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A U.S. Catholic archbishop is urging priests and lay eucharistic ministers to deny communion to politicians who support abortion rights, arguing that it’s a “mortal sin” to offer the sacrament to “the unworthy.”

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, a veteran of clashes between Catholic bishops and politicians, has attempted for years to enlist fellow bishops in denying communion to wayward politicians.

Now the conservative cleric is placing the responsibility to safeguard the sacrament on the lay and ordained Catholics who distribute communion.