I don’t think a priest can even give communion to a protestant, even if the protestant’s religion has it’s own form of communion. Something about the priest’s soul itself being in danger should he do so. As a Christian, I can respect that belief, and so wouldn’t dream of asking a priest for communion. Yet a heretic feels it’s an appropriate request and feins insult when denied? It’s not the heretic being persecuted in this story - it’s heterosexual family values and Christianity that’s being attacked.
Exactly! I don’t understand why the priest was reprimanded.
When my own father passed on, I was a non-practicing Catholic married to a Protestant, and I’d married in a Protestant church. At my father’s funeral, the priest gave instructions on who could and who could not receive communion, so I did not get in line for communion. Of course, the priest knew nothing about me or my situation, so I would’ve received communion if I’d gotten in line. But I wanted to respect the rules of the church my father attended, so I stayed in the pew.
If the woman in this story wanted to receive communion so badly, without any regard for the rules, she could’ve done so. The priest would not have known about her situation if she hadn’t told him. But, no, instead, she decided to politicize her mother’s funeral and start trouble.
Your respectfulness is appreciated and you and I would agree should perhaps be common sense (I wouldn’t receive in your denomination without being in full agreement with your pastor and my Church teaching) - he fears for his own infernal punishment because if you don’t know and believe, as Catholics do, that that waifer is truly Jesus Christ in an unbloody form (though it looks at tastes as bread, yes), from the same sacrifice of 2000 years ago (a mystery)re-presented, then you would be deeply offending Jesus and not YOU, but the PRIEST would be at fault for doing that, if he knew and gave it to you anyway. There are some special circumstances....
Imagine this poor woman - she knew she was spitting on Christ in receiving Him, and did so anyway.
She’s in a bad way!!! I have prayed for her to repent and seek Confession. He was looking out for her soul - and she side-stepped him and sank it. Now the extraordinary minister (a formalized assistant to give the Eucharist, not transubstantiate it nor say Mass), may be feeling guilty, though it was not that person’s fault as the woman was sneaking.
How can this woman see straight under so much sin? Pray for her.
The priest may be in hot water publicly, but Jesus adores his love for Him. It’s the poor woman that needs prayers from Jesus to shower her with the graces she needs to see His Face and Sacred Heart.
I don’t think a priest can even give communion to a protestant, even if the protestant’s religion has it’s own form of communion. Something about the priest’s soul itself being in danger should he do so. As a Christian, I can respect that belief, and so wouldn’t dream of asking a priest for communion. Yet a heretic feels it’s an appropriate request and feins insult when denied? It’s not the heretic being persecuted in this story - it’s heterosexual family values and Christianity that’s being attacked.
To expand on the special circumstances - a military chaplain can and frequently does give communion to non-catholics (or catholics for that matter - two of the chaplains I served with were not catholic, yet had no difficulty with giving communion to me). On base it is easy enough to find a chaplain of your own faith, or close enough. In the field it is frequently impossible!
Hospital and (I believe) airport and shipboard chaplains also have the authority to do so.
I do not know if the good and worthy men in those positions have to be granted dispensation to do so or not, there is a retired Army chaplain here on the boards who may be able to shed more light on that side of things (I will try ping him once I remember who he is!)
I did ask, years ago, as I thought the same as you. The good Father who welcomed me into the Church just smiled and said “Which is more important? Your soul or mine?”
FRerards!