| Abp. Chaput on Communion |
Tue, 31 March 2009 05:20  |
 Andrew
Messages: 618
Registered: April 2004
Location: London |
Senior Member |
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Pursuant to the discussion on open communion, here is an interview with Abp. Chaput in the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/03/c atholics_commu.html
Some quotes that I think are germane to the discussion:
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The teaching of our church about Holy Communion isn’t that you have to be perfect or that you even have to be good. It’s that you have to be sorry for your sins and you have to believe what the church believes – not just about the Eucharist, whether it’s the body and blood of Christ, but about what we believe as Catholics... What I think the basic problem is most of the time... is that people think that they can make up their own meaning for the Eucharist... But that’s not what the church means, and that’s why we don’t invite people to communion who don’t share our faith. Catholics who don’t believe what the Catholic Church believes shouldn’t receive.
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I’ve given communion to people who come up who aren’t Catholics. We kind of joke that every time there’s a funeral, you have a lot of first communions because you don’t embarrass people when they come to communion and chase them away because that’s a terrible pastoral decision. But to tell them beforehand that it’s not appropriate unless you’re a Catholic is appropriate. Now people don’t have to agree with us. If I don’t agree, let’s say, with an Evangelical church, I’ll still respect what they ask of me when I’m there. And I think that those of you who aren’t Catholics or who are non-believing Catholics or whatever, if you come to a Catholic church, it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to receive communion out of respect for what the church believes. So this isn’t about me being better than you or you being better than me; it’s simply what our church believes and practices.
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I really want to single out what he says in the second quote about respect for other Christians and their practices. He makes excellent pastoral sense not to deny communion to people at a funeral (or presumably a wedding), but there is a core issue here of respect. We as Catholics aren't in communion with the Orthodox; the few times I have attended Orthodox divine liturgies, I didn't barge my way into the line for communion. Similarly, I wouldn't insist on wearing shoes into a mosque.
If Protestants or non-Catholics somehow feel excluded at Mass, that's unfortunate, and I think the modern practice of going forth to receive a blessing of some sort is a welcome alternative. But honestly, many Catholics don't go to Communion at every Mass either, for a number of reasons. To imagine that we can celebrate the Eucharist together and share communion with those with whom we are not in communion illustrates a misunderstanding of the Sacrament and strikes me as exactly the sort of false ecumenism that both JP2 and B16 have warned against.
-- Andrew
"Active participation does not preclude the active passivity of silence... Worshippers are not passive, for instance, when... following the prayers of the celebrant, and the chants and music of the liturgy."
-- Pope John Paul II
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| Re: Abp. Chaput on Communion |
Tue, 31 March 2009 06:05  |
Augsburg Boy
Messages: 2061
Registered: May 2006
Location: Boston |
Senior Member |
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| Quote: |
title=Andrew wrote on Tue, 31 March 2009 05:20]
I really want to single out what he says in the second quote about respect for other Christians and their practices. He makes excellent pastoral sense not to deny communion to people at a funeral (or presumably a wedding), but there is a core issue here of respect. We as Catholics aren't in communion with the Orthodox; the few times I have attended Orthodox divine liturgies, I didn't barge my way into the line for communion. Similarly, I wouldn't insist on wearing shoes into a mosque.
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I would agree, respecting another tradition is appropriate. The week after 9/11 tragedy, we went into a dialogue with the local Mosque, and as required by their belief, the women wore headgear, veils etc...and we respected that tradition.
The key, IMO, is what I have bolded. Pastoral sense, NOT absolute laws and regulations.
Randy
"The Lord so loved the world that He did not send a committee."
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| Re: Abp. Chaput on Communion |
Tue, 31 March 2009 06:12 |
M Anon
Messages: 1251
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Aside from the rehash of that obnoxiously disingenuous justification from Sally Quinn for not respecting someone elses' religion, what struck me most in the interview was this:
"Some of the worst emails I get are from Catholic conservatives who think I should excommunicate and refuse communion to ['Public Sinners' X Y & Z] and why aren’t you doing this? I mean, just awful kind of stuff that they write. Sometimes, I must admit, that when I write back, I’m not as friendly as I should be. But I try not to be mean....
The left mail I get will use terrible words but be less vitriolic. They use the F-word and things like that, call me names like that. But the right is meaner, but they’re not as foul."
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