I was talking about the priest's right to deny communion to someone in a particular instance. I know, for example, that a priest can give you a dispensation from attending your Sunday obligation to attend Mass. Can a Priest deny an individual Communion? Getslow?

 

I'm almost positive he has every right to do so. The sections of the Code of Canon Law in question here are can. 915 and 916, but the interpretations of those are a little tough and I'll need to go and seek out some other writings to be sure. I know that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops promulgated a set of criteria by which these cases were to be judged and I'm almost certain that Pope Benedict has commented on the bishops' judgment. Give me a little time and hopefully I'll be back with something later tonight.

I'm almost positive he has every right to do so. The sections of the Code of Canon Law in question here are can. 915 and 916, but the interpretations of those are a little tough and I'll need to go and seek out some other writings to be sure. I know that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops promulgated a set of criteria by which these cases were to be judged and I'm almost certain that Pope Benedict has commented on the bishops' judgment. Give me a little time and hopefully I'll be back with something later tonight.

 

 

 

From Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political

Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States

 

34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.

35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.

36. When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the

conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the

extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.

.

.

.

45. Catholic teaching about the dignity of life calls us to oppose torture,7 unjust war, and the use of the death penalty; to prevent genocide and attacks against noncombatants; to oppose racism; and to overcome poverty and suffering. Nations are called to protect the right to life by seeking effective ways to combat evil and terror without resorting to armed conflicts except as a last resort, always seeking first to resolve disputes by peaceful means. We revere the lives of children in the

womb, the lives of persons dying in war and from starvation, and indeed the lives of all human beings as children of God.

It's a 42 page PDF, but very worthwhile reading.

^ Thanks for posting those excerpts from from the USCCB, Rockmom. Let me see if I can fill in the rest of the gaps with what the Holy See has to say on the issue...

 

"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." 1 Corinthians 11: 27-29

 

Pope Paul V issued what I believe was an encyclical in conjunction with the Council of Trent called the Rituale Romanum. It's one of the first places that discusses this issue...

"All the faithful are to be admitted to Holy Communion, except those who are prohibited for a just reason. The publicly unworthy, which are the excommunicated, those under interdict, and the manifestly infamous, such as prostitutes, those cohabiting, usurers, sorcerers, fortune-tellers, blasphemers and other sinners of the public kind, are, however, to be prevented, unless their penitence and amendment has been established and they will have repaired the public scandal."

 

In 2004, as part of an effort to aid the USCCB in their efforts to create a voter guide for Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) authored an official document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (an official office of the Holy See whose opinions can be read as interpretations of Church teaching in line with the Holy Father himself and the Church as a whole). This document listed several principles for situations in which an individual presents himself/herself for holy communion who is guilty of continuing, public, grave sin for which the person has not made penance.

 

"Worthiness to Recieve Holy Communion" by Joseph Ratzinger

 

The document makes it very clear that the minister of communion not only may deny the sacrament to such persons, but that the minister must refuse to distribute it. The reason for this is twofold: 1) in accordance with the passage from First Corinthians above, receiving the sacrament when unworthy because of sin is itself a grave sin, and 2) tacit complicity in or encouragement of the sins of others is a sin, therefore endangering the soul of not only the unworthy recipient, but the minister as well.

 

It does raise an interesting question, however. The research here indicates that a priest, known during that portion of the Mass as the "Minister of the Eucharist," can and must refuse the sacrament to those guilty and unrepentant of public, grave sin. What is less clear (thereby leaving open the possibility) is whether a layperson assisting the priest (the term here would be an "extraordinary minister of holy communion") must obey the same rules in denying fellow parishoners the sacrament if they are aware of serious public sin.

It does raise an interesting question, however. The research here indicates that a priest, known during that portion of the Mass as the "Minister of the Eucharist," can and must refuse the sacrament to those guilty and unrepentant of public, grave sin. What is less clear (thereby leaving open the possibility) is whether a layperson assisting the priest (the term here would be an "extraordinary minister of holy communion") must obey the same rules in denying fellow parishoners the sacrament if they are aware of serious public sin.

Thanks for posting that article- quite informative. On the passage above, that's a good point- and just another reason as to why I am not a huge fan of having lay people distribute the Holy Eucharist.

This is a great discussion!

Has he compromised his church's status as being tax exempt by his actions?

This statement was released today by the Administrator of the Diocese of Charleston S.C. about Father Jay Scott Newman's letter to his Parish .http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805820.htm

Will the same priest deny communion to all of his Kentucky congregation, due to the execution yesterday? The Church is also against that.

Will the same priest deny communion to all of his Kentucky congregation, due to the execution yesterday? The Church is also against that.

 

As already noted, the priest may deny Communion to whomever but people are not forced to stop receiving in spite of support for grave activities.

As far as I know, the Catholic Church is also against capital punishment. Yet, George W. Bush signed 150+ death warrants as governor, and I was supposed to vote for him just because he claimed to be pro-life? Like Rockmom said, there's more than just one issue to vote on. I don't need the priest to threaten me about it.