Michael KellyAs it stands, remarried Catholics are not permitted to participate fully in the Eucharist.
Meetings of bishops’ synods at the Vatican tend to be bland affairs. But next month’s extraordinary synod on the family looks set to be one of the most interesting. Cardinals are already lining up to give their view on controversial issues, and to the fore is the vexed issue of Holy Communion for divorced Catholics who have remarried in a civil ceremony. As it stands, remarried Catholics are not permitted to participate fully in the Eucharist.
A proposal to allow some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion introduced by German Cardinal Walter Kasper at a meeting of the world’s cardinals in February, is expected to be one of the most discussed issues at the two-week synod on the family, which opens on October 5.
According to reports, the February meeting was a lively affair with Cardinal Kasper’s proposal facing a rigorous critique.
He appears to be feeling the heat. In an interview at the weekend, Cardinal Kasper answered criticism from some of his fellow cardinals, suggesting they are seeking a “doctrinal war” whose ultimate target is Pope Francis.
“They claim to know on their own what truth is, but Catholic doctrine is not a closed system, but a living tradition that develops,” Cardinal Kasper told the Italian daily Il Mattino. “They want to crystallise the truth in certain formulas…the formulas of tradition.
“None of my brother cardinals has ever spoken with me,” the cardinal said. “I, on the other hand, have spoken twice with the Holy Father. I arranged everything with him. He was in agreement. What can a cardinal do but stand with the Pope? I am not the target, the target is another.”
Asked if the target was Pope Francis, the cardinal replied: “Probably, yes.”
Cardinal Kasper was responding to a new book which includes contributions from five cardinals who criticise his proposal to make it easier for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
Proposal
Remaining in the Truth of Christ, which Ignatius Press will publish on October 1, includes essays in response to Cardinal Kasper’s proposal by three synod fathers: Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature; and Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna, Italy.
On the same day, Ignatius Press will also publish two other books in which synod fathers respond to Cardinal Kasper’s proposal: The Hope of the Family, an extended interview with Cardinal Muller; and The Gospel of the Family, which features a foreword by Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.
Cardinal Pell calls for a clear restatement of the traditional ban on Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, to avoid the sort of widespread protests that greeted Pope Paul VI’s affirmation of Catholic teaching against contraception in 1968.
“The sooner the wounded, the lukewarm and the outsiders realise that substantial doctrinal and pastoral changes are impossible, the more the hostile disappointment (which must follow the reassertion of doctrine) will be anticipated and dissipated,” writes Cardinal Pell. The Australian cardinal sits on the nine-member Council of Cardinals advising Pope Francis on Vatican reform and governance of the universal Church.
Cardinal Muller’s essay notes that many Catholics’ first marriages might be invalid – and thus eligible for annulment – if the parties have been influenced by the idea that marriage is merely a temporary arrangement.
However, Cardinal Muller also writes: “I observe with a certain amazement the use by some theologians, once again, of the same reasoning about mercy as an excuse for promoting the admission of divorced and civilly remarried persons to the sacraments.
“The scriptural evidence shows us that, besides mercy, holiness and justice are also part of the mystery of God.”
Curtain-raiser
Battle lines are clearly being drawn and the debate is likely to be heated. But the October synod is only a curtain-raiser for another synod in October next year which will bring together even more of the world’s bishops and theologians.
The key question is whether or not Pope Francis will show his hand on the issue.
The Pontiff has emphasised the need for mercy in the Church, particularly when it comes to Catholics in difficult circumstances.
At the same time, according to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Pope Francis told him frankly that “people who are divorced can receive Communion; people who are remarried can’t”.
Either way, it’s a lively debate in a Church that too often fails to explain adequately why it teaches what it does.