EMHC Lifestyle Question

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KarenUK

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Hi, this is my first visit.
I am in need of help. I have a question. I know of someone within my church that has just been made a eucharistic minister & I know she lives with a man, has 2 children but isn’t married. Should she be carrying out this duty?
Thank you for your help
 
…I would say that those chosen to do this job should be very devout and respectable Catholics…a women choosing to cohabitate with another man prior to marriage is a scandal…she should not be able to give Holy Communion to people…that is my opinion at least…but I could be wrong.
KarenUK said:
Hi, this is my first visit.
I am in need of help. I have a question. I know of someone within my church that has just been made a eucharistic minister & I know she lives with a man, has 2 children but isn’t married. Should she be carrying out this duty?
Thank you for your help
Click to expand...
 
People who bring scandal to their position in the church, should not hold that position. What you know should be brought to the attention of your pastor and/or bishop if the pastor fails to take appropriate action.
 
  1. Please be sure that what you suspect of her personal life is true, being very careful to avoid any further scandal by any kind of misunderstanding.
  2. If you are certain that what you know about her is true, say something *most discretely *to the pastor.
  3. After that, you’ve done your part and it is up to him as to whether or not to take further action.
Of course, you may also talk privately with her first, speaking charitably, but in firm faith. She may be unaware that her situation prevents her from filling this ministry.
 
KarenUK said:
Hi, this is my first visit.
I am in need of help. I have a question. I know of someone within my church that has just been made a eucharistic minister & I know she lives with a man, has 2 children but isn’t married. Should she be carrying out this duty?
Thank you for your help
Click to expand...
It’s possible that your priest doesn’t know of her personal living situation. I would approach him in a very humble manner, and ask him if he is aware. Make it clear that you aren’t sharing this information as idle gossip, but are merely trying to prevent scandal (an old-fashioned term, but one that is still applicable).

It’s also possible that you don’t have the full story, and the priest does. But if you’re concerned (and I would be) I’d approach the priest directly.
 
az_4_faith said:
  1. Please be sure that what you suspect of her personal life is true, being very careful to avoid any further scandal by any kind of misunderstanding.
  2. If you are certain that what you know about her is true, say something *most discretely *to the pastor.
  3. After that, you’ve done your part and it is up to him as to whether or not to take further action.
Of course, you may also talk privately with her first, speaking charitably, but in firm faith. She may be unaware that her situation prevents her from filling this ministry.
Click to expand...
Thank you all for your help. Now that I know for sure that she should not be doing this, I will speak to her to make her aware of this. I don’t think she can know she shouldn’t be taking on this role within the church.
 
KarenUK said:
Hi, this is my first visit.
I am in need of help. I have a question. I know of someone within my church that has just been made a eucharistic minister & I know she lives with a man, has 2 children but isn’t married. Should she be carrying out this duty?
Thank you for your help
Click to expand...
The Church requires that those in Liturgical roles be in good standing with the Church. If you know this for a fact, do not tell anyone else, but a note to the pastor would be ok. Make sure to include your name.
 
It would be simple to determine her moral status if you see that she is not receiving holy communion prior to distributing the Eucharist. If she does receive, then one is in danger of judging without knowing the full details of her circumstances. Charity would always assume a good reason exists, until proven otherwise. It is a good idea to mention it privately to the priest … just in case.

Normally, those whom the priest asks to serve in this ministry are usually well-known by him. It is not the practice to just randomly pick a stranger. My guess is that he knows her details which others do not. Again, just in case, you may want to disclose it.
 
KarenUK said:
Hi, this is my first visit.
I am in need of help. I have a question. I know of someone within my church that has just been made a eucharistic minister & I know she lives with a man, has 2 children but isn’t married. Should she be carrying out this duty?
Thank you for your help
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum!

I don’t think she should, since fornication is a mortal sin, and anyone in mortal sin should not recieve communion. Worse, the situation could lead to scandal within the church. So no, I don’t think she should.
 
Someone who is visibly scandalous shouldn’t be assigned in any parish ministry until they get their life in order, but this should be done charitably.

Edit

In Christ
Scylla

(I am not saying that EMHC’s are bad but are used improperly in many parishes, they are certainly valid when needed)
 
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