An assault during Communion at a San Francisco Catholic church on Sunday soon escalated into bomb-throwing and a police pursuit. It all began with a communicant walking out without consuming the Host. Things escalated quickly. It led to confrontation, a punch in the face, a police pursuit and reports of the offender throwing a pipe Read more
The same-sex blessings near Cologne Cathedral (pictured) were a public salute to scores of private ceremonies among European Catholics in recent years. The crowd waved rainbow flags and according to media reports, sang “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles. The mid-September rites included Catholic priests reciting blessings for same-sex and heterosexual couples and, Read more
Not long ago, every U.S. cleric — bishop, priest and deacon — received a reprint of Cardinal Raymond Burke’s 2007 essay from Periodica de Re Canonica, the annual 700-page canon law journal of the Gregorian University in Rome. Burke documents the church’s history of legislating against giving Communion to persons “obstinately persevering in manifest grave Read more
An Irish bishop has said Communion at Mass should be available for all, even if others think they are unworthy. In his homily in Knock on Sunday, Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran, said he would seriously question the “cancelling” of an invitation to Communion. “When the Eucharist is thought of as a prize, there seems Read more
A meeting of leaders of the Anglican Communion say they will refuse Holy Communion from bishops with gay partners and from those who support same-sex marriage. Friday’s announcement at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England came from the Global South orthodox bishops as they pressed for re-affirmation of traditional teaching on marriage. The Global South Read more
Slowly, imperceptibly, we are leaving the Covid days behind us and a new reality is being born. Weeks and months drifted by without the Eucharist and now we are waking up to a new dawn. Much has changed. The familiar pattern of Eucharistic ministers waiting to offer each of us the cup at time of Read more
A diverse group including Ireland’s Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, a clerical abuse survivor and the co-founders of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) are urging Catholic bishops not to resume confirmation and first communion ceremonies. “When you’re dealing with a deadly virus, ultimately what you’re doing is putting people’s lives at risk,” Donnelly says. Clerical Read more
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently approved drafting a document on receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. It will include a section regarding standards for politicians and public figures who support laws allowing abortion, euthanasia and other “moral evils.” The proposed document has already caused controversy. The Vatican has warned against exclusively Read more
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) plans to devote part of its national meeting next month to the sensitive issue of which Catholics are worthy of receiving Communion, and President Joe Biden will be a key subject. Dozens of bishops had written to the USCCB president, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, requesting to postpone Read more
The Bishop of San Rafael, Argentina, warned last week that he will impose canonical sanctions on priests who distribute Communion on the tongue during the coronavirus pandemic, in defiance of a diocesan directive permitting the distribution of Communion only in the hand. Bishop Eduardo Taussig announced June 13 that the Eucharist in his diocese was Read more