Refresher: Holy Communion & Public Sinners

In the wake of the recent revelation concerning Patrick Kennedy's being asked to refrain from Holy Communion, numerous news reports contain misinformation. The facts are:

* Abortion - the killing of the unborn - is a grave sin, "a most serious and dangerous crime" according to Pope John Paul II. It is a sin which results in excommunication: "Can. 1398 A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication." Pope John Paul II also stated that "The excommunication affects all those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and thus includes those accomplices without whose help the crime would not have been committed."

* In the case of grave sin, Canon Law requires that obstinate public sinners be denied Holy Communion: "Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion." (1983 Code of Canon Law)

* The head of the Catholic Church's "supreme court", Archbishop Raymond Burke, earlier this year confirmed to an anti-abortion activist that Canon 915 forbids administering Holy Communion to those publicly and obstinately in grave sin ("The Canon is completely clear, it is not subject in my judgment to any other interpretations") and said that laity should pressure their bishops and priests over the scandal of notorious sinners receiving Holy Communion ("I would encourage the faithful when they are scandalized by the giving of Holy Communion to persons [who] are publicly and obstinately in sin, that they go to their pastors, whether it’s their parish priest or to their bishop, to insist that this scandal stop").

* Scripture says those who receive Holy Communion unworthily "will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27)

Those who claim to love Christ should object to the sacrilege of notorious public sinners daring to receive the Precious Body & Blood of Christ, not to a bishop's attempt to enforce Canon Law against such obstinate public sinners.

[Related Resource: The Holy Eucharist | Holy Eucharist / Mass Reflections]

[11/23]

Refusing Holy Communion: An Act of Charity

Unfortunately, many wrongly think the Church is somehow "mean" or wrong in the (all too rare) instances when her leaders refuse a public sinner Holy Communion. However, as a recent interview with a leading Vatican official points out, such actions are actually acts of charity.

When a pubic sinner is refused the Holy Eucharist, we (1) shield the most sacred Object on earth - the very Flesh & Blood of Christ Himself, and (2) we protect the sinner from making a blasphemous Communion. The refusal may also encourage sinners to realize the seriousness of their situation and lead them to repentance. Further, such refusals provide good illustration to the faithful concerning the Real Presence and the consequences of sin. Such actions are also likely to prevent others from approaching Holy Communion unworthily.

[Refresher: "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27-30)]

[7/24]

Archbishop Burke's Recent Comments

Catholics who are refreshed by hearing orthodox Catholic prelates speaking plainly will surely appreciate the recent comments of Archbishop Raymond Burke, formerly of St. Louis and now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura ("leader of the Church's supreme court"). These comments included statements that Canon 915 clearly forbids administering Holy Communion to those publicly and obstinately in grave sin ("The Canon is completely clear, it is not subject in my judgment to any other interpretations"), that laity should pressure their bishops and priests over the scandal of notorious sinners receiving Holy Communion ("I would encourage the faithful when they are scandalized by the giving of Holy Communion to persons [who] are publicly and obstinately in sin, that they go to their pastors, whether it’s their parish priest or to their bishop, to insist that this scandal stop"), that when a president promotes and implements anti-life legislation he could be "an agent of death", and that "President Obama uses this word 'hope' in a way that for us is very disturbing. We need to have hope, the hope that is founded in Jesus Christ, alive for us in the Church; Jesus Christ who gave His life for everyone without exception, and with a particular love for the suffering and for those who are the most defenseless." His comments were given in a recent interview with an anti-abortion activist & convert, Randall Terry, and shown to the National Press Club in Washington on March 25.

Update: Burke apologizes that comments were used to attack bishops, but not for substance of his comments (story here)

[3/26, updated 3/27]