Forced to give communion to non-Catholics?

[All4lifetoo]

Mysty101:

I would not knowingly give a non-Catholic Communion—however

I would not tell a non-Catholic they were unworthy to receive Communion.

If you want to do this—do it.

I will not. I will explain it in a way which is less offensive . How on earth are you evangelizing if you turn someone off???

You erred by assuming that the way I talk here is the way I talk to someone who is a non-catholic who is asking me a question personally, face-to-face, or who is attending a Mass with me. The two situations are entirely different. My comments here were of a general nature, not addressing a specific non-Catholic who was inquiring about the reasons for not being able to receive Holy Communion. You took the liberty to take me to task when it was unwarranted. I demonstrated to you that my language was in accordance with Holy Scripture, which you entirely blew off.

If you must know how I handle a personal situation, what I generally do is to show the inquirer the back of a missal and ask them to read the instructions about receiving Holy Communion, and I offer to answer any questions that they may have about it. It works out quite well that way.

My use of the word “unworthy” here, in this thread, is entirely appropriate and is used in the same way that it is used in Scripture. You interpret it as derogatory, which is it not. It merely means that a person is not in a state in which one can receive Holy Communion without committing sacrilege. It does not denegrate that person.

This is the last I am going to comment on this thread.

 

[Mysty101]

All4lifetoo,
I just want to emphesize that we do not want to turn people off, by coming down too hard on them.

Also, many non-Catholics read these threads, and I would not want them to get a wrong impression of our attitude toward them.

 

[katherine2]

people need to go back and read canon law. Note the subtle distinction between the minster offering communion (not permited) and a non-Catholic asking for it (a request that must be considered).

 

[JGC]

catholic-ew.org.uk/resource/obob/obob03.htm

95 The Directory strongly recommends that each diocesan bishop should establish norms for judging situations of grave and pressing spiritual need when Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church may be admitted to Holy Communion and to the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. These norms should take into account any which may have been established already by the Bishops’ Conference. In the absence of norms established either by the diocesan bishop or by the Bishops’ Conference, Catholic priests are to follow those of the Directory. In order to guide Catholic pastors in our countries, our Bishops’ Conferences now establish norms on this important matter. There are two sets of norms: one concerning Christians from Eastern Churches, the other concerning Christians from Churches and ecclesial communities of the West. Catholic priests are to discern each individual case only in accord with the norms established by their diocesan bishop, or, in the absence of such diocesan norms, those which the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland promulgate in this document, each for its own territory.

96 According to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the doctrine that ‘common worship’ should signify the unity of the Church generally rules out sacramental sharing, but the gaining of grace may sometimes commend it

112 What might be meant by other unique occasions for joy or sorrow in the life of a family or an individual? These are situations in which there may be an objectively grave and pressing spiritual need for a person to receive Holy Communion. We give examples of such circumstances, without in any way intending to suggest categories of situations in which admission to the sacrament would be generally granted. The admission of a particular individual on one such unique occasion does not mean that another individual would necessarily be admitted in a similar situation. Requests to be admitted to Holy Communion may come from the parent of a child to be baptised during Mass, or receiving First Holy Communion or Confirmation; the parent or wife of someone being ordained;210 the intimate family of the deceased at a Funeral Mass; Christians who cannot easily approach a minister of their own community, such as those confined to an institution of some kind, although most hospitals and prisons in our countries have Anglican, Presbyterian, Church of Scotland and Free Church chaplains who minister there on a regular basis. There may be occasions when it is admission to the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick which is the most grave and pressing spiritual need, due in part to the absence of such sacramental rites in some faith communities. Each situation will be judged individually according to the norms.

ctd

 

[JGC]

113 Who is to make the decision in each case? Except when there is a danger of death, it is for the diocesan bishop or those delegated by him to judge whether there is a grave and pressing need. When an individual Christian decides, after prayer and reflection, that he or she should approach the local priest about their circumstances, the latter must also make a discernment about whether this should be brought to the local bishop or his delegate for a decision. A Catholic priest may not make such a decision himself unless duly delegated by his bishop.

