Gluten-Free Host A No-Go, Says Pope

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Riddick
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Gluten-Free Host A No-Go, Says Pope

Post by Riddick » 07-12-2017 12:08 AM

A new Vatican letter to Catholic bishops worldwide has stirred up questions again over what kinds of bread and wafers should be used during communion in Catholic churches around the world. The letter sparked concerns for those who avoid eating gluten, including people who have celiac disease.

The letter drew attention from media outlets around the globe, but it actually reaffirmed earlier guidelines saying that bread and wafers must have at least some gluten in them. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops already has guidelines allowing churches to use low-gluten wafers and nothing will change in American Catholic churches, said Andrew Menke, executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship.

“Absolutely nothing has changed,” Menke said in a statement. “The ‘new guidance’ from the Vatican is simply a reminder to bishops that they need to be attentive to the bread and wine that is used for Mass, making sure that it’s consistent with the Church’s requirements.”

The Catholic Church teaches that the practice of communion, also called the Eucharist, should be in continuity with Jesus, who ate wheat bread and drank grape wine, describing them as his body and blood.

“Christ did not institute the Eucharist as rice and sake, or sweet potatoes and stout,” said Chad Pecknold, a theology professor at Catholic University.

Some theologians have argued the bread and wine are simply symbolic, but the Catholic Church does not consider the elements to be symbols. It teaches that Jesus himself instituted the bread and the wine during the Passover meal, and churches should follow his lead.

Bread and wafers “must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no danger of decomposition,” the letter from the Vatican states. “Hosts that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist.” However, low-gluten wafers and bread may be used, it says.

The wine, the letter says, must be “natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, not mixed with other substances.” Both bread and wine made from genetically-modified organisms are acceptable.

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Re: Gluten-Free Host A No-Go, Says Pope

Post by kbot » 07-16-2017 07:49 AM

In a way, I'm torn on this. At my parish, we have a family that attends Mass and they cannot ingest the traditional host and so they have bene receiving a type which is gluten-free.

I understand what Pope Francis is trying to do, but, as a practicing Catholic, I'd rather that he take a look at what's bene occurring inside the Vatican as well as inside many parishes here in the US and across the globe on issues such as pedophilia, an alleged gay sex orgy which was busted by Italian police and a recent story where monies were diverted from their intended purpose to spruce up an cardinal's apartment to the tune of neatly half a million dollars.

I guess that this is what was meant by the Third Secret of Fatima........
There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free. (Moody Blues)

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