In this clip, Cy Kellett and Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin tackle a question about the obligations surrounding Communion for non-Catholic family members. Jimmy clarifies the nuances of who can receive Communion in a Catholic church, emphasizing the importance of confession.
Transcript:
Caller: I have my mother that is, that will receive communion, but she is not of the Catholic faith. My mother and father both come up and they will do that. They will also take my kids to a Catholic church when they stay with them. And what’s my obligation to let them know whether or not they should be receiving?
Jimmy: Well, the first thing is to determine whether or not they should be receiving because there are situations in which non-Catholics can receive communion in a Catholic church. So the first question, the first threshold you should clear is, are they baptized?
Caller: Yes, they are.
Jimmy: Okay.
Caller: In the church as well. And I was actually raised Catholic away from Catholicism and I think I’m more Protestant now.
Jimmy: Okay, well, that relates to my next question, which is, are either or both of them members of an Eastern church, like Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodox? I’m guessing the answer based on what you just said is no, but I want to verify that.
Caller: Yep, I’ll say no.
Jimmy: Okay, so have they formally repudiated the Catholic Church by joining a Protestant church?
Caller: I guess I don’t know what that would mean by that. They are at a Protestant church now, but they haven’t formally done anything to separate themselves from the Catholic Church, if that makes sense.
Jimmy: Okay, well, if they’re just going to a Protestant church and they’re not going to a Catholic Church, then they could still canonically be considered Catholics, even though they would need to sort of… The next hurdle, if they’re considered Catholics legally, would be, have they fulfilled their Easter duty, meaning at least once a year, typically during Easter, but not always during Easter? Have they been going to confession?
Caller: Okay.
Jimmy: So under those circumstances, if you consider them Catholic, I mean, if they are to be legally considered Catholic, then they shouldn’t be going without going to confession. It would be a good thing to say, “Hey, you know, I appreciate that you’re receiving the Eucharist. I really appreciate you taking our kids to Catholic Mass. That’s really great. Just want to remind you that, you know, if you haven’t been to confession in a while, you need to go. And I’d be happy to do whatever I can to help you in that process.”
Now, that depends on whether you have an obligation to tell them. That is going to depend on your relationship with them. It sounds like you may have a fairly positive relationship with them, in which case otherwise they wouldn’t be taking your kids to a Catholic Mass.
But if you have a positive obligation, giving them some kind of helpful reminder of what they need to do as Catholics would be beneficial. On the other hand, if you had a really hostile relationship with them and bringing this fact up would push them away from Jesus and his Church, then it could be reasonable to not further distance them from Jesus and his Church, but to try to attract them back to Jesus and his Church in some other way.
It’s true that they would be receiving Jesus in a state where they shouldn’t receive him in the interim, but Jesus himself voluntarily chose to make himself vulnerable in that way.
And there are situations where, let’s say a priest even knows that a person is receiving when they shouldn’t, but they’re required to let them have communion anyway. Like, let’s say a priest knows that a person did not get absolved of a mortal sin during their last confession. Because the priest knows that from the sacrament of confession, he’s not allowed to use that to hurt them in any way. So he can’t say to them, “I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to give you communion,” because the person’s sin is not public.
And so consequently, the priest himself has to give communion legally to a person he knows is not qualified to receive it. And Jesus chose to make himself vulnerable in that way.
So there are similar situations where even though the good thing is to have a relationship with one’s parents or whomever such that you can say, “Hey, by the way, here’s what you need to do if you want to go to communion.” It’s understood that’s not always possible in a concrete situation.
And so you have to make a judgment call about your parents and how they’re going to react and so forth like that. If they come back and they say, “Well, I don’t really consider myself Catholic anymore. I think of myself as a Protestant now.” Well, that’s okay. I mean, it’s not the ideal, but there are situations in which a Protestant can receive communion in a Catholic Church, provided that there is some grave need for it and they share the Church’s faith in the sacraments.
And, you know, they also still would need to go to confession if they have any mortal sins they need to confess. So the situation’s more complicated. But again, it goes back to what’s your relationship with your parents and how are they going to react to this? Will it draw them closer to Christ in his Church and help facilitate a reconciliation with the Church, or will it push them farther away from the Church?
So that’s the real issue that needs to be decided. And you know the answers to those questions better than I would.
Caller: I appreciate it. that conversation needs to be had. And that’s what I’ll do.
Jimmy: Okay. And if you need further resources for all that, there is a statement from the US Bishops that’s printed at the back of ordinary missals that may help you out in finding the language to use. And you can even show it to them and say, “Here’s what the US Bishops have had to say.”
Cy: Danny, I would like to send you a little book called *The Words of Eternal Life: True Happiness and Where to Find It*, a book by Jimmy Akin. I think you will find comfort and help in that book if you just hang on.
Jimmy: Just give it to your parents.
Cy: It’s one that you could… Well, let’s give them two copies of that book, *The Words of Eternal Life*. Danny, hang on. Give us an address and we will send those out to you. We have to take a very quick break.