No, we are not allowed to receive any Protestant communion for basically the same reasons they are not to receive ours.
I was a member of the Assemblies of God for about 20 years, so I know a little something about their beliefs and intentions.
Question: Is it against church law for a Catholic to participate? (you have demonstrated why it is undesireable quite well, but is it a sin to do so)I was a member of the Assemblies of God for about 20 years, so I know a little something about their beliefs and intentions.
While an Assemblies of God minister does not have valid orders nor does he claim to, he is still acting as a minister of the sacrament by conducting a communion service in which he is declaring the words of Christ which confected the bread and wine into His body and blood. By reciting those words an Assemblies of God minister does not mean what is meant by the Church.
The Assemblies of God is in open opposition to Church teaching here and makes no bones about it. For a Catholic to partake of such a communion would cause public scandal, as if the teachings of the Church mean nothing to him, when they are vitally important.
We do not receive communion to be sociable or kind or understanding of others but to follow Christ’s teaching that the Eucharist is what unifies us in Him, and is indeed what he said it is–His very body and blood, not merely grape juice and a cracker.
Yes, it is. This article referencing canon law on the matter will help:
Thanks, so then if I read it the right way the Assemby of God communion is not valid because it falsely represents itself as a sacrament, wether or not the minister indends it so. And for me to partake would be me giving assent to it’s validity as a sacrament wether I recognize it for what it is or not.
Right, Greg; also, a Catholic’s participation would be a tacit example of indifferentism. And, of course, the falsity on the AofG’s part is not intended to be such since this is what they believe. They are in error, but out of ignorance, not malice.
I would have thought that too, but the minister would admonish
There is no pretense involved, but there is error in what they believe and present as communion. Therefore a Catholic may not participate in a deficient communion both because it would signify assent to this error (whether one realizes this signification or not) and, as I just said to Greg, to receive - especially knowing the Church’s teaching in this regard - would be the sin of indifferentism.
Whether one sees it is a replacement or not, the Church is quite clear that Catholics are not to participate in non-Catholic communions.
The position has been well stated here. And, as a protestant pastor, I want to say that though I may disagree with your conclusions, I can actually respect it and do not wish to argue against it. (At least not at this time.
) Yet I do remain curious about a few events in my person life with respect to communion in the Catholic church.Yes, it is against Church law to participate in Protestant communion.
So I won’t hijack this thread, here I my conversion story from This Rock Magazine: Up From Pentecostalism. It was published in 1995.
None of those things ought to have happened–they were abuses, especially that of the bishop!The position has been well stated here. And, as a protestant pastor, I want to say that though I may disagree with your conclusions, I can actually respect it and do not wish to argue against it. (At least not at this time.
Given the teachings of the Catholic church, why would it be that on more than one occassion I have been invited to participate in the sharing of communion with Catholic priests? Why, when I was not even yet ordained, but merely a college student, did the bishop of the diocese actually issue a letter to the catholic student body at our university saying that it was permissible for them to participate in our campus-wide Christmas communion service, with the only caveat that we offer the elements in the name of the Holy Trinity, “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”? Why, at my first church, was I approached by the local Catholic congregation to see if I was willing to continue the tradition of a joint Christmas Even communion service between the two congregations? (Which, btw, we did.)
I have seen priests break the “rules” on more than one occasion. That is not to say it is wrong or unlawfull to participate in inter-faith celebrations. I was speaking specifically about the sacrament of Holy Communion, and the issues associated with the Protestant practices. It is good to worship with our Protestant brothers, we all can unite under the banner of Christ. A friend told me once “If you believe Jesus died for your sins and rose again from the dead you are my brother.” And so I call him my brother, and we can disagree on the particulars and still stand together under the banner of Christ. Yet I would not receive Communion I think at a Protestent church. I agree that it would be wrong, and sinful to do so.The position has been well stated here. And, as a protestant pastor, I want to say that though I may disagree with your conclusions, I can actually respect it and do not wish to argue against it. (At least not at this time.
Given the teachings of the Catholic church, why would it be that on more than one occassion I have been invited to participate in the sharing of communion with Catholic priests? Why, when I was not even yet ordained, but merely a college student, did the bishop of the diocese actually issue a letter to the catholic student body at our university saying that it was permissible for them to participate in our campus-wide Christmas communion service, with the only caveat that we offer the elements in the name of the Holy Trinity, “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”? Why, at my first church, was I approached by the local Catholic congregation to see if I was willing to continue the tradition of a joint Christmas Even communion service between the two congregations? (Which, btw, we did.)
My last comment was directed more toward our Protestant brother who was speaking about what some Bishops and Priests had done concerning sharing Communion. There is a priest in the town not far from here who does whatever he wishes concerning mass, and the Sacraments, and it is that kind of casual neglect of our laws and traditions that gives us a bad name among outsiders. I agree with you, and am in the process of reading about your conversion in the Rock…Mother Mary has a very special sweet spirit. Once you feel her persence you never forget it.