114 What conditions must always be fulfilled? The Code of Canon Law lists four conditions which are re-stated in the Directory:211

• that the person be unable to approach a minister of his or her own community for the sacrament desired;

In our countries, occasions when such fellow Christians cannot physically find a minister of their own community will be rare. There may be times, however, such as in the particular circumstances or on the unique occasions exemplified above, when access to one’s own minister is impossible given the very nature of that occasion.

• that the person greatly desire to receive the sacrament, and ask to receive it of his or her own initiative;

The grave and pressing spiritual need should be something discerned by the person concerned, rather than in response to an invitation given by the Catholic priest. Priests and other Catholic ministers should issue neither general nor specific invitations to other Christians to receive Holy Communion. It is important that there be adequate time for the proper process of discernment and judgement, and for appropriate preparation for reception of the sacrament.

• that the person manifest Catholic faith in the sacrament desired; In our countries, occasions when such fellow Christians cannot physically find a minister of their own community will be rare. There may be times, however, such as in the particular circumstances or on the unique occasions exemplified above, when access to one’s own minister is impossible given the very nature of that occasion.

• that the person greatly desire to receive the sacrament, and ask to receive it of his or her own initiative;

The grave and pressing spiritual need should be something discerned by the person concerned, rather than in response to an invitation given by the Catholic priest. Priests and other Catholic ministers should issue neither general nor specific invitations to other Christians to receive Holy Communion. It is important that there be adequate time for the proper process of discernment and judgement, and for appropriate preparation for reception of the sacrament.

• that the person manifest Catholic faith in the sacrament desired;

In this document we have given an outline of the fundamental aspects of Catholic faith in the Eucharist, and to a lesser extent of Catholic faith in the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. For a Christian who does not regularly worship at a Catholic church, being a frequent communicant at his or her own church may well indicate a love for the Eucharist. Others may regularly attend a Catholic celebration of the Eucharist, with their Catholic spouse or family for example, and this may speak loudly of a commitment to the Eucharist. It does not necessarily follow, however, that their understanding of the Eucharist and its implications is in harmony with that of the Catholic faith.

• that the person be properly disposed.

The same is asked of a Christian not in full communion with the Catholic Church as is expected of a Catholic wishing to receive the sacraments. There are Catholics who are unable to receive Holy Communion because of their being, for example, in a state of serious sin or in an irregular marital situation; the same may be true of another Christian seeking admission to Holy Communion.

I’m sure the US Bishops position is broadly similar.

 

[JGC]

Lepanto,
**How do you know that administrator is Catholic, she may be lying. If she is Catholic she knows better. ONLY CATHOLICS can recieve the Eucharist! **

You must be a weak minded person to distribute the Eucharist to non-Catholics. You are COMMITING A SIN if you did that! You have to confessthat sin , quick.

**If you prance around giving the Eucharist ( which is Jesus Christ) to lets say a Baptist or an Evangelical, the families of those people **
**Could sue you for a million! The very idea! If I was a Baptist and some one came by passing out the Catholic Eucharist to me, I would sue for all you have! **

96 According to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the doctrine that ‘common worship’ should signify the unity of the Church generally rules out sacramental sharing, but the gaining of grace may sometimes commend it

catholic-ew.org.uk/resource/obob/obob03.htm

 

[Mysty101]

JGC,
I don’t know how much difference there is, but that is UK, I am under the USCCB, specifically NY Archdiocese. I think it is important that we clafify these things with our own Bishop’s Conference.

 

[JGC]

Mysty101:

JGC,
I don’t know how much difference there is, but that is UK, I am under the USCCB, specifically NY Archdiocese. I think it is important that we clafify these things with our own Bishop’s Conference.

As our documents state, it is for the diocesan bishop to decide, or priests delegated by him, in accordance with canon law and Bishop’s conference guidelines.

