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German bishop announces communion for Protestant spouses in 'individual cases'
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_Abyssinia
Guest
Is Archbishop Becker going against what Archbishop Ladaria of the CDF recently wrote regarding the German proposal for Communion?
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tseleehw
Guest
No - Pope Francis has since stated that he supports the German document and the proposal to give Protestant spouses communion but wanted to leave the decision up to individual bishops instead of the whole conference. This is exactly what Pope Francis wanted to happen. Some bishops will allow Protestants to receive; others won’t. It is a sad situation indeed that we have a Pope that fosters such division and disunity.
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Tis_Bearself
Patron
I’ll be curious to see if large numbers of Protestants actually come rushing to take advantage of this.
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twf
Guest
These are liturgical European Lutherans…my bet is, they will. This is not targeted at American style Evangelicals.
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exnihilo
Guest
Unfortunately I don’t think there are large numbers of anyone in German churches.
Honestly I’ve never understood this. When I was a Protestant I had no problem with Catholic closed communion. I actually respected her for it. I understood I didn’t agree with the Church. I understood I could join her but chose not to because I disagreed with her. Anyone who doesn’t understand this should not have their misguided notions strengthened by being offered communion.
Honestly I’ve never understood this. When I was a Protestant I had no problem with Catholic closed communion. I actually respected her for it. I understood I didn’t agree with the Church. I understood I could join her but chose not to because I disagreed with her. Anyone who doesn’t understand this should not have their misguided notions strengthened by being offered communion.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
Right, and on top of that I would guess that a lot of the German Catholics are married to other German Catholics rather than to non-Catholics. And the non-Catholic would have to want to come to Mass with the Catholic and would further have to want to go to Communion.Unfortunately I don’t think there are large numbers of anyone in German churches.
So we’re talking about a relatively small population of affected people, made smaller probably by personal preferences about Mass-going and Communion-receiving.
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twf
Guest
A cynic would say the bishops are trying to slow the hemorrhaging of Church tax payers (remember practicing Catholics and Lutherans in Germany are legally obliged to pay a Church tax from their income)…
But that’s only what a cynic would say.
But that’s only what a cynic would say.
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FirstFiveEighth
Guest
Here I was thinking it was a universal church. On what grounds are non-Catholics allowed to recieve communion without being in communion? I can’t recieve communion if I skip church one Sunday and decided to go to the local Methodist Church, but now a Lutheran can recieve if they feel like it? Just doesn’t make sense to me.
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Genesis315
Guest
To be fair, the current canon law allows any baptized person–including, but not limited to spouses–to receive in individual cases, and provides the conditions for those cases:
The Pope referenced this on a plane flight, but said it only applied to individual bishops, not conferences (it seems he was wrong, since the canon explicitly includes conferences too–unless he was referring to a different canon I am unaware of).
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P2T.HTM§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.
The Pope referenced this on a plane flight, but said it only applied to individual bishops, not conferences (it seems he was wrong, since the canon explicitly includes conferences too–unless he was referring to a different canon I am unaware of).
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tseleehw
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To be fair, the current canon law allows any baptized person–including, but not limited to spouses–to receive in individual cases, and provides the conditions for those cases:
Yes, this Canon has been around for awhile; the main debate about the German document seems to be whether or not “being unhappy about not being able to receive communion” constitutes a “grave necessity”. If it does, it would seem to me to set the bar so low as to render that whole part of the law meaningless. I have read probably a half a dozen articles by canon lawyers about this whole German situation, and I have not seen even one of them say that they would consider such a situation to rise to the level of “grave necessity”.§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.
And even if for argument’s sake we say it does, there is still the second part of the canon to deal with. This is the part that seems to be ignored in most debates about this document; not only must the criteria for “grave necessity” be met, but all of the other conditions of the canon must be met as well. It is “and”, not “or”. So say a protestant spouse of a practicing Catholic approaches a priest about receiving communion. Say that the priest agrees that since they really want communion because their spouse gets it, that they are in a situation of “grave necessity”. They would still fail to meet the other conditions because they could clearly still approach a minister from their church for their version of communion. They’re not in danger of death, so there is no reason why they could still not receive at their church.
