A Catholic receiving Protestant communion- sinful or disrespectful?

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So I know a Catholic is unable to receive Communion outside of Roman or Patriarchal apostolic succession because it lessens the sanctity of transubstantiation or something like that.

However, is it sinful in God’s eyes and/or disrespectful in the Protestant/Catholic Churches’ eyes to do so?

I’m basically aiming towards, is this something you’d need to attend confession for doing or would this just result in a priest or minister admonishing you to not repeat it.

And if it is sinful, what type? Venial or mortal?

It’s mortal to skip a Mass, which seems a bit dramatic, but that’s total judgement on my end.

Not sure how a different communion would fare!
 
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According to Canon Law (844), generally the answer is no it’s not permissible for Catholics to receive communion from a non Catholic minister- other than very rare exceptions when it is impossible to receive communion from a Catholic minister.
 
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Also missing mass for no valid reason is grave sin. Mortal when you are aware it’s a grave sin and you do it anyway.
 
Sinful, subtype Mortal.

Part of “communion” is inherent in the name itself. It means that we share a belief in commonality – “communion” – with the other participants. Catholics believe that when we receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in its’ entirety when partake of the Eucharist – “receive Communion” – and we believe that all of the other people in line with us ALSO hold that belief and understanding of what the Eucharist is.

In Protestant communion, not only is there a lack of a mystical transubstantiation (bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity under the physical appearance of bread and wine) but there is a lack of commonality of belief. The majority of Protestants believe that their “communion” is only symbolic and lacks any spiritual efficacy in and of itself: it may be a blessing in the prayer and personal worship their ceremonies invoke, but there is nothing inherent in the communion that makes it different from any other mortal food.

It’s this lack of commonality, the denial of the inherent blessing of the Eucharist, that makes its’ reception by Catholics mortally sinful. In doing so, the Catholic denies the Catholic belief in the Transubstantiation.
 
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Well, Protestant churches do not validly confect the Eucharist, so their “communion” is not actually the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus.

Protestants typically do not care, and often invite, Catholics to receive, but they [Catholics] should not do so.

The only churches where the Eucharist is real (outside of the Catholic Church) is that of the Orthodox Churches. Catholic theology would permit communion there (if impeded from attending a Catholic parish), but most Orthodox Churches do not allow this. So, we should not approach against their wishes.
Protestants would not think it would be sinful, in my experience.

Catholics would have a range of opinion on whether it is sinful or not. It is certainly improper, if not sinful. Mortal sin always requires knowing more about the individual (full knowledge, full consent) to determine whether it might be. I would highly doubt it would.
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Deacon Christopher

PS: Holy Communion isn’t just about the Real Presence of Jesus - it is also about being in common union with the Church and all she teaches. If you don’t believe what the Catholic Church teaches; you are not in communion with it, nor its members.
 
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Episcopalian said:
However, is it sinful in God’s eyes and/or disrespectful in the Protestant/Catholic Churches’ eyes to do so?

I’m basically aiming towards, is this something you’d need to attend confession for doing or would this just result in a priest or minister admonishing you to not repeat it.

And if it is sinful, what type? Venial or mortal?

It’s mortal to skip a Mass, which seems a bit dramatic, but that’s total judgement on my end.
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You, or I, are not permitted to pronounce a sin “mortal” or “venial”. This depends on the individual person, their intent, and the full individual facts of the situation. It is a judgment that can be made only by the priest in confession. Skipping Mass may or may not be mortal so you are wrong to say “It’s mortal to miss a Mass on Sunday”. The more correct statement would be that it is a serious matter to skip a Mass on Sunday without a good reason, and it MAY be mortal. That’s all you can say.

With respect to the Catholic receiving Protestant communion, the following considerations would apply:
  • Who is the Catholic and what is the situation? For example, is this a minor who is made to accompany his Protestant parent to a Protestant service and expected to go to Communion? Is this a Catholic with a Protestant spouse, and the Protestant spouse expects the Catholic to go to Protestant service and receive Communion? Is this an ecumenical service? Is there some other situation in play like the person is about to go out on the battlefield in 2 minutes and the only clergy available is a Protestant minister?
  • Does the Catholic know it’s wrong to receive Protestant communion?
  • What were the Catholic’s motivations for receiving Protestant communion? E.g. to avoid getting in trouble with parents, or because they truly believe all communions are the same whether Protestant or Catholic, or are they thinking of joining the Protestant church, or did they not want to look bad in front of their Protestant friends?
If a Catholic did this, it would be a good idea to mention it in confession and explain the situation and get guidance from the priest. As you mention, a Catholic is not supposed to receive non-Catholic Communion.

Yes it is sinful “in God’s eyes”. Why would you think God has some other gauge for sin than that of the Catholic Church which is his own Church? It’s not like the Church says something’s a sin but God then steps in and gives you a free pass.

Yes, it is disrespectful to the Catholic Church for Catholics to go around receiving non-Catholic Communion, but the Church might recognize that there are some circumstances where it can’t be helped such as the situation of a minor and their parent, and other circumstances where the person received for whatever reason without intending disrespect. This doesn’t mean it’s okay to go do it but it means that the sin might be mitigated.

I have no idea if it’s disrespectful in the eyes of a “Protestant” church and it’s irrelevant to me as I don’t conform my behavior to make Protestant churches happy.
 
I wanted to mention that I used to be very fond of Perry Stone’s “Manna-Fest” television show, when it demonstrated historical “things” from Scripture, like the designs of the implements used by the Levitical Priesthood in the Temple. I got annoyed by his subtle digs against the Catholic Church (subtle because apparently a lot of his viewership came from Catholics in nursing homes, watching along with Protestants), even more so when I realized that he had moved from having about 7 minutes of the show being dedicated to selling his books and products to being 15 minutes out of 30 (and BTW, all of his new books were really his old books "with new material’), and stopped watching entirely when he was promoting his “Meal that Heals Communion Kit” (for “communion at home” or hospital visits or visitation) and he mentioned that the Catholics had an improper understanding of communion.

The only value I can see in his selling of this kit is that it might get Protestants into the habit of daily communion in advance of an event called “The Illumination of Conscience” (that comes from an unapproved personal revelation) which will result in millions upon millions of non-Catholics returning to the Church and their reception of the TRUE Eucharist, and not their pretend Eucharist.
 
First, there is the the risk of idolatry. Secondly, it causes the Catholic Church scandal (does that concept even exist today?) if a Catholic is seen receiving the bread/juice.
 
po18guy said:
Secondly, it causes the Catholic Church scandal (does that concept even exist today?) if a Catholic is seen receiving the bread/juice
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Lately it seems that scandal is a term reserved for not objecting vigorously enough to sexual behavior of others who aren’t even Catholic.

But we’re all supposed to act like bread and juice are just as good as the real thing. I think there was a thread awhile back where some Catholic was even taken to task for calling it “crackers and grape juice” instead of “communion”

It’s one thing to pray for peace together, or pray ecumenically in support of our shared community or for victims of a tragedy. I personally don’t want any bread and juice,
 
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I’d prefer a shared prayer and a handshake. If he wants to say “May God Bless You” that’s fine too. He himself can’t bless. Unless he’s Orthodox maybe. Which isn’t Protestant.
 
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