This is not sanity at all.
Tell me, what is the “gay culture”? Now, you may have a very fair and concrete definition - the problem is, most people don’t.
Perhaps I should been clearer. If one supports a position that is contrary to the position of the Church on matters of faith and morals, whether it is on sexuality, abortion, doctrine, etc, you should not receive communion, let alone distribute it. By “supporting gay culture”, I speak of supporting homosexual marriage, homosexual acts or the like
If a man wears all trendy “Express” clothing, is very thin, and quite flamboyant, is he part of the “gay culture”? Take it a step further - what if he is SEEN drinking beer in a gay bar? Is he NOW part of that culture? Where is the line? What if he does ALL of the above, AND lives with another man - whom he does NOT introduce as his partner? Is there now enough “evidence”?
This is the requirement of the pastor. Clothing and flamboyance is one thing, but if a man is seen in a gay bar, this creates scandal. This does not befit one who distributes the body and blood of Christ. If there is the possibility of scandal or if the person is partaking in questionable activities (such as partaking in a gay rights parade, being seen at a gay bar…although one has to ask who saw him there and why were THEY there???), it is the duty of the pastor to confront the person, in charity.
You may (and will no doubt) say “Well, you KNOW what I mean”. But the problem is - we don’t. The line has to be drawn somewhere. But where? So the man in my above example has circumstantial evidence against him, but has not admitted anything. Should he continue to serve? What about the man who simply admits it? He should not?
Again, if there is the possibility of scandal or if there are doubts, the pastor should, in charity, discuss the issue with the person.
How about the man I see every week in our parish acting as a Eucharistic minister who was actively having an affair on his wife? Should he go? Did he stop the sexual activity, go to confession, and apologize to his wife? I don’t know.
This is a matter of public scandal. If the man is a well known cheater or if the affair was public, the pastor should address the situation, in charity and in private. This is the same if the person were a known supporter of Planned Parenthood or if they were a legislator and supported pro-abortion policies.
Redemptionis Sacramentum has already been quoted, but I think it bears to be repeated:
The lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them. It is fitting that such a one should have received a liturgical formation in accordance with his or her age, condition, state of life, and religious culture. No one should be selected whose designation could cause consternation for the faithful.
We need to understand that every single person giving out Communion up there is living in sin - including the priest. Stop policing other people’s souls.
I’m not sure whether to find your attempt at lecturing this forum laughable or insulting. Your lack of knowledge in moral theology and basic sacramental theology is demonstrated by this last statement. When it is mentioned that one is living in sin, it is referring to a state of mortal sin, not having confessed and not having received absolution. I certainly hope that anyone who is acting in any official form during the Mass, especially the priest, is in the state of grace. If they are not, they should not be doing so.
As for “policing other people’s souls”, acting as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is not a right. It is a closely guarded privilege that the Church, rightly, extends only to those who are in a state of grace and who have a great love of the Eucharist. Unfortunately, some pastors do not have the required guts to say no to those who are living a lifestyle (whether gay, pro-abortion, adulterous, etc) that is simply unacceptable to the Church. Situations like that scandalize the faithful and lead to questions by the faithful of what the Church does and does not believe.
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