Communion for Remarried?

THE COMMUNION OF DESIRE

by Carlo Buzzi


Among those who have reacted to my letter have been some who have told me that it was a waste of time, because it is certain by now that the motion to give communion to the remarried will pass with flying colors.

At the synod, in fact - it has been explained to me - the majority of bishops of the two Americas, northern Europe, and Australia will vote in favor. And therefore they will certainly exceed the votes of the bishops of Africa and Asia, many of whom are opposed.

Poor bishops of Africa and Asia! We are reducing the Church to an organization like the UN or some parliament where the majority wins. Precisely those institutions that legally and democratically approve everything: even crimes like abortion, marriage between homosexuals including the adoption of children, experimentation on embryos (which are human beings), euthanasia, and so forth.

It is the first time that democracy is penetrating the Catholic Church with its methods. Will the Holy Spirit have the right to at least one vote, like every bishop, since he comes as a representative of the Most Holy Trinity?

The Catholic Church has stayed on its feet until now because it is based on the holiness of its members and martyrs, not on democracy.

Thousands of Catholics die every year, persecuted for their faith, and we who are well off stubbornly fret about communion for the remarried. How many martyrs have there been in England to keep faith with the integrity of the sacrament of marriage!

What a disaster if the Catholic Church sets off on the path of the Anglican Church, where they decide on the things of God, of faith and human moral behavior, by a democratic system. Poor God, at the mercy of the votes of a few churchmen! Are they sure that God wants women priests and bishops? Are they sure that God approves of marriages between homosexuals?

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But let's get to the point. My intention here is to make a positive contribution to the discussion on communion for the remarried.

I will do so point by point.

1. This diatribe, in my view, has taken on an exaggerated importance and is not worthy of all this tension.

2. Already in very serious and painful cases the priest judges whether or not to give communion. For example, in second marriages imposed by force or with a spouse who has the sincere desire to separate but is prevented from doing so by the violence of the other or by a serious illness on account of which the other cmay not be abandoned.

3. My contribution to this diatribe is an intuition that I believe can be of help in reaching a compromise.

4. THE COMMUNION OF DESIRE

5. Why could not the communion of desire be considered a true sacramental communion, like the baptism of desire and the confession of desire at the point of death?

6. It is the communion that seems perfectly suited for those who are not in the state of grace and would like to correct this but for various reasons are unable to do so.

7. This is not the first time that there has been the need to find a way out of a diatribe. We know that the definition of the Immaculate Conception was in deadlock for several centuries. Even the Blessed Mother could not be redeemed except through the cross of Jesus. But Jesus died later, so how could she be without original sin from her birth? It was Duns Scotus who came up with the solution: the Blessed Mother made use of the cross of Jesus in advance, like taking out a loan. Problem solved!

8. It is a mistake to give communion to the remarried as a rule.

9. It is not the Church that must consider whether or not to give communion, but remarried persons who must consider whether or not they are worthy to receive communion.

10. There are two remarried persons who humbly think that it is not right for them to receive communion because they are in an irregular situation. And then there are two other remarried persons who presume to receive communion without seriously considering that they are in an irregular situation with the Church. Tell me, now: which couple has more faith and more respect for the sacrament and for the Church?

11. In the liturgy we say: "O LORD, I AM NOT WORTHY THAT YOU SHOULD ENTER INTO MY HOUSE (ut intres sub tectum meum), BUT ONLY SAY A WORD AND I SHALL BE SAVED."

12. Is not this a communion of desire?

13. If we give communion to the remarried, it also means that they no longer need to confess, because this is not a sin anymore. So the ninth commandment falls apart. But the sixth commandment falls apart too.

14. If this is tolerated, then with other grave sins as well communion can be received without confession. And the other commandments also fall apart.

15. In this way everything is blown sky-high. New and Old Testament. Time to remake the whole of morality, of patristics. To figure out from scratch what is sin and what is not. Goodbye to the notion of crime and sin.

16. There is no proportion between this granting of communion to the remarried and the great and grave consequences of disorientation and reaction that would take place in the Church and in the world. For many it would be too painful to accept. I think that there is nothing to be lost in leaving things the way they are. But introducing this concession could bring consequences, and serious ones. There have been schisms among the Anglicans when the majority has decided things that have gone against the conscience of many.

17. There is enough peace in the Catholic Church at the present.

18. So then, one does not give rise to schisms for the sake of such a secondary thing.

19. It is not right to give a direction that is dangerous for the whole Church simply because I have read a book that I like by a theologian or moralist who supports these theories.

20. Do we want to reduce the whole universal Church to the extent to which the Churches of Holland and Belgium have been reduced?

21. I do not think that with a provision of this kind the churches will again be filled as they once were. On the contrary, many of those who go now might desert.

22. In mission territories Catholics are roughly identified as those who have only one marriage forever, obey the pope, and their priests and sisters are not married. And I cannot tell you what advantage this gives us in the work of evangelization, compared to the Protestants.

23. For this reason, when there are mixed marriages with followers of other Christian denominations, the young women in particular want the marriage to be a Catholic ceremony, because they know that here there is only one marriage that cannot be broken.

24. I want to remain Catholic. I do not want to become Anglican or Baptist.

25. We see that states and large organizations are all subject to a mysterious force that inclines them to evil. The only institution that does not bend and stands its ground, firm on the true values of man, is the Catholic Church. Let's stay tough, and not sully our fountain. One day, when they are tired and thirsty, many men will know where to find a bit of fresh water.

Sirajganj, May 17, 2014