Your own USCCB has a page - usccb.org/liturgy/q%26a/mass/communion.shtml

On November 14, 1996, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the following guidelines on the reception of communion. These guidelines replace the guidelines approved by the Administrative Committee of the NCCB in November 1986. The guidelines, which are to be included in missalettes and other participation aids published in the United States, seek to remind all those who may attend Catholic liturgies of the present discipline of the Church with regard to the sharing of eucharistic communion.

For Catholics
As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.


For our fellow Christians
We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us "that they may all be one" (Jn 17:21).

Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 § 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 § 3).


For those not receiving Holy Communion
All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.


For non-Christians
We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.

 

[just_4_him]

lepanto:

One of the administrators at a local (secular) nursing home insists that the Extraordinary Ministers who distribute communion there do so to even the non-Catholic residents if they request it.

By the way, the administrator is Catholic so she thinks she knows Church law.

I showed her the follwowing from:
vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P2T.HTM

Unfortunately, I had to conceded that there are a lot of loopholes in the Canon Law verbiage.

Bottom line: how can I demonstrate to her that under normal circumstances, only Catholics who have received the sacrament of Holy Communion are allowed to be given Catholic communion?

I have a different question. Why would you have surplus host to distrubute. You should be taking the host in the pyx to a specific person. there sould not be any excess.

 

[Marauder]

just 4 him:

I have a different question. Why would you have surplus host to distrubute. You should be taking the host in the pyx to a specific person. there sould not be any excess.

I can answer this one. If you are visiting a specific person in the nursing home you would only bring exactly the right number of hosts in the pyx. If you are visiting the nursing home itself (not a specific person) or a hospital you never know exactly how many people will be receiving on a particular day.

I personally don’t visit nursing homes but I do visit a hospital (a small community hospital), and we can have anywhere from 15 people receiving to 2 people receiving. Just knowing how many Catholics are in the hospital doesn’t help because more may be admitted overnight, some may or may not want to receive on a particular day, some may be out of their rooms getting tests. You never know what you will face when you walk through the doors of the hospital.

 

[Mysty101]

just 4 him:

I have a different question. Why would you have surplus host to distrubute. You should be taking the host in the pyx to a specific person. there sould not be any excess.

Sometimes EMHC visit secular facilities, which do not have a tabernacle on premisis. They must bring the Eucharist from their own Parish. You cannot always have an exact count of how many patients or residents wish to receive. Or other times a patient can only receive a very small piece, and so the rest is left. We are told to break the hosts, if we do not have enough, and consume anything remaining when we finish our rounds.

 

[Marauder]

Mysty101:

We are told to break the hosts, if we do not have enough, and consume anything remaining when we finish our rounds.

You might want to be careful with this issue. I was originally told this too by someone, but it was later corrected at the diocese level.

An EMHC that is carrying the hosts to and from a location is only supposed to consume the Eucharist if there is a great need for them to do so. Examples include:

1. No way possible to return Eucharist to church
2. Danger of falling into improper hands
3. Danger of sacrilege

An EMHC that consumes the host under normal circumstances is violating the policies on self-communication.

An EMHC that has to carry a large number of hosts to the hospitial should arrange their time at a time when returning the hosts to the tabernacle is possible. (i.e. get the hosts at 9:00 Mass, return them before/after the 12:00 Mass)

Luckily in my parish, in addition to the normal church tabernacle, there is a convent with a tabernacle that the Eucharist can be returned to 24 hours a day.

 

[Mysty101]

Marauder:

An EMHC that consumes the host under normal circumstances is violating the policies on self-communication.

Yes, I do know that we are not to consume under normal circumstances, but sometimes it is necessary. Consuming hosts out of necessity is not self -Communication–it is consuming extra hosts, and a continuation of the communion of the Mass I attended, since I did receive Communion at that Mass, as well as the hosts I brought to the nursing home.