I am not a Roman Catholic, but I am a Christian. I have Catholic friends and family. From time to time I go to mass with them. This past Palm Sunday, I was at mass with my friend and when it was time for communion, she asked me if I was going to take communion. I whispered that I would love to, but I didn't think the Catholic Church would permit it. She said that the policy had been changed and that if I was a member in good standing of my own church, and I had the desire to take communion, it would be fine. I took it and had such a holy feeling come over me. When I told my Catholic relatives about this, they were horrified that I had taken Communion and I wasn't Catholic. They said my friend was misinformed. I was made to feel like I had done something very wrong. Today when I went to my nephew's child's First Holy Communion, the first thing my relative said when she saw me was, "Don't take communion." Of course, I didn't because I didn't want to cause a problem. Please let me know the Catholic Church's stand on this issue. Thank you for answering this e-mail. Sincerely, Cindy

-- Cindy C (mcjs@rocketmail.com), May 08, 1999

Answers

Dear Cindy

You are not allowed to take communion in the Catholic Church if you are not Catholic. Your friend was misinformed.

-- E.H.Weiss (weisse@bmts.com), May 11, 1999.

This is one of the sad issues I feel a Roman Catholic that causes much needless pain. There are married couples of one Catholic and the other of Christian faith married in the Church but one is not allowed to receive communion.

KNowing both tese individuals a good people has caused me painful concern. Sadly the Catholic Church is still stuck in it's institutional mode of thinking and very medieval. If one has been blessed in the Holy Spirit with cleansing waters I accept them as my brother or sister in Christ.

So many man made ruling have evolved to the point of you not " sharing " and this is very wrong from this writer's view. WE are all paer of the family and surely this must hurt Christ and Our Holy Mother to think family members are seperated due to rules Chrsit did not set.

I go to other churches and when communion is presented I am humbles to receive Christ with them as my friends and fellow Chrsitians.

A good understanding priest will help ease you mind.

Peace And Well Being.

A Little Brother In Christ,

Jean Bouchard

-- jean bouchard (jeanb@cwk.imag.net), May 11, 1999.

Cindy, as someone who grew up Catholic and left to become a Pentecostal, I have been faced with similar situations. Knowing that one must be Catholic in order to receive communion in the Catholic church, I find myself pulled. I don't want to hurt my parents and siblings (who remain Catholic) by not receiving Communion at weddings, funerals and baptisms, yet I want to respect the church's rules. I must admit, that while I have abstained most of the time, I deliberately participated at my grandmother's funeral in order to show respect, unity and love for my mother in her grief. She seemed to appreciate the jesture.

Personally, I am in Christ and am therefore qualified to partake in the Lord's supper with any of my brothers and sisters regardless of their denomination. So I have no condemnation before the Lord having taken Communion that time. If a Catholic saw me and took offense, oh well. I cannot help someone whose faith is so limited.

-- David (David@matt6:33.com), May 12, 1999.

Cindy,

You certainly didn't sin in taking Catholic communion as a non- Catholic since you didn't know better. But the reason it's not permitted has nothing to do with some nasty "institutional" Church trying to exclude people. It has to do with being honest about what we believe.

As Catholics we believe that the elements at the Lord's Supper actually become the Body and Blood of Christ. Also, we believe many distinctive doctrines that other Christians do not. We hold that the act of communion, receiving the Lord's Supper, is done only if we are truly in communion of belief with one another. Sadly, that is not the case because of our divisions within Christendom.

So it is not appropriate to receive communion in a Catholic Church if you do not believe the Catholic faith (in which case you would be a Catholic, of course). It's a matter of making sure our actions are properly lined up with our beliefs.

Hope this helps.

God bless.

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), May 12, 1999.

I'm a Protestant who spends a lot of time with Catholics in their churches. I have been told by a Catholic priest that a) he is insulted if I don't communion from him, and b) that a priest cannot refuse you.

I am also aware that his views differ from the main stream Catholic view. When I am in his church, I take Communion, because I happen to belive that it is the actual Blood and Broken Body of Christ.

But when I am in a church where the priest knows I am not Catholic, I do not receive, because I don't want to put him in the uncomfortable position of having to give Communion against his beliefs, and will. I only receive if the priest knows I am not Catholic, and is OK with that.

