And you thought the debate over whether John Kerry should take Communion was a big deal …

There’s several media reports floating around out there about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pocketing of a Communion wafer at a Catholic Mass last Friday in New Brunswick. Seems that Harper, an evangelical, approached the Communion rail, received the wafer and wasn’t sure what to do with it, so he slid it in his pocket. Catholics (and not just the pope) will tell you that’s a big no-no.

From the Telegraph-Journal:

In Catholic understanding, the host – once consecrated by a priest for the Eucharist – becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that the small wafer be consumed when it is received.

Monsignor Brian Henneberry, vicar general and chancellor in the Diocese of Saint John, wants to know whether the prime minister consumed the host and, if not, what happened to it.

If Harper accepted the host but did not consume it, “it’s worse than a faux pas, it’s a scandal from the Catholic point of view,” he said.

(h/t: HuffPo)