Catholics living in mortal sin through an extramarital relationship cannot receive Holy Communion, even though there may be special circumstances excusing them, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech has insisted. "If one is behaving in a way which in itself is a form of moral disorder, even if the person in question, subjectively, has reasons that excuse him or her or reduce guilt, this person still cannot receive Holy Communion because this would create scandal for others," he said.
Mgr Grech's words, in a homily he gave on Sunday, are the latest statement on a controversy that erupted after Fr George Dalli last month said he would administer Holy Communion to a woman whom he knew was involved in an extramarital relationship.
In his homily, Mgr Grech did not make specific references but said: "Lately, there are teachings being spread in our midst which go against the Catholic Church's doctrine about the Eucharist. We are living in times where, though we appear to be religious, we're losing the sacred sense of things and in this way we end up abusing of the Eucharist."
He said the Church had consistently taught that whoever committed mortal sin, which also encompassed cohabiting, had to confess before receiving the Eucharist. "Because to receive communion we have to be in God's grace and mortal sin denies us this state of grace."
The bishops had already issued an official statement in the wake of Fr Dalli's comments, highlighting that couples who live together without being married "should not present themselves" for the Eucharist.
Fr Dalli did not actually encourage such couples to present themselves for communion but said: "I would be abusing my power were I not to administer Holy Communion."
In fact, canon lawyer Fr Brendan Gatt told The Sunday Times that priests could only refuse to administer Holy Communion in "extreme" circumstances, which did not include cases involving cohabiting couples or divorcees.
Mgr Grech's homily follows on this principle of placing the onus on the individual, citing the warning that St Paul gave in his letter to the Corinthians, that people should examine themselves well before presenting themselves to "eat the bread..."
However, the Gozo bishop also raised a question mark over a grey area that some priests have been highlighting in the debate.
During the weekly TV programme Xarabank in which he made his comments, Fr Dalli made another point which prompted debate, when he distinguished between the different reasons leading people to cohabit.
He insisted he could not condemn a married woman who had been abandoned with three children and who had found meaning and love in a new relationship.
Other priests supported this differentiation publicly, arguing that often such matters were best addressed by believers and their spiritual directors or confessors since all cases were unique.
Fr Gatt even pointed out that there was a 1981 synod document, Familiaris Consortium, which dealt with these scenarios.
The document speaks of divorcees but the situation is analogous to the ones typically seen in Malta: where a separated person has started a new family founded on genuine love.
It contemplates the possibility of couples in this situation receiving Holy Communion with the blessing of the Church.
But the situations contemplated are very particular. One of the conditions, for instance, is that the couple in question restrains its relationship to a platonic one as far as possible.
It also asks that the couple receive Holy Communion in a place where the congregation is not aware of their situation, so as not to create "scandal".
Mgr Grech dwelled on this point in his homily and asked whether the teachings on the Eucharist had been degraded over time.
"We also have to reflect on whether we have lost the sense of sin, because if for us anything goes, then it would explain certain abuses on the Eucharist."
According to theologian Fr Paul Galea, the bishops were prompted to make the statement to uphold the Church's moral teaching and eliminate scandal and the possibility of people starting to think that the Church was condoning cohabitation.
SIC: TomCom