Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D., recently reminded his flock of St. Paul's admonition about receiving Communion unworthily.

“Catholics who separate their faith life from their professional and social activities are putting the salvation of their souls in jeopardy,” said the former pre-med student, who has been bishop of Fargo since 2001.

He spoke recently with Register staff writer Tim Drake.

On April 25 you gave a homily at the Cathedral of St. Mary addressing Communion and the Catholic politician. What prompted that homily?

The question regarding human life has always been an important one for me, especially for the dignity of the unborn child. This stems, in part, from my experience while I was an emergency-room orderly in Colorado back in 1971.

Even before Roe v. Wade, abortion in Colorado was legal in the first trimester. I will never forget a woman who came into the ER who had been given a saline abortion earlier in the afternoon. The doctor had sent her home and told her she would pass it later. All of us in the ER had to respond to her situation. She was passing the fetus at that time. The fetus was broken apart and it's an image that has always lived with me.

As I was looking at a small arm and leg it was obvious to me that it was a human person who was destroyed.

In the context of the present political situation, there had been media coverage in the newspaper on Sen. John Kerry's unambiguous support for the right to abortion and his statement that he is personally opposed but that his faith life is different from his public life and that the two could be separated. An additional article mocked the Vatican's position, and there was the coverage of the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. All of those played a role in the development of my homily.

One of my great fears is that many lay Catholics — whether we like to admit it or not — obtain their information on what the Church teaches and believes through the media. I, as the bishop, have the responsibility to teach clearly what the Church teaches and to respond to what they are receiving from the media or theologians who would support the separation of one's faith from one's public positions.

The purpose of my homily was to present clearly the Church's teaching on the relationship between the living of one's faith in one's professional life and in the world. I took the teachings from Scripture and the documents of the Second Vatican Council and quoted those for people so they could see how that relationship is rooted in the call that Christ has given to us to be salt for the earth and light for the world.

What kind of reaction have you received?

As people left church they were very positive. Some told me they had never really thought about it at that depth and that it was helpful in clarifying what the Church really does teach.

I've heard from a couple of people who were not happy with it, but I keep presenting them with the Catechism, Scripture and the documents of Vatican II, so they don't know how to respond.

I would venture to say that most Catholic politicians have not read the [1995] encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), nor have they read and prayed with the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the documents of Vatican II. My greatest desire is to give them the teaching, help them go to it and help it become a part of their lives so they can live the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church in the world.

Do you support the idea of sanctions, such as the denial of Communion, for pro-abortion Catholic politicians?

I believe in terms of Catholics who support the right of abortion, that they really should not be receiving holy Communion. The Eucharist is a sign of our unity with Jesus Christ and with the Church and the Church's teachings.

The separation, especially on such an essential issue of the faith as the dignity of human life as clearly presented in The Gospel of Life, is one of those foundational principles that one cannot deny and still be in communion with Christ and the Church.

If a lay Catholic is truly informed and still holds that position publicly and then receives holy Communion, he or she is causing scandal to other Catholics and therefore should be denied holy Communion.

Is abortion such a social evil that no politician can be permitted to call himself a Catholic and support the right to choose it?

Yes, that is the definitive and consistent teaching of the Church thoroughly explained in Evangelium Vitae.

Do you think the confusion surrounding this issue stems in part from a misunderstanding of what the Eucharist is?

There is a misunderstanding about the meaning of receiving the Eucharist. When one receives holy Communion, one is entering into communion with Jesus Christ, who is truly present in the Eucharist, and one is also in communion with the Church and is identifying himself as being in union with the one holy, apostolic Catholic Church and with the Holy Father and bishops.

When one looks at the Eucharistic prayers, one can see the depth of unity to which we are called. We are unified with Christ and in union with Mary, the heavenly court, our Holy Father and with the local bishop and with Catholics everywhere in the world. A very prayerful meditation on the Eucharistic prayers helps us to understand more fully the full significance of the Eucharist and the unity it brings about. Hence, there needs to be a unity between one's faith life and one's public life.

We need to be cognizant of the whole question of judgment and the eternal things. On the day of our personal death and judgment, as we proclaim in the creed every Sunday, we will have to stand before God to say how we lived our life in the world and how we brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ — the Gospel of life — into the world. God will probably care less if one was Republican, Democrat or Independent. What he will care about is whether we live the truth, proclaim the truth and transform the world.

How far can the Church take such sanctions? Could Catholic politicians who support stem-cell research or the death penalty, for example, be denied Communion as well?

We have to follow the Code of Canon Law and what is allowed for in the code. We also must recognize how essential this one issue is. This issue is different from every other issue. If there is no respect for the life of the unborn and the dignity of the unborn person, there will be a lack of respect and a relativistic approach to human life on all other levels.

Only a handful of bishops have spoken out publicly on this issue. Can we expect any clarification from the U.S. bishops' conference prior to November's election?

I pray God, yes. Hopefully the discussion will take place and something will be done at our June meeting.

Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.