NEW DOCUMENT ON EUCHARIST
Vatican criticizes
faithful who divorce,
back abortion rights
By AP from the (NJ)
Home News Tribune Online, July 8, 2005
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican
singled out divorcees who remarry and Catholic politicians who support abortion
yesterday in criticizing the faithful who continue to receive Holy Communion
while in a state of mortal sin.
The lament came in a new document on the Eucharist that details abuses of the
sacrament and the need for better instruction to ensure it remains sacred.
The 85-page text is the working draft of a final document that will be developed
during the global synod, or meeting, of bishops Oct. 2-23 in Rome.
The paper covers a range of issues related to the Eucharist: It suggests,
for example, that Latin be used during international liturgical gatherings so
all priests involved can understand the proceedings, and it suggests that
parishes consider using more Gregorian chants to prevent more "profane" types of
music from being played.
It calls for priests not to be "showmen" who draw attention to themselves and
says lay people can have an important but "minimal" presence in Masses. It
says the tabernacle — which holds the bread and wine held by Catholics to be the
body and blood of Christ — should have a prominent place in the church and not
be shunted off to a corner.
Most significantly, though, the document laments the fact that fewer and fewer
Catholics are going to Mass on Sundays — in some countries, only 5 percent of
the faithful attend — and that fewer Catholics are going to confession.
As a result, many Catholics are living in a state of mortal sin when they
receive Communion, it said. The Church defines sin as a free and
deliberate violation of God's law; a mortal sin is one that involves a "grave
violation of God's law" and "deliberate consent." Catholics can repent of
their sins by confessing them to a priest.
The document, "The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of
the church," was written starting in 2004 based on responses received by bishops
from around the world reporting on their own experiences. It stresses that
it is not a theological treatise on the Eucharist and in fact it restates church
teaching on most key issues.
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