Administer the Eucharist to Dissenting Politician?

  • Thread starter Thread starter inthelamb
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I

inthelamb

Guest
This has probably been addressed before but here goes. In our parish I am a Extraordinary Mininster of the Eucharist. We have a state politician who is well known for sponsoring and voting for anti-life legislation. Our bishop has elected to take a private approach to such matters with the politicians in our diocese. I presume he has spoken with this individual but I don’t know since it is private. This individual presents himself for Holy Communion and comes up to me as I am holding up the Host before I realize who it is. I give him Communion and then realize it is him and feel sick, like I hurt Jesus. We have no instruction to withhold Communion from him from the bishop or the pastor.
Do you think I should resign from being an Extraordinary Minister so I am not in this predicament? Or is it ok to continue giving him Jesus since the bishop has not instructed otherwise?
Thanks.
 
I would get some spiritual direction.I can not imagine being in your position:eek: I wouldn’t want Our Lord to be subjected to that either!The whole situation is unconscienable.You have to wonder if the politition even believes in the Real Presence,if he or she does how can they justify protecting the murder of the innocent.Make sacrifices and offer them up for what Our poor Lord is being subjected to and pray hard.God Bless
 
Politicians need to realize that they can’t compete with God. If they insist on “running the bad race” (as opposed to Paul’s “running the good race”), they’re going to lose – “big time,” to use one of Dick Cheney’s favorite phrases.
 
40.png
inthelamb:
Thank you but would you continue or not?
Click to expand...
I couldn’t continue,no.But I might be wrong, if you were told to by a priest obedience is necessary. If you don’t have to do it,I wouldn’t.God Bless
 
40.png
inthelamb:
Thank you but would you continue or not?
Click to expand...
Given that the arrogance of most politicians makes me sick to begin with, no, I would not. And I would tell the pastor why not. In fact, if it is not improper (and it may well be improper), I would write to the bishop telling him that you are resigning, and why. That might be going over the pastor’s head in an improper way, though.

On the other hand, this person is receiving communion in a state of serious sin. (The question of the precise extent to which he is or is not in a state of mortal sin I will leave to those who are, at this time, more skilled and versed in moral theology than I.) Any attempts on the bishop’s part to “deal with this privately” clearly aren’t bearing any fruit.

And furthermore… :hmmm:… if this politician wants to say something stupid like Kerry did, when he said that it wasn’t the bishop’s place to tell the faithful how to worship… well, duh, that IS the bishop’s job. It’s his responsibility to make sure that we are worshipping properly.

(Someone once said – I think it was Robert Heinlein – “never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” I guess it’s a matter of discernment – and you thought discerning a vocation was difficult! :hmmm: )
 
you are by definition a lay person, not the pastor, not a priest, so you are in no position to judge the state of the soul of any individual who approaches you for holy communion. It is for the priest alone to make this decision. You assume everyone coming forward is in a state of grace since you have no means of knowing or assuming otherwise. Unless and until the pastor directs that an individual be barred from communion, you have absolutely no authority to do so.
 
This hurts the dissenter more I believe. another motal sin, taking the eucharist unworthily, is added to his soul.
 
40.png
inthelamb:
This has probably been addressed before but here goes. In our parish I am a Extraordinary Mininster of the Eucharist. We have a state politician who is well known for sponsoring and voting for anti-life legislation. Our bishop has elected to take a private approach to such matters with the politicians in our diocese. I presume he has spoken with this individual but I don’t know since it is private. This individual presents himself for Holy Communion and comes up to me as I am holding up the Host before I realize who it is. I give him Communion and then realize it is him and feel sick, like I hurt Jesus. We have no instruction to withhold Communion from him from the bishop or the pastor.
Do you think I should resign from being an Extraordinary Minister so I am not in this predicament? Or is it ok to continue giving him Jesus since the bishop has not instructed otherwise?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
If you are given the task (even as a lay person in extra-ordinary circumstances) to distribute Holy Communion you are also subject to aspects of Canon Law.

You are not authorized and prohibited from giving communion to non-catholics or those catholics who in known to be (by you) in a state of mortal sin.

Your reaction was correct. But it was the politician who came up for communion that hurt Christ and added another mortal sin that must be confessed prior to going to communion again.

I think the ‘private’ approach by a Bishops is cowardice. You have a public unrepentent heretic working to kill babies and you have a Bishop (successor of the apostles) who pubicly states…“private direction”. Private direction is over. The scandal is public…the correction which could have been private has now reached a place causing the loss of faith and desecration of the eucharist.

We need real Bishops. Real Men. Not this girlie-man kind of cowardice that represents the standard of Amchurch Bishops.
 
I agree these things should be handled differently than most bishops are handling it…but having said that, I also think it is not the place of a EMHC to determine. You are acting for your bishop. You can of course resign.

I have this vision of EMHCs quickly looking at their comrades and giving thumbs up or down as parishoners come up to receive commumion because someone might think they know something about the state of someone’s soul…anarchy. Do people recieve unworthily? I bet some do, but I think that’s between God, those he’s given the grace and authority to, and the individual.

Non-catholics excepted…they must be politely denied. In their case it’s not a condition of their soul but of their preparation.
 
My thought would be, if this is a difficult issue for you, you might want to consider resigning as a Special Minister of Communion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top