Bi

-- Bill Smith (f8andbethere@rcn.com), May 13, 1999.

Bill,

I appreciate your sensitivity to the true teaching on the Church on this matter.

The first priest you mentioned is only half right. A priest should not normally refuse Communion even to somebody he suspects is not a Catholic, since for all he knows they might have become Catholic without his knowledge.

However, he does not have the authority to "change the rules" on his own and encourage those he knows are not Catholic to receive Communion without becoming Catholic. No priest or even a bishop, acting on his own, has the authority to change the teaching or practice of the Catholic Church.

Good for you for believing in the Real Presence of our Lord's Body and Blood in the Eucharist. That is a very important belief for Christians to have.

But the Church's belief is the belief of the early Church, namely that we must share the Christian faith in its entirety in order to share communion with each other. Otherwise, we are not being honest in our beliefs or actions. The Catholic Church simply asks that you believe as she teaches on all things before you share Communion at a Catholic altar. That seems very reasonable to me.

I've been trying to think of an analogy. It's a little like wearing a wedding ring even if you don't have any intention to be faithful to your spouse. The ring represents the permanency of the relationship; wearing the external sign but not intending a permanent relationship is a lie. So with taking Communion at a Catholic without sharing the Catholic faith. The action implies a unity of faith that, tragically, does not yet exist and for which we all must pray.

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999.

It is a wonderful feeling to be fully united with Christ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! You felt this when you received Communion. You did not know what the "rules" were, so you did nothing wrong. Catholic theology states that one need only be validly Baptized to receive the bensfits of Communion. So rejoyce at the grace you received. He is calling you to fullness of union with Him and His Church, listen, come and follow him. Look into the Catholic Faith and the richness of the graces in the Sacraments.

Br. Rich S.F.O.

-- Br. Rich S.F.O. (repsfo@prodigy.net), May 17, 1999.

i am deeply troubled and saddened by some of the answers given cindy to her query regarding communion. some of the answers given reflect deep seeded problems many of us have with some of the current thinking. it would be appreciated if authoritative citations can be given permitting non catholics and/or those who are not in a state of grace can justifiably receive communion. juan.

-- juan (declined@aol.com), May 17, 1999.

What troubles you? I believe that she felt a true union with Christ. and that through this He is calling her into His Church. I think that most of the others clearly stated to her that the Church does request that she not approach the Sacrament until she is fully united with the Church. I think that she should look into the Catholic Faith and maybe think about entering RCIA so that she may continue to feel what she felt when she received Christ in Communion. She truly did nothing wrong, her friend was misinformed that's all. We truly cannot judge the state of a persons soul. Therefore anyone who approaches Communion in public is granted Communion, and if it seems that the person may not be Catholic by the way they receive. They are spoken to in private later, after Mass. They are then invited to enter RCIA, but are always welcome to participate in the Mass, but not receive the Sacraments.

Br. Rich S.F.O.

-- Br. Rich S.F.O. (repsfo@prodigy.net), May 18, 1999.

dear brother rich, the answers you give indicate the thinking of a very charitable person. often i envy the ability of persons such as yourself with a command of language and a sense of soul. then there are others....the re-reading of my statement will show the dirction of my concern was elsewhere. the american heritage dictionary defines the word sacrilege as "the misuse, theft, desecration, or profanation of anything consecrated to a diety or regarded as sacred." the Church, over the centuries has laid down church law regarding the sacraments. charity and forgiveness not withstanding, those rules were knowingly broken. if religious law were broken in theocracies, such as in some moslem republics, retribution would be swift. i think it right to demand that the tenets of the Catholic Church be respected. p.s. i did receive some of my education by the christian brothers, would you advise me as to s.f.o.? pax domini.

-- juan (declined@aol.com), May 19, 1999.

i find the answers to cindy's question most interesting, it shows how many sides there are to everything.

i want to post some worries about this: one of my teachers once said that the sacraments are *propter hoomines*, i wonder if it applies in the present case?

*the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath* mk 2,27

ENRIQUE

-- ENRIQUE ORTIZ (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 19, 1999.