Reply to Divorced people are technically not supposed to take communion in a Catholic church, right?

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Reply to "Divorced people are technically not supposed to take communion in a Catholic church, right?"

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[quote=Anonymous]The better term is to “receive” communion. “Take” seems to be British/Anglican vocabulary, and is not ordinarily used in the Roman Church.

Persons who are divorced but who have not received a Declaration of Nullity (commonly called an “annulment” despite nothing being annulled; what is declared is that the putative marriage was “null” and never existed sacramentally in the first place) are free to receive communion if they are in a state of grace. That would mean that they are not having sexual relations and that if they are cohabitating it is as “brother and sister.”  Otherwise they should not approach communion.

There are priests and theologians who will make arguments and give advice along the lines that the nullity of the prior bond can be discerned in “the internal forum” without a declaration. This is not entirely unfounded in every case but persons follow such advice at their peril.

Pope Francis suggested that depending on the circumstances some persons “living in sin” might be admitted to communion while being “accompanied” along the way to getting their affairs in order.

These approaches notwithstanding persons who have been putatively married, divorced, and then putatively remarried, and who are having sexual relations with the new spouse, ordinarily are not properly disposed to receive the Eucharist.

That said, the interior moral affairs of people typically are not something other people should be passing judgement on, particularly without all the facts. [/quote]

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