I was baptizes into the Catholic Church about Eighty Years ago and I have 12 years of Catholic Education,Both from the wonderful Nuns and the wonderful Irish christian Brothers.
I cannot see why a good Catholic in the state of grace and making a sincere “Act of Contrition” can be prohibited from receiving the Sacraments. Over the last 14 years or so we have been subjected to the knowledge of thousands of Active priests Following Homosexual Lives while serving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. At the same time these Homosexual Priests abusing Children were protected by Prelates of the Catholic Church.,up to and including Many Cardinals.
Your Faith is between You , Your Heart, Your Soul and your
Belief in God, who is all Knowing and All Forgiving.
I’d say , Put your trust In God.
-— I cannot see why a good Catholic in the state of grace and making a sincere “Act of Contrition” can be prohibited from receiving the Sacraments -—
If they’re living as brother and sister, yes. If not, no. Jesus was clear about remarriage. And the Church has the Authority, given it by Christ (”If he will not listen to the church...” “He who hears you hears me”) to determine the legitimacy of a marriage. There is no further court of last resort.
I know how difficult this is, knowing many such cases. Looking at the issue negatively, there is no better alternative.
“I cannot see why a good Catholic in the state of grace and making a sincere ‘Act of Contrition’ can be prohibited from receiving the Sacraments.”
Of course a good Catholic in a state of grace can receive the sacraments.
The question is, who is in a state of grace? Who is really contrite?
When I look at the definition for “contrition,” I see that a synonym is “repentance.” Repentance includes the intention to try to avoid the sin in the future.
Thus, in the case of the remarried couple, one must ask, what is the sin? The sin is adultery - having sexual relations with someone who is not legitimately your spouse. Why is this person not legitimately your spouse? Because you already have a spouse, the person you divorced. Until that person dies (or you obtain a declaration of nullity), THAT is your spouse. If you have sex with anyone else, you are committing adultery.
Therefore, if, while you're emitting the behavior of contrition, you are planning to continue to have sex with your new partner, then it's very difficult to argue that you're sincere in your contrition, since it doesn't seem that you're actually repenting of - turning away from - your on-going sin.
“Put your trust In God.”
I'd say that that is precisely what the author of the original article is doing.
sitetest
Kind of ironic, isn't it, that they can still SERVE communion, but someone who was divorced and remarried can't receive it. Even if that divorce and remarriage happened before they became Catholic.
Unless they live in a sexless marriage which is condemned in Scripture. (1 Corinthians 7:5)