Photo Credit: The Advocate (Gay Magazine Website)
Catholic Church refuses communion to people who openly identify as gay:
Pink wafers and wigs were the fashion Sunday as hundreds of Dutch activists in the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch walked out of mass in protest of the Catholic Church policy of denying communion to gay people.
According to the BBC, the dispute began last month when a priest in the nearby town of Reusel refused communion to an openly gay man who happened to be chosen prince for carnival celebrations. …
via Dutch Gays Protest Church Communion Refusal | News | Advocate.com.
Communion is the most important sacrament we have as Christians. The Catholic church is very exclusive when it comes to Communion for a number of reasons. The scriptures are very clear that we not take Communion without a proper understanding of the sacrifice Christ made on the Cross to redeem us from our sins. We take Communion to remind us of Him and His sacrifice on our behalf. It’s not an empty ritual.
From what I understand as a Protestant, for the Catholic Church, they believe in Transubstantiation which means that during the sacrament, the elements literally become the body and blood of Christ Himself. The Catholic church teaches that homosexual behavior is sinful. One of the myriad of sins that Jesus was crucified for. It would seem common sense that the Catholic Church wouldn’t serve Communion to those they think do not fully understand or appreciate Communion (in general) or think that Communion should affirm a person’s identity that springs out of what the church perceives to be sinful behavior.
I am quite able to relate to the anger of being refused Communion. I personally can’t even take Communion in a Roman Catholic church. At my brother’s wedding, he and his wife are Roman Catholic, the Priest refused me Communion. He asked if I was a believer in good standing with the Catholic Church. I said I was a believer in right standing with God because of my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as well as a Member of the corporate Body of Christ. And right there in front of everyone he retracted the wafer and ask God’s blessing to rest on my soul or something. He refused me Communion because, according to Roman Catholic teaching, I am not truly saved or a part of the true Church unless I am Roman Catholic.
I know not every Roman Catholic believes Communion should be so exclusive … but plenty do. After I calmed down, I realized that the Catholic Church doesn’t hide any of this. I knew that there was a very good chance he would not serve me Communion before the wedding even started. So, I could choose to be offended and let that one incident mar a beautiful memory … or I could extend some grace, try to understand, and move on to take Communion with a like-minded church. As a matter of fact, before I could take Communion at my home church I had to prayerfully resolve my anger over the incident and extend grace and forgiveness in my heart toward the Priest. I did this because we are also specifically told to make peace with fellow believers, where we can, before taking Communion.
When I talk to some friends who are Roman Catholics about this incident, they empathize with my frustration but they hold to the importance of keeping the sacrament highly revered. My brother’s father-in-law, also a Catholic Priest, was very patient and kind when I asked him about the matter. I still strongly disagree but there it is. The Catholic church has a right to freedom of speech and religious conscience. They do not have to affirm a person’s identity through their most revered of sacraments. Communion is not to affirm us in anything other than He willingly allowed His Body to be broken and His blood to be spilled to pay the price for our sin.
So, I think it is a mistake for gay activists dressed in drag to hand out pink wafers mocking the Church and reducing the sacrament to a prop in a protest. It sends a message to the rest of Christendom (not just Catholics) that these protesters do not share the same understanding, respect and reverence for Communion.
About Randy Thomas
Communion is understood and practiced so differently among different faith traditions, and you raise some interesting points and concerns, Randy. Two experiences I’ve had easily come to mind.
Back in the early 80s, I almost converted to Mormonism. They practice a form of communion, which I think they call “sacrament service,” but it differs from Christian communion in many ways, including the substitution of water for the wine or grape juice. I was in a really messed up time of life, and was trying to make sense of it and my faith. So I had just started exploring Mormonism and attending the local worship service.
One morning, as they were passing around the wafer and water, I asked the woman beside me if I could participate. (In my Wesleyan heritage, we practice “open” communion. All believers in Christ, and usually even non-believers are welcome at the table. John Wesley believed communion was a “means of grace,” not the actual blood and body of Jesus, but also more than a memorial – a real channel of God’s holy presence and love, which should be received as often as possible.) So, I wanted to know if I was welcome to partake or if it was only open to Mormon members as in some other traditions. The woman looked me straight in the eye and said “If you’re worthy enough.”
I will never forget that as long as I live. If I’m worthy enough? Who is ever “worthy” enough? Not me, having royally screwed up just about everything. But not her, either, even if she tried her darndest to follow all the Mormon rules and regulations. No one is ever worthy enough. If we were, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die for us and we could redeem ourselves in God’s eyes by our own efforts. But it ended up being a good thing because it opened my eyes to Mormon doctrine and ultimately led me to a personal understanding of grace.
My second most memorable communion experiences happened a few years ago in Ireland. My faith heritage from there is Presbyterian, so my husband and I twice visited small Presbyterian churches during our travels. At both of them we were given a communion “token” that was “exchanged” during the service for the wine and bread. At the more conservative church, we were even “grilled” first by the Board of Elders about our faith, even though both of us are ordained pastors in the United Methodist Church. (Or maybe because of that!)
I am used to a more celebratory communion service, so these two seemed very solemn and serious. But they were extremely meaningful and made me think more about what I was doing and why. I’ll never forget those experiences either.
Communion is understood and practiced so differently among different faith traditions, and you raise some interesting points and concerns, Randy. Two experiences I’ve had easily come to mind.
Back in the early 80s, I almost converted to Mormonism. They practice a form of communion, which I think they call “sacrament service,” but it differs from Christian communion in many ways, including the substitution of water for the wine or grape juice. I was in a really messed up time of life, and was trying to make sense of it and my faith. So I had just started exploring Mormonism and attending the local worship service.
One morning, as they were passing around the wafer and water, I asked the woman beside me if I could participate. (In my Wesleyan heritage, we practice “open” communion. All believers in Christ, and usually even non-believers are welcome at the table. John Wesley believed communion was a “means of grace,” not the actual blood and body of Jesus, but also more than a memorial – a real channel of God’s holy presence and love, which should be received as often as possible.) So, I wanted to know if I was welcome to partake or if it was only open to Mormon members as in some other traditions. The woman looked me straight in the eye and said “If you’re worthy enough.”
I will never forget that as long as I live. If I’m worthy enough? Who is ever “worthy” enough? Not me, having royally screwed up just about everything. But not her, either, even if she tried her darndest to follow all the Mormon rules and regulations. No one is ever worthy enough. If we were, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die for us and we could redeem ourselves in God’s eyes by our own efforts. But it ended up being a good thing because it opened my eyes to Mormon doctrine and ultimately led me to a personal understanding of grace.
My second most memorable communion experiences happened a few years ago in Ireland. My faith heritage from there is Presbyterian, so my husband and I twice visited small Presbyterian churches during our travels. At both of them we were given a communion “token” that was “exchanged” during the service for the wine and bread. At the more conservative church, we were even “grilled” first by the Board of Elders about our faith, even though both of us are ordained pastors in the United Methodist Church. (Or maybe because of that!)
I am used to a more celebratory communion service, so these two seemed very solemn and serious. But they were extremely meaningful and made me think more about what I was doing and why. I’ll never forget those experiences either.