Non Catholic Takes Communion

[Edmundus1581]

As an aside, over the last few months my parish council has been discussing our parish “Vision Statement”. The proposed statement originally emphasised, first and foremost, that we are a “welcoming” parish, and I steadily pushed for that to be less prominent than being a good Catholic parish for its parishioners.

As many people have observed, being “welcoming” actually attracts no-one, whereas having strong beliefs and rites does attract people, even if they are confronted by them.

As we worked on the Vision Statement I kept feeling tempted to ask “If we advertise that we are a welcoming parish, then what are we going to say to non-Catholic visitors who expect to receive communion?”. I suspect that half the council would have said that we should encourage them to receive - but I can’t be sure of that.

 

[SisterIncognita]

I feel blessed after so many times of dealing with people who didn’t, and the resulting guilt over whether or how I mishandled it.

 

[SisterIncognita]

That’s the dilemma in our postmodern world, and it has become increasingly difficult to have boundaries and expectations without being accused of discrimination or hate speech. The new rule in contemporary society is that we must accept everything about a person’s behavior and self identity or else we supposedly don’t love the person.

 

[TC3033]

As many people have observed, being “welcoming” actually attracts no-one, whereas having strong beliefs and rites does attract people, even if they are confronted by them.

I guess I disagree. If my wife’s parish(es) were more welcoming to non-Catholic Christians it would be whole lot easier going to Mass with the family (and I’m not talking about communion).

 

[Edmundus1581]

Edmundus1581:

As many people have observed, being “welcoming” actually attracts no-one, whereas having strong beliefs and rites does attract people, even if they are confronted by them.

I guess I disagree. If my wife’s parish(es) were more welcoming to non-Catholic Christians it would be whole lot easier going to Mass with the family (and I’m not talking about communion).

Thanks so much for the direct and helpful response!

I am surprised to hear this, and will keep it for future reference.

I guess my own thoughts, re: “welcoming”, are coming from decades of experiences in Australian Catholic parishes which are mostly “friendly” and “welcoming”, so it’s something I take for granted. But I see that my assumption is not universally valid.