Although I know it will just confound Trish, I have recently subscribed to OneNewsNow, an online newsletter backed by the homophobic Jesus boosters over at American Family Association. Why? To keep an eye on the other side of the conversation, monitor the news from Jesusland. Well, there was a mildly interesting story today.

It seems a Catholic pro-life group — American Life League — has taken out ads in the Washington Times and Politico this week to warn Pope Benedict XVI that Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights are seeking to take advantage of his U.S. trip by receiving communion from him. The ads urge the Pope to “protect the body of Christ from the bloodstained hands of pro-abortion ‘Catholics’” by denying them communion and includes the photographs of 21 prominent Catholics who believe in a woman’s right to choose.

Who knew the Pope reads a newspaper owned by the Moonies?!

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope wrote that if a pro-abortion politician attempts to receive communion, ‘the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it.’

All Catholic lawmakers have been invited by the Vatican to join the pontiff Thursday for a mass at the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are among the baby-killing Catholic lawmakers planning to attend.

It looks like the Pope might have painted himself into a corner on this one:

Judie Brown, president of American Life League (ALL), argues that pro-abortion Catholic lawmakers like Kerry and Pelosi are in violation of church law — something the Pope himself has determined. In 2004, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote that if a pro-abortion politician attempts to receive communion, “the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it.”

According to Brown, the objective of the ad campaign is twofold: to remind those politicians that Catholics who favor abortion may not receive the Eucharist, and to honor the Pope’s visit to the United States. But pro-abortion Catholics like Kerry and Pelosi, she says, are trying to exploit the papal visit. “There’s no other word for it than defiance of church law,” says the ALL president.

Brown says that because Kerry and Pelosi have not been rebuked by their respective church leaders, they think they are above church law. “Of course that’s been the problem with these politicians all along,” she adds. “[Pelosi and Kerry] feel they have a free ticket, a free ride.” But the Pope, says Brown, is not of the “same fabric” as those politicians’ bishops or cardinals.

I wonder how Benedict will handle the situation at the ballpark. Guess we’ll find out Thursday — see you at the seventh-inning stretch.