8-year-old's first Holy Communion invalidated by Church

Newsday ^ | August 12, 2004 | John Curran

[sidewalk]

BRIELLE, N.J. -- An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot consume wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained none, violating Catholic doctrine. Now, Haley Waldman's mother is pushing the Diocese of Trenton and the Vatican to make an exception, saying the girl's condition _ celiac sprue disease _ should not exclude her from participating in the sacrament, in which Roman Catholics eat consecrated wheat-based wafers to commemorate the last supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion.

[Onelifetogive]

Stupid church dogma rules that have nothing to do with our Savior.

Stupid you say? What did Christ Himself use?

An upper room....invalidating all communion taken on ground level.....

[Pyro7480]

LOL! That's pretty good. Actually, your argument is sort of invalidated by the fact that Catholic sanctuaries are raised-up areas of the inside of the church. ;-)

[Tantumergo]

"Your Saviour did not command you to use 'wheat' for bread and never have a substitute, especially when the life of a child who is allergic to wheat is at hand."

You are fighting a straw man of your own making - no-one on this thread has suggested that any coeliac should be forced to receive a host made of wheat and put their lives at risk.

She has two alternatives -

a) either not to receive Communion

or

b) receive from the Chalice only.

If she were to receive a host made of rice she would not be receiving the Eucharist anyway - therefore she would be opting for a) by default.

The only sensible option if she truly desires to receive Holy Communion is b).

If she just wants to eat a rice-cake so that she appears to be doing the same thing as her friends then she is not properly disposed to receive Communion anyway.

[Renatus]

"A sip of wine"---It is not wine but the blood of the Lord.

[Piers-the-Ploughman]

Not all cases of celiac disease are severe and some simply present with anemia, not diarrhea.

Actually, I am surprised to read that she can't even "have the tiniest particle." Celiac disease results in malabsorption, i.e. diarrhea and could affect growth and development obviously. I am surprised that a tiny particle could not be at least tolerated, but maybe it's just about the worst case ever.

[Flying Circus]

Why don't I skip Ratzinger and go straight to Pope John Paul's "Redemptionis Sacramentum":
[48.] The bread used in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no danger of decomposition.[123] It follows therefore that bread made from another substance, even if it is grain, or if it is mixed with another substance different from wheat to such an extent that it would not commonly be considered wheat bread, does not constitute valid matter for confecting the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament.[124] It is a grave abuse to introduce other substances, such as fruit or sugar or honey, into the bread for confecting the Eucharist. Hosts should obviously be made by those who are not only distinguished by their integrity, but also skilled in making them and furnished with suitable tools.[125]

[sinkspur]

So? I'm not arguing with any of that.

[AgThorn]

If she just wants to eat a rice-cake so that she appears to be doing the same thing as her friends then she is not properly disposed to receive Communion anyway.

so this girl should just accept something 'less' since her 'situation' disagrees with the 'wheat only' rules of the church? Sad testimony of a body that is to represent the Lord's instructions to us.

[Flying Circus]

Yes you did. I said the bread must be wheat and in post 214 you said:
"Not true. Go back up and read Ratzinger's 1994 letter."
You seem to have as much problem keeping up with the truth as John Kerry.

[ninenot]

Nice research. New Jersey should have this all taken care of quickly, unless the Mommy is another "Call To Action" re-run.

[Bush2000]

Folks, the people that report this issue are doing it solely to divide us -- and it's working. Look at this thread.

[sinkspur]

You said:

The church has always and universally held for the sacrifice to be valid the bread must be wheat and the wine must be fermented grape juice and both must be present

I suggest you read Ratzinger's provisions for alcoholic priests above. Fermented grape juice is not always a requirement.

[sinkspur]

You said:

The church has always and universally held for the sacrifice to be valid the bread must be wheat and the wine must be fermented grape juice and both must be present

I suggest you read Ratzinger's provisions for alcoholic priests above. Fermented grape juice is not always a requirement.

[Conservative til I die]

You are an imbecile. No one is forcing the girl to eat Communion, which would kill her. She is simply not allowed to consider other forms of the bread and body to be considered real Communion. She is free to drink the wine, which is sufficient. YOU DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO COMMUNION, OR TO CALL YOUR FAUX-COMMUNION THE REAL DEAL.

[Bush2000]

The child suffers from a rare and unusual disorder which prevents her from participating in customary Church traditions. There is no doubt that the Church will find a way to accommodate the child once the slow wheels of Church bureaucracy become better informed as to the nature of her disability. Until that happens, there will also be plenty of opportunity for anti-Catholic bigots to denounce and belittle the Church.

Precisely! Anti-Catholic bigots are using this issue to say, "See! See! They don't want you! Fight them!" The Church will undoubtedly find some means of accomodation for the child -- but it may take longer than anti-Catholics would like. Well, that's too bad. I expect our Church leadership to take these issues seriously and give them careful thought, without making kneejerk decisions.

[Lilllabettt]

In this way, God prepared their hearts for the Perfect Sacrifice

Exactly! The Perfect Sacrifice, the Eucharist, instituted by Christ in his Passover ritual, which he commanded all of us to repeat until he comes again, with the Form (the words) and the Matter (unleavened wheat) he used.

[sinkspur]

See #219 above.

Some Benedictine nuns have confected a host with 0.01% gluten in it, which is a mere trace.

[Lilllabettt]

We agree! Amazing! I will have to go to the Home Depot, to see if I can spot Satan shopping for a defroster; because Hell has most certainly frozen over!:)

I could read Revelations "literally" and come up with the idea that only a specific number of people, several thousand people, will be allowed into heaven. Or I could see that number as a symbol. Who decides? Two people can have very different interpretations of Revelations, and come to very different conclusions about the nature of salvation. This is the reason why I am absolutely convinced that God did not inspire Holy Scripture and then set us all loose on it. God could not expect us to understand what He is saying in Holy Scripture unless He also gave us an authority to interpret it.

[Tantumergo]

"so this girl should just accept something 'less'"

If I were to answer at your level of natural reasoning I would say simply "Yes!!!"

That is the nature of any disability or illness - we have to accept less than those who do not suffer that disability or illness - life sucks, no-one ever said life had to be "fair" - this is the state of the real world, not the fantasy world that we would all love to live in.

You may as well rail against God for having created this child who suffers with this awful illness.

However, at the supernatural level, your statement completely misses the point. She is not being asked to "accept something 'less'" in any conceivable way, shape or form.

If she were able to receive the host only - as per 99% of First Holy Communicants - she would in reality be receiving the total Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

"Instead" it is suggested that she receive from the Chalice only - where she would in reality be receiving the total Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

Please tell me how the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ may ever be considered to be anything 'less' than the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ?

[Lilllabettt]

When Martin Luther had his little tiff, he decided to insert the word "alone" into St. Paul. Now that, in my opinion, is a "man made" Bible.