(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Willem Eijk reaffirmed Church doctrine on divorced and civilly “remarried” individuals, stressing that they can only receive Holy Communion “if they live in chastity.”
During the presentation of his new book at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, the metropolitan archbishop of Utrecht said, “Civilly ‘remarried’ divorced couples in a second union may receive Communion in church only if they do not engage in sexual relations.”
According to a report by Silere non Possum, Cardinal Eijk explained the teaching on the “difficulty often debated” issue by quoting Pope John Paul II’s teaching: “In paragraph 84 of Familiaris Consortio by Saint John Paul II, it is said that in such cases one should live without sexual relations.”
“Why? Because a civil marriage is not a regular bond, it is not a valid marriage if the bond of the first sacramental marriage is still valid. That is the issue,” the Dutch bishop explained.
“There are people who live in this situation but go to church and also want to receive the sacraments,” he continued. “This, of course, is difficult. Christ gives Himself totally to us in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and on our part, there must also be a total self-giving to Him. And if this is lacking in marriage, Communion cannot be received.”
“Of course, people living in such relationships are very welcome in the Church, absolutely,” he added. “They can take part in our liturgies and also in our charitable activities. But they cannot receive Communion for the reason I have explained.”
Cardinal Eijk then proposed a pastoral solution practiced in the Netherlands and other countries: “In the Netherlands, we do this: these people may also come to the priest during the Eucharistic celebration, but with their arms crossed over their chest, and they may receive a blessing.”
“I must say that, in many cases, this works. It helps soothe the sense of exclusion; it seems to be a satisfying solution: we too can approach the priest, we can come forward during the Eucharist like the others, we don’t have to remain seated, but we can come and receive a blessing.”
“We have always blessed sinners in the Church. This would be my solution,” he concluded.
Cardinal Eijk has criticized Pope Francis’s controversial 2016 exhortation Amoris Laetitia, in which the late pontiff implied that divorced and civilly “remarried” Catholics may be able to receive Holy Communion in certain cases. The Dutch cardinal said in an interview in 2017 that this issue “is fracturing the Church” and that Amoris Laetitia is the “source of confusion” on this doctrinal matter.
READ: Cardinal Eijk urges Pope Leo to be ‘clear’ and ‘unambiguous’ in teaching
