Do Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers have an application form?

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My question stems from the fact that there are some Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers in my parish that are well liked by my pastor and they have made it known to some folks they are living with a partner outside of the sacrament of marriage. I do not think they know this is a sin that they probably should not receive nor give out communion as well. I did ask a priest about this and they said do not make these persons feel bad… But, Jesus ? it just bothers me and I don’t know where to go with this anymore… thanks:confused:
 
I’ve been an EMHC since 1992, and I didn’t have to fill in an application form. I just got asked one Sunday by my pastor if I wouldn’t mind being one, and to get back to him when I’d thought about it. When I said “Yes”, along with a couple of other “new starters”, I was given a basic (and I mean basic) training session one Saturday morning on how to handle the Blessed Sacrament, then I was literally thrown in at the deep end by being asked to help out at the Midnight Mass of Christmas.

Nobody I know has ever been asked to fill in an application form - it seems to be the case that the Pastor asks the individual in they would like to be one. I’ve known my previous pastors to discreetly ask the opinion of other parishioners if Mr X or Mrs Y would make a good EMHC, which would then obviously give the opportunity to say “Well, no because…”.

I think there is an unwritten expectation that EMHC’s will be living a reasonably moral Christian live, but I’ve never seen anything written down to this effect.

All this applies to my diocese - Salford, in the UK - but other dioceses may ave different requirements.
 
In addition to my previous comments, at one stage we were asked to “Renew our Committment to the Eucharistic Ministry” every year, usually on Holy Thursday. (Before anybody pulls me up on “You’re not Eucharistic Ministers”, that was the official title of the thing we were expected to do, regardless of whetyer it was right or not!)

The idea was that if something “untoward” happened in the year, it gave the opportunity to step down as an EMHC without any embarrassment. But none of the people I knew who stopped did so for the reasons outlined in the original post - usually because of health, moving away, ett. So the kind of situation described above never arose.
 
If only the sinless could serve in this role, no one would be able to serve.
 
Further to my last post, a few years ago everybody who was actively involved in their parish, certainly in Salford diocese, had to have a criminal records check, but this wasn’t specifically linked to being an EMHC. Anybody who had contact with children or vulnerable adults, whether as an EMHC, catechist, organiser of a children’s liturgy, sacristan, reader - anybody with a specific role rather than just an ordinary member of the congregation - had to have this done. This was in consequence of recommendations made from inquiries into child abuse scandals. It wasn’t a check into your suitability for the role in a Catholic sense, it was checking to see if you had a criminal record, specifically offences that may question your suitability to deal with children/vulnerable adults. It certainly wasn’t an accplication form to be an EMHC.
 
In our parish anyone who wants to be an EMHC has to contact me for an initial interview. After that I ask then to write a request to the pastor who does another interview. After that I send their name to the Bishop (just a formality). In the mean time they fill out a volunteer registration form, a background check form and register for VIRTUS training They then attend a 4 hour diocesan training. If they plan on serving the homebound or in hospitals they have to attend a second 4 hour session. Then they do a run through with me or my EM coordinator as to the specifics for distributing communion in the parish, go over our EM handbook, and if necessary they meet with the homebound minister coordinator or are referred to the chaplain’s office at one of our two local hospitals. Our diocesan training is only done twice a year so while we interview all year, we only commission twice a year. Also our diocese requires all EMHCs to renew every three years.
 
In our diocese (quite close to Salford, hello Mark 👋), there is an application form but it wouldn’t disclose anything like living with a partner. It covers administrative details such as name, address, d.o.b etc then asks for two referees who could vouch for you.

There is also a CRB check (to disclose any criminal records).

The reference form asks general questions about the person’s suitablity to be an EMHC e.g. trustworthiness and other generalised good qualities, but I would think it unlikely that anyone would comment on the applicant’s living arrangements since you wouldn’t choose someone to be your referee unless you thought they would write you a good reference. I suppose it could happen though, particularly if the applicants were so ignorant of the Church’s teaching on marriage and relationships.

They then go through the course which is run by the diocese to train people (some parishes still train their own EMHCs but this is being heavily discouraged by the bishop).

If, as you say, the priest already knows about this and has still chosen to make them EMHCs, you can either:
a) Assume that you might be wrong about their lifestyle and that the priest knows more than you about their situation. There may be details that you are unaware of which substantially alter the nature of your suspicions, or

b) Complain to the bishop, if you have done your best to have the matter resolved within the parish and have failed to make any headway.

Your choice. My post was mainly aiming to show that, although there is an application process, it won’t always result in the authorities finding out information such as you have outlined. It is the duty of the parish priest to choose suitable people to fulfil the role of EMHC. Only you, who have the fullest knowlege of the circumstances, can decide whether your pastor has done that or not.
 
dconklin said:
If only the sinless could serve in this role, no one would be able to serve.
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But one would think that one would be at least sorry for their sins, with a desire not to sin. Making those sins publically known with such contrition is not the behavior desired by the Church, or God.
 
MOMF said:
My question stems from the fact that there are some Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers in my parish that are well liked by my pastor and they have made it known to some folks they are living with a partner outside of the sacrament of marriage. I do not think they know this is a sin that they probably should not receive nor give out communion as well. ** I did ask a priest about this and they said do not make these persons feel bad.**… But, Jesus ? it just bothers me and I don’t know where to go with this anymore… thanks:confused:
Click to expand...
This is quite uncharitable answer. All shall feel bad about sins, because those lead to the eternal damnation.
 
“Are you in communion with the church?” is the first question asked to those answering the call to becoming a E.M .H.C. or Minister of Care at my parish.
 
I was first approached by another EMHC and asked if I would consider it. They then submitted my name to our pastor who talked with me about it. No application form.
 
ProVobis said:
Yes, but when scandal (such as openly living in sin) is involved, it’s a different matter altogether.
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It also raises the question of whether someone who, according to official Church teaching, shouldn’t be receiving Communion, should be asked to take a role where they would be expected to receive Communion themselves and then distribute the Sacrament to other people?
 
IF your Pastor is choosing people to be extraordinary ministers of any type, that he knows are living with others in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, then the Pastor is guilty of sin, and of bringing scandal to the Church.

You should bring this up to your Pastor first, it IS possible that he is not aware of the situation. BUT, you also have to be certain of your case. We had a similar situation in our church, someone accused the Music Director of an illicit marriage. Turns out she had obtained an annulment, but just wasn’t public about it.

If your facts are correct, and if your Pastor refuses to do anything about the situation, then this should be reported to the Bishop of your Diocese.
 
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