German bishop invites all Protestant spouses to receive Communion at jubilee

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It is not that bad. After all, it is just making a long standing practice “official”.
The root of the problem is deep in the past.
As a German Catholic, I have stopped to care, it is no use. Why waste energy fighting the inevitable? Pick your battles, there is worse to come…
 
The German bishops cannot even follow their own liberal, dissenting proposal; i.e., their own policy position does not even go far enough for them. Now let’s open up Holy Communion to all non-Catholic spouses without any conditions at all.
 
Yeah, why not? It is all the same to me. Who cares? Let them do whatever they want to do. Not my business.
 
Wha-? Seriously?

This practice completely goes against Catholic teaching.

It only becomes inevitable when we stop caring.
 
Yes, this is the first thing I noticed about this as well. The German bishops’ document is not in line with the canon law concerning reception of the Eucharist for protestants, and this “invitation” is not in line with the German document. It’s basically a free-for-all in Germany now, not just in practice but officially as well.
 
Of course, you are right. It goes against Catholic teaching.
But so do many other things happening right now in our church.
I´ve given up hope that things will get better, quite to the contrary.
In principle, there are just three options:
  1. You move out of mainstream Catholicism and hope to find peace in a traditional community independent of it (it is easy to guess what community I mean)
  2. Look East (yeah, I know that this comes with a lot of other problems)
  3. Resign, shrug and ignore it (that is what I do)
 
Unfortunately, there are many bishops who are seriously confused and misguided which certainly hinders them from properly shepherding their flocks. This is not new… Justin Martyr said in his First Apology, "This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us… " So, if these Protestant spouses profess to believe as we do (i.e., they confess to believe all that the Catholic Church teaches and proposes for our belief), then why do they not enter into full communion with the Church and become Catholic? Why perpetuate a lie and remain ‘outside’?
 
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Waiting for Pope Francis to act. It will be interesting to watch the response or lack thereof.

The problem with defining adherence to doctrine as a pejorative rigidity, is that you have little room to argue when others reject your doctrine.
 
The teachings changed a while ago. Only those who are not paying attention think that canon law does not allow what these bishops are doing.
 
irenaeus1 said:
if these Protestant spouses profess to believe as we do (i.e., they confess to believe all that the Catholic Church teaches and proposes for our belief), then why do they not enter into full communion with the Church and become Catholic? Why perpetuate a lie and remain ‘outside’?
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This is the question. Why do we not recognize Lutherans as being in full communion? Why perpetuate a lie and exclude them?
 
Dovekin

The teachings changed a while ago. Only those who are not paying attention think that canon law does not allow what these bishops are doing.

Ecclesia de Eucharistia and Canon 844 do not allow non-Catholic Christians to indiscriminately approach the sacraments, so I am unclear to what change in teaching you are referring. Certainly, I acknowledge as happening the illicit practice allowed by certain bishops and priest, but this is not a change in teaching. Also, Canon 844 is clear that there are certain criteria regarding the exception for which a non-Catholic Christian can receive the sacraments. An open invitation is not one of them.
 
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“Why perpetuate a lie and exclude them?”

You are kidding, right? They do not want to be in full communion, else they would no longer be Lutheran. The real lie is to pretend that they are in full communion when in fact they reject, by their own admission and formal confessions, the catholic and apostolic faith. And specifically with regard to Holy Communion, Lutherans reject the ministerial priesthood and the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Why a person who rejects these tenets would then want to partake in them makes absolutely no sense.
 
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irenaeus1 said:
Justin Martyr said in his First Apology, "This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true
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That teaching has been changed because Eastern Orthodox are allowed to receive Holy Communion and they do not believe in papal infallibility.
 
AlNg said:
I guess that means that some teachings are going to change.
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Sure…“teachings” are like history…they change all the time. Unlike teaching, dogma does not change…is this an issue of dogmata or teaching? To be honest, I don’t know, buy I’m not going to accept the cultural norm of a bunch of anonymous people on the internet without concrete references…

If anyone has them, please post. Posters outraged may be right, but they may be wrong too!
 
While the 1983 Code of Canon Law softened the language than that used in the 1917 Code, it is still very similar and has the same aim as its objective. The 1983 Code simply reworded prescripts of the 1917 Code. In other words, what does it mean for the non-Catholic Christian to first renounce their errors and be reconciled with the Church other than that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed? This is far different than rejecting the very meaning of the sacrament to which one wants to receive.
 
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