And of course there is the other criteria of being properly disposed. It is interesting how the German bishops claim that protestant spouses of Catholics are supposedly clamoring for Catholic communion, but you never hear anything about them wanting Catholic confession. So are these protestants who want to receive communion in the Catholic Church going to be going to confession first? I have a strong feeling that this part of the requirement is being glossed over as well in Germany.
My question is that if there are these theoretical protestants in German who are married to Catholics, strongly desire the Eucharist, and manifest Catholic faith in the sacraments, why don’t they set up some kind of expedited conversion process to bring them into the Church formally.
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abucs
Guest
Where is the pope’s theological explanation for this allowance?
If it is not forthcoming then it will be a dereliction of duty IMHO.
If it is not forthcoming then it will be a dereliction of duty IMHO.
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twf
Guest
Pope Benedict is often painted as a “conservative” while Pope Francis is painted as a “progressive”. Yet, if I remember correctly, Pope Benedict once communed the later Brother Guy…who was Lutheran. It was special one-off case…but the precedent non-Catholics receiving communion under certain circumstances goes back a couple popes…
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tseleehw
Guest
I would not expect any serious theological argument to be forthcoming, nor an explanation of how such situations would actually comply with the canon law in question.Where is the pope’s theological explanation for this allowance?
If it is not forthcoming then it will be a dereliction of duty IMHO.
It hasn’t been widely reported, but two members of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission have already spoken out against the proposal in separate interviews with the Diocese of Cologne’s radio station:
Moreover, Menke also reveals that he has read this German intercommunion handout – which has still not been published, due to the resistance of seven German bishops in this matter – and he adds: “If I had to grade this paper theologically, I would assess it as insufficient [“mangelhaft” – grade 5 in Germany, a failing grade, which would be equivalent in the U.S. to a Grade of “F”].” In the eyes of this Vatican theologian, “there is missing a fundamental reflection concerning the difference between the sacramental understanding of the Church among Catholics and the non-sacramental understanding of church among Protestants.” “There is missing a clear description of the difference between the [Protestant] last supper […] and the [Catholic] Eucharist,” he adds.
Marianne Schlosser, Professor of Theology at the University of Vienna, Austria, and a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, warns against the danger of “relativism” with regard to this current sacramental debate. In an interview with Domradio.de, the radio station of the Diocese of Cologne, Schlosser points to the danger of an increased pressure toward intercommunion, once Protestant spouses of Catholics are permitted to receive Holy Communion. “Will a moral pressure not be created to take the last supper at the Protestant service,” she asks, referring to the long-existing invitation to the last supper for Catholics as openly stated by Protestants. Additionally, Schlosser also wonders why those Protestants who desire to receive Holy Communion would not also have “an urgent desire to receive the Sacrament of Penance and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.” Professor Schlosser also stresses that the expression “emergency situation” as mentioned in can 844 CIC refers to situations that are caused by “external circumstances,” such as the impossibility to reach one’s own minister. “The principal connection between Church membership and licit participation in the Sacraments is thereby not removed,” she explains.
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irenaeus1
Guest
Hmmm… German bishop announces communion for Protestant spouses in ‘individual cases’ - apparently meaning each and every individual case since an open invitation without any qualification was just extended by a German bishop yesterday. So even the bishops’ liberal proposal is not enough but requires further dissent to apply for his diocese.
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Genesis315
Guest
I agree with you, but unfortunately the canon puts it strictly in the subjective judgment of the bishop.Yes, this Canon has been around for awhile; the main debate about the German document seems to be whether or not “being unhappy about not being able to receive communion” constitutes a “grave necessity”. If it does, it would seem to me to set the bar so low as to render that whole part of the law meaningless. I have read probably a half a dozen articles by canon lawyers about this whole German situation, and I have not seen even one of them say that they would consider such a situation to rise to the level of “grave necessity”.
Due to the general principle in canon 912 ("Can. 912 Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.), it would belong to Rome to provide additional limits–sadly, this seems not to have happened yet.
Even though I didn’t quote it here, I also agree with the rest of your post.
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tseleehw
Guest
You are correct - and to be clear I am not questioning the bishop’s authority to decide what is “grave necessity” based on that canon. I am merely questioning if his decision is in line with the intent of that particular canon. I highly suspect it is not, but it is his decision in the end.
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