Can someone in an invalid marrage receive communion?

[joseph_e]

A friend of my wife said that a priest asked her and her husband to come to the church. She ask about taking commuion because she married outside the church and was married before. The priest told her that as long as they lived as brother and sister (no sex) that she could receive commion. Is this true?
Thank You
joseph e

 

[Jim_Blackburn]

What the priest told your wife’s friend is correct but she must first go to confession. From the Catechism (1650):

If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists… Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.