Much of the discussion about Communion for those in irregular marriage situations seems entangled in arguments which oppose justice and mercy. Justice seems to be seen as the necessity to abide by given rules and mercy as the non-application of the rules in certain circumstances. There seems also a need to specify these circumstances. Since circumstances vary as much as persons, the arguments only entangle matters further. To cut that Gordian knot, we should perhaps go straight to what we do accept – the supremacy of conscience, even a mistaken one.
St Paul might be speaking directly to our problem in 1 Corinthians 11:27: “and so anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be behaving unworthily towards the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup.” He places the responsibility firmly on the recipient of the sacrament. As anyone in a parish knows, many have already recollected and made this decision for themselves.
Some might see an acceptance of this as an abdication of responsibility by the Church and one which would weaken it, thereby introducing an element of power play. But the Lord tells us strongly, “This is not to happen among you” (Matthew 20:26). In our present situation, what better way to accept the Lord’s command than for the Church to accept its own limitations with an unforced relinquishing of control? Not just a political gesture but an effective sign.
Fr R Hendrie
Banknock, Stirlingshire
I really cannot understand the reasoning behind the ban on the divorced and remarried receiving the Eucharist. The injunction to Peter was to “feed my sheep”. Can the Lord really want any caring pastor to turn round and say “Not those Lord, they are too unworthy!” – particularly as we know that when on earth, the Lord made a habit of dining with sinners?
Is it not too, the grace of faith from God that brings needy and hungry souls to church? Does he do that to then refuse them access to his son, the bread of Life, which we are told unless we eat we shall not have life in us?
Elizabeth Price, Maidstone, Kent
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