Gerry Moniz didn’t hesitate when asked what she thinks of the nationally publicized dispute between Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy over whether the congressman should refrain from taking Communion given his support for abortion rights.

“I think Patrick Kennedy is wrong,” Moniz, 56, said when asked to comment on Monday at an East Providence shopping plaza. A Catholic from West Greenwich, she added, “If he doesn’t want to be Catholic, he should go to another church. The rules of the Catholic Church are we don’t approve of abortion. And he doesn’t like that.”

At St. Francis Chapel in downtown Providence, several members expressed support for Kennedy after receiving Communion.

“I think the bishop should let it go. The Kennedy family does so much good,” said Dorothy Boisseau, of Providence. “Jesus welcomed everyone.”

Rhode Island Catholics interviewed on Monday had varying reactions to the rift between Bishop Tobin and Kennedy that first erupted in October after the congressman criticized the church for opposing health-care reform efforts that would result in taxpayer dollars supporting abortion.

On Friday, Kennedy said that Tobin instructed him not to take part in Communion because of his abortion stance. But on Sunday, Tobin released excerpts of a 2007 confidential letter he sent Kennedy that he said supports his contention that he simply made a “request” for Kennedy to decline Communion.

One day later, a cold rain fell as a cluster of people gathered for the daily 12:10 p.m. Mass at St. Francis Chapel. The Rev. Charles O’Connor, a priest at the Church of St. Mary on Broadway who was attending the St. Francis service, cautioned against using Communion as a punitive measure.

“As a priest, I can understand where [Tobin] is coming from. He’s speaking from church teaching,” Father O’Connor said. But, he said, “I think you have to be careful when you use the denial of Holy Communion to punish someone. That’s not the intention of the Eucharist.”

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O’Connor said he appreciates the conflict faced by politicians who are bound by Catholic teachings and charged with representing their constituency. Meanwhile, he said, some parishioners are now questioning their status in the church.

“This past Sunday, I had someone come up to me who is engaged in an alternative lifestyle,” O’Connor said. “He said, ‘What about me? I’m not considered to be 100-percent Catholic, because of what I do in private. Does that mean the bishop could say I can’t receive communion?’ ”

O’Connor said he could see a difference between someone whose private life differs from church teachings versus a person whose acts as a public official go against doctrine.

O’Connor said he’s received no missive from the Diocese telling him to deny Kennedy Communion.

“I don’t know if I would or not,” O’Connor said. “I would imagine the congressman would not put priests in the diocese in that position.”

At a shopping center on Taunton Avenue anchored by a new Stop & Stop, David M. Borek, 62, a retired police officer from Pawtucket, voiced support for Kennedy.

“He’s a real Irish Catholic and he should receive Communion,” said Borek. He said the matter between Tobin and Kennedy should have been kept private “just like a person going into the confession booth.”

His wife, Mary Meckes, 46, agreed.

“It’s an outrage what [Tobin] is doing to him,” she said. “I never would believe a bishop would do something like that. I don’t think they should take Communion away from anybody.”

She went on to say that “this would never happen to his father [the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy]. I think they put [Patrick Kennedy] in an embarrassing situation. I think they owe him an apology on national television.”

Renee Rose, 48, East Providence, stood beside her 19-year-old daughter, K’Lynn Johnston, and, while expressing conflicting feelings about abortion, was unwavering in her opinion that it shouldn’t distract leaders from far more important issues, including those affecting her own family.

“We have nowhere to live. We lost our house. I was living out of my car. I have no job,” she said. . “I think people should put their energy on trying to save us, never mind worrying about abortion rights.”

Her daughter supported Kennedy.

“I noticed at Catholic schools some people practicing their religions in different ways,” she said. “There are certainly guidelines you should follow but not everything that the Bible says is what you have to do. You interpret it in your own way.”

amilkovits@projo.com