My mother-in-law died a slow, excruciating death from emphysema way back in the early 1980s. I had accepted Christ about one year prior to her death and was able to witness to her several times before she accepted Jesus as her Savior. But the funeral services had already been arranged by members of the family including a Catholic mass. When it came time during the mass to receive communion, the priest invited everyone in attendance, Catholics AND Protestants, to participate. That was radical stuff back in 1984! The bishop of Rochester at the time, Matthew Clark, was a very liberal fellow who often turned a blind eye to deviations from Catholic orthodoxy (and perhaps encouraged them).
Roman Catholicism teaches its priests change bread wafers into the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ at the mass. The priest then offers up the Jesus wafers to God the Father as a sacrifice for the sins of the congregants. People then line up to consume the Jesus wafer, believing it will impart grace so that the recipient will be better able to avoid sin and thereby merit Heaven. Rome teaches that only Catholics and members of Eastern Orthodox churches may receive its communion.
The church also theoretically only allows communion to those in a “state of grace” (without any mortal sin on their soul). Catholics who have divorced and remarried without an annulment of the first marriage were considered to be living in an ongoing adulterous relationship, a mortal sin, and were prohibited from receiving communion. That was the infallible teaching of the church for a millennia. But with divorce rates soaring among Catholics, and many divorced-and-remarried Catholics feeling alienated and falling away from the church, Pope Francis issued his Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) encyclical last April, which seems to pragmatically allow priests the ability to decide if remarried Catholics can receive communion on a case-by-case basis.
Traditionalists rightly see Amoris Laetitia as an assault on the infallible teaching of all previous popes and hence the current standoff between conservative cardinals and Francis. But Amoris Laetitia is only the first crack in the dam. Liberal Catholic prelates such as German cardinal, Walter Kasper, mentioned in the articles below, anticipate the day when Catholics will share communion with Protestants as official practice. Kasper and others are like sharks who smell blood in the water with the publication of Amoris Laetitia and will be relentless in their demand for open communion, which will be a major step in recovering the “separated brethren” under the wings of Rome.
But what about Rome’s claim that its infallible teachings can’t be abrogated? Pope Francis winks at that dogma. He “bent” the rule for divorced remarrieds by using ambiguous language in this encyclical. How will he (or his successor) specifically get around no-communion for Protestants? I don’t know but rest assured it’s coming.
Could Non-Catholics Share Communion With Catholic Spouses At Last? This Cardinal Thinks So
Tom, I believe you’re reading the situation rightly. Thank you for bringing this to us, a reminder that a corrupt unity is underway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Maria! The Catholic church has obviously wrestled with the ban on communion for non-Catholics as an obstacle to ecumenism. But since remarried Catholics are now allowed to take it, I can see forsee Protestants with a “high view” of the eucharist, like Lutherans and Anglicans, being invited to partake and eventually the other Protestants as well.
LikeLike
Tom, may the Lord help us to stand fast!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right, Maria. Betrayal of the Gospel is picking up steam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This pope is quite unpredictable
LikeLiked by 1 person
Francis is from Argentina where many Catholics, like elsewhere in S. America, are “defecting” to evangelical (specifically, Pentecostal) churches. Francis recognizes the RCC must change in order to survive and fulfill its mandate to recover the separated brethren. But the old guard can’t agree to the changes especially with “infallible” doctrines at stake. This is fascinating theater.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes…I’m going to get some popcorn and enjoy the show. But seriously, the confusion and conflict that’s going to eventually going to build is a great opportunity to declare the Gospel.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The appeal of Pentecostalism for many in the “third world” is its promise of wealth but there’s also going to be many who accept Christ. Yes, for me it’s extremely interesting to watch the RCC try to adapt to these challenges.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s a good point. The prosperity gospel pushed forth by some Pentecostals mean that some who left Romanism aren’t necessarily trusting in the biblical Gospel…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Right. I don’t mean to infer ALL Pentecostals push “name it and claim it.”
LikeLiked by 2 people