heading up the bishops' task force on politicians who oppose Church teachings. You've said you're reluctant to withhold Communion from pro-abortion politicians. Why?

With regard to the Eucharist becoming a political tool, that would be a horror because personally, I find it hard to see the Eucharist as a moment of confrontation.

But on the other hand, the Catholic Church has to speak very clearly; opposition has to be known.

The rules of receiving Communion are the teaching of the Church for centuries: to be in a state of grace in communion with the Church. If you're not, then you yourself have to examine your conscience and say, “I am able to receive” or not.

But once a person in his own heart feels he or she is able, then, even though we might not agree because of the public things that are happening, I am uncomfortable about using the Eucharist as a point of confrontation.

And you think the guidelines will help?

I pray they will. I'm the chairman of the task force; I'm not all the members and so I don't want to anticipate what they will come up with, but that's the hope we all have.

The Holy Father and the Curia have made their positions very clear regarding Iraq. Why is the Church's voice not heard more in the Bush administration, do you think, both with regard to Iraq and the ongoing situation in the Holy Land?

I think with regard to the Holy Land, the Catholic bishops have spoken very clearly. We have always insisted on the rights of Israel to have secure borders and to live in peace without violence. We have always been terribly troubled, condemned terrorism and any suicide bombing that takes human life — the bishops of the United States have always been clear on that.

But we've also been clear on the fact that we believe the Palestinians have a right to a state of their own. We believe the Palestinians have a right to live in freedom, with justice and in peace. We've criticized the building of the wall, we've criticized the repression that so often has taken place. We know that when this happens the [Palestinian] people just rise up as one person and feel so threatened by it, and rightly so.

But again, if 10 people of Israel are killed — and that's a horror — then they proceed to kill many more Palestinians and so the cycle of violence goes on and on. We need to get them back to the table and this is why we sometimes are disappointed in our own government because we were so much in favor of the road map [for Middle East peace]. We would love to see our president and our government get back to pushing the road map and getting people back to the table together.

So how can the Church influence the government more to pursue that line?

I do not know. If I knew some way we could do it more I would certainly use it. But as archbishop of Washington, I certainly make it clear to all those in government.

I think they're trying, but I think sometimes they get caught up with other emergencies and they don't make as much of a priority on this, which I feel, as you do, is probably the key to peace in the Middle East.

Edward Pentin writes from Rome.