"I was denied communion last night by the Catholic bishop here in Las Cruces and based on my political office," Senator Joe Cervantes, Las Cruces Democrat, wrote on Twitter.

"My new parish priest has indicated he will do the same after the last was run off. Please pray for church authorities as Catholicism transitions under Pope Francis," he wrote.

The Las Cruces Sun-News newspaper reported that Mr Cervantes, who has served in the state legislature since 2001 and the state senate since 2013, attended a mass at the Carmelite Monastery on July 16 and was denied the sacrament.

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