Communion Question



Dear Catholic Exchange:

Is it permissible to receive communion when a person is in knowing disagreement with the teachings of the church on a particular issue? For example, if I don't agree on the Church's teachings regarding euthanasia, abortion, masturbation, premarital sex, or contraception, may I receive communion?

If I have not committed any of these acts, I should not need to go to confession. Is my mere disagreement reason for a confession? Also, it seems that if I disagree with any of the church's positions, I would be in a de facto state of excommunication. If so, is the ONLY way back in by changing my thinking or confession? If this is grounds for not receiving Eucharist, I think the communion lines would be much shorter than they are now.

Anonymous

Dear Friend in Christ,

The answer to your particular situation would depend on what teachings you have in mind and your will in the matter. Please feel free to provide more particulars. In general, here is one way to look at the matter:

The sincere desire of every Christian is that one day we can all be fully united with each other in perfect communion with the Holy Trinity. Yet, as Pope John Paul II most recently reminded the faithful in his 2003 encyclical letter on the Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, the Eucharist “presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to consolidate and bring to perfection” (no. 35).

In simpler terms, this means that only those who are both in “visible” and “invisible” communion with the Church should go up to receive Communion. The visible bonds of Communion are profession of the apostolic faith, the sacraments of the Church, and ecclesial governance (ibid., no. 38; Catechism, no. 815). In other words, and without getting bogged down in theological nuance, one should be Catholic.

Yet, there’s also an invisible component. This means that a Catholic who goes up to receive Communion should be in a state of grace. In other words, if the communicant is aware of having committed a mortal sin, he ordinarily should go to Confession prior to going to Communion (cf. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, nos. 36-37).

Two guiding principles must be held in tension in this regard. First, the Church encourages all the faithful, assuming they are properly disposed, to receive Communion every time they participate at Mass (Catechism, no. 1388). Further, the Code of Canon Law provides that “any baptized person who is not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to Holy Communion” (canon 912).

Balanced against this “non-judgmental” disposition of the minister is the biblical responsibility every communicant has to examine himself prior to presenting himself for Communion: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor. 11:27-29). One who is conscious of grave sin actually compounds his sin by committing the sin of sacrilege if he receives the Eucharist without first reconciling with the Church (cf. Catechism, nos. 1385, 1457).

The practice in the United States today largely does not reflect this basic teaching on the Eucharist. In many parishes, everyone in the assembly receives Communion as a matter of course — even those who are not Catholic or who are “living in sin.” Meanwhile, many Catholics never avail themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The point is not to judge any particular person, but simply to note a confluence of three points:

— Many Catholics today reject key Church teachings and engage in conduct that the Church considers gravely sinful;

— Virtually all Catholics who attend Mass receive Communion; and

— A minority of Catholics ever think to avail themselves of sacramental Confession.

For more information, please see Ecclesia de Eucharistia, especially chapter IV.

United in the Faith,



Eric Stoutz

Information Specialist

Catholics United for the Faith

827 North Fourth Street

Steubenville, OH 43952

800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)


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