GLUTEN-FREE HOSTS: REALLY?

Liturgical  law requires the host which is consecrated by the Priest and becomes the Body and Blood of Christ is to consist of  wheat and wheat only”.  This precept is based upon the fact that Jesus ate wheat bread with his apostles at the Last Supper at which He instituted the Eucharist before his Crucifixion.

In recent years, there have been some controversial studies undertaken regarding what is termed “celiac disease”.

In 1995, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments decreed that  low-gluten hosts are valid if they hold enough gluten to make bread. Recipients of Holy Communion requesting the low-gluten host were required to present a medical certificate and obtain a bishop’s approval.

In 2003, the Congregation eliminated the patently ridiculous medical-certificate requirement allowed Pastors to make informed decisions and grant approval. The Vatican reminded communicants with celiac disease that they receive the fullness of the Eucharistic Sacrament by consuming the species of the Consecrated Blood alone.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have approved two manufacturers for valid low-gluten hosts. One is the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri. The other is Parish Crossroads in Indiana, which sells low-gluten hosts made in Germany.

Pastors use various systems to make sure parishioners who need the low-gluten hosts receive them.  In one instance, communicants retrieve low gluten hosts from a refrigerator before Mass and place them in a separate vessel that’s presented for consecration with traditional hosts.

An Altar Server then  holds the vessel behind the celebrant as he distributes Communion, and people needing a low-gluten host tell the priest as they approach. 

All this may be much ado about nothing.

Based upon studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic in groundbreaking research, the American Medical Association estimates that about 1.8 million Americans (Catholics and non-Catholics included in that number) have symptomatic expressions of what has been loosely defined as celiac disease.  However, approximately 1.4 million are not even aware they have the disorder.

Researchers think as few as 20% of people with the disease ever get a proper diagnosis. The damage to the intestine is very slow, and symptoms are so varied, that it can be years before someone gets a diagnosis.

A recent research report by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that over the past five years, there was a 300 percent increase in the number of people reporting going on a gluten-free diet. At the same time, the prevalence of celiac disease has remained stable.

Avoiding gluten has been called ‘risky’ by experts.  The subject of gluten avoidance was the topic of a recent panel discussion by a group of medical experts, including Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Fasano offered his thoughts on why “gluten-free” has become so popular:  “The reason why is that the actors, actresses, politicians, and sport icons who serve as the popular role models in our culture have decided to embrace a gluten-free diet, and to publish articles and even write books on its benefits. It is a no-brainer for people to then say, ‘If it’s good for her or him, it’s going to be good for me to cleanse my body or feel more energized,’ and so on and so forth. I believe that has really fueled the fad component of the diet.”

While I am sympathetic to those who have severe reactions to receiving Communion hosts made of wheat, I wonder if this gluten-free hysteria is being pandered to by certain groups within the Church.  

Of course, the most sensible resolution of this problem would be for the Pastor to simply encourage the communicant to receive the Precious Blood which, according to the dogmatic teachings of the Church, consists of both the Body and Blood of Christ.

Does the Church really need to pander to what the medical community itself describes as  mostly faddish dietary nonsense.

If still involved in active parochial ministry, this would be my response to anyone requesting gluten-free Communion hosts:  receive the Eucharist under the species of the Consecrated Wine.  This is a response which protects the inviolability of the Sacrament and still allows for complete reception of the Eucharist. 

Of course, I realize that such an intelligent pastoral solution would raise the ire of self-appointed dietary police who would berate my insensitivity toward the diseased and disabled.  I also realize that I would probably receive a letter from the Office of Worship of the diocese suggesting that I am somehow denying the Sacrament to worthy recipients suffering from a medical disorder.

Mercifully for me, at least, I am no longer in active parochial ministry and can observe and comment on such matters from afar.  In the end, it all just seems so trite and silly an issue to warrant any serious concern.