In a Pastoral Letter to Catholics in San Diego, Bishop Robert McElroy is inviting couples in irregular relationships consider whether “God is calling them to return to the Eucharist .
Young unmarried couples who are living together and older couples living in a second civil union are now being encouraged to come to the church, consider their status, and—if they find their consciences clear—receive Communion.
In consultation with a Priest, Catholics, with humility, discretion, and love for the Church and its teachings, are directed to reflect upon their level of responsibility for the failure of the first marriage, their care and love for the children of that marriage, the moral obligations which have arisen in their new marriage, and possible harm which their returning to the Sacraments might have by undermining the indissolubility of marriage.
It is important to underscore that the role of the Priest is one of accompaniment, meant to inform the conscience of the discerner on principles of Catholic faith. The Priest is not to make decisions for the believer, for as Pope Francis emphasizes in Amoris Laetitia (the Apostolic Exhortation entitled The Joy of Love), the Church is “called to form consciences, not to replace them.”
Catholics participating authentically in this discernment of conscience should keep in mind both the permanence of marriage and the teaching of the Church that “the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but medicine and nourishment for the weak.”
However, in new guidelines for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Archbishop Charles Chaput is insisting that, in his diocese, Catholics who are divorced and remarried may receive the Eucharist only if they renounce any and all sexual activity.
“Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist,” the new Philadelphia guidelines state.
Archbishop Chaput acknowledges that this is a "hard teaching," but says that "anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church."
The Philadelphia guidelines stress that Catholics who undergo a civil divorce should seek an annulment from a Church tribunal if they intend to remarry. Annulments "cannot be granted informally or privately by individual Pastors or Priests," the document emphasizes.
Archbishop Chaput further encourages Pastors to provide support and encouragement for all Catholics who encounter marital difficulties, and especially those who honor their marital vows even after a civil divorce. "God is faithful to them even when their spouses are not, a truth that fellow Catholics should reinforce," his guidelines say.
The document suggests that when divorced and remarried Catholics agree to abstain from sexual intercourse, while they may receive the Eucharist, "they should do so in a manner that will avoid giving scandal or implying that Christ's teaching can be set aside."
How can the average Catholic be anything but confused by such contradictory teachings and directives? It seems as though San Diego and Philadelphia are separated by more than just the physical distance they share from one another.
This disunity in the moral teaching and practice among the Bishops cannot stand the test of time.
Something as diametrically opposed as these teachings and practices are from one diocese to another can have nothing but a negative impact upon the faith of Catholics and their respect for the teaching authority of the Bishops in general.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the Bishops and encourage them to work in unison as they seek to fulfill their responsibilities as teachers and shepherds of the souls entrusted to their pastoral care.
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