Wow, I have never heard of such a thing?
Would the woman be within her rights then to request communion immediately following the Mass (it being perhaps a more appropriate moment)? Would the priest have any prerogative to refuse her that request (all other things being equal)?
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She can request that he administer Communion outside of Mass, but the priest would also have to determine if the usual conditions are met: properly disposed, at a reasonable time, and not impeded by law. When you think about it, there are plenty of times when a person might receive Communion outside of Mass and this is perfectly legitimate. It’s accepted practice for a priest who is administering Communion to the sick to also take Communion for those who are caring for the sick and can’t attend Mass–just for example.
An example from my own experience. I happen to have a daily Mass attendee who is at home caring for a sick relative. She’s sometimes late for Mass, but most of the time she’s only slightly late. There have even been rare times when she arrives after the distribution of Communion has already ended. Since I know her situation, as well as know her genuine devotion and desire to receive Communion, including her desire/intent to be on-time, when that happens she waits until the Mass is over and then approaches to receive Communion. We say the Our Father, the Lamb of God (including “this is the Lamb of God…”) and then I administer Communion; because this is the rite that the Church provides for such circumstances.
On the other hand, if I knew that someone was seriously late because he didn’t care about arriving on-time or if I knew that he was intentionally late because he wanted to “skip the whole Mass thing and just receive Communion” (let’s say intentionally walking in during the Lamb of God and doing it consistently) I would almost certainly refuse to do that.
I want to be cautious here in that there are 2 sometimes conflicting values. On the one hand, the priest has an obligation to administer the Sacraments to one who is properly disposed, not impeded, and at a reasonable time. Refusing cannot be because of some arbitrary reason on the part of the priest. On the other hand, the priest likewise has an obligation as the steward of the Eucharist to not-administer Communion indiscriminately and not to encourage or facilitate lack of due-reverence in the Mass, and part of that is to arrive on-time.
This is the sort of time that the priest has to use his own prudential judgement. The Church does not outright define any given moment in the Mass as the “line of demarcation” for receiving Communion, however there is the widely-accepted “rule of thumb” that being there to hear the Gospel is a good standard to apply, and this is supported by the liturgical and teaching documents of the Church, and a long history of applying that standard.
