The Church in Ireland should follow the lead of bishops
elsewhere and issue guidelines to clarify if and when divorced and
civilly-remarried Catholics here can receive Holy Communion, a prominent
theologian has said.
It comes after Pope Francis wrote to bishops in Argentina
commending them on guidelines that permit some civilly-remarried
Catholics to receive Holy Communion under strict circumstances.
The leaked papal letter – the authenticity of which has
been confirmed – has provoked some controversy with some groups publicly
criticising the Pope for what appears to be a relaxation of stance.
Issue
Fr Gerry O’Hanlon from the Dublin-based Jesuit Centre for
Faith and Justice said Irish guidelines on the issue “would be a good
idea”.
In his document on family issues Amores Laetitia – The Joy of Love –
earlier this year, the Pope was vague on the issue of whether or not
Catholics who are divorced and civilly-remarried can receive Holy
Communion, but many commentators believed that Francis left the door
open. His new letter confirms this reading of the Pope’s document.
Fr O’Hanlon described The Joy of Love as a “major
document” still in need of unpacking at a local level. “Any kind of
guidance or direction that comes out of such a consultation would be
important to mediate to people”.
He added that, “The Pope does make it clear that a
universal document has to have local application, so it would be
important that the Irish hierarchy study it and communicate it in a way
that’s suitable to our own culture here and the questions we have.”
In their document, the bishops in Argentina map out a
discernment path allowing some Catholics who have civilly divorced and
remarried to receive Communion in certain circumstances. In his letter,
the Pope said there were “no other interpretations” of Amores Laetitia.
However, other bishops – notably in North America and Poland – have
insisted that there will be no change in the Church’s practice on the
issue.
Fr O’Hanlon said that discernment processes for
divorced-and-remarried Catholics was something St John Paul had
envisaged in his 1981 exhortation Familiaris Consortio, but “what is new
is that it seems the end product of the discernment process is more
open than what John Paul II gave to understand”.
Teaching
Insisting that this is in line with established teaching,
Fr O’Hanlon said, “it’s not a breach in that it’s in continuity with
John Paul II and with traditional Catholic teaching that there be
discernment with regard to individual cases.
“I think it is more than that in relation to the
parameters in which that process was undertaken. Whereas John Paul II
put a definite marker in terms of what was permissible for the
discernment, this Pope is opening it wider and that is a change,” he
said.
Meanwhile, New York-based canonist Fr Gerald Murray said
that Church teaching has not changed, but that the Pope had given “a
permission” to clergy, not a directive on the issue of Holy Communion.
“The teaching on adultery cannot change. The application
in Church law, which is what we call the discipline of the sacraments -
that is what is attempting to be changed here, and in fact, I think it’s
quite clear that the Pope has given a change,” he said.