German
Bishop: Communion for non-Catholics married to Catholics Possible
From the official website of
the German
Bishops' Conference:
It is already being lived out
in many interdenominational marriages: Eucharistic communion. It is, however,
not allowed. Bishop Franz-Josef Bode [of Osnabrück] has hopes for a change in
this matter — and soon.
The Bishop of Osnabrück,
Franz-Josef Bode, would like to see the possibility of Holy Communion for mixed
marriages. He said so in a conversation with the Evangelical Press Service
[Evangelischer Pressedienst, epd].
Thereby, the Church would allow a
practice, reportedly already common among spouses from different Christian
confessions. In 2017, the year of the commemoration of the Protestant
Reformation, Bode called such a change in the Catholic position "not
utopian." From the point of view of the evangelical church, Catholics can
already take part in the Lord’s Supper, inviting all baptised Christians to
participate. The Catholic Church, however, does not allow her faithful to take
part in the Protestant Lord’s Supper, and she usually restricts the reception
of the Eucharist to Catholic faithful.
The Church of the Future
Bishop Bode emphasised
intensified ecumenical efforts for a "common Church of the Future."
Some of the "key points" he named were an agreement about general
Eucharistic communion and the ordained ministry of the Churches [sic].
Common ground between the
different denominations is already substantial, according to him: "Our
common faith in Jesus Christ and a triune God cannot be called a minimal
consensus."