Catholic World News

Archbishop Chaput: divorced/remarried must live as brother and sister to receive Communion

July 05, 2016

In new guidelines for the Philadelphia archdiocese, Archbishop Charles Chaput has confirmed the traditional Church teaching that Catholics who are divorced and remarried may receive the Eucharist only if they renounce sexual activity.

“Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist,” the new Philadelphia guidelines state. Archbishop Chaput acknowledges that this is a "hard teaching," but says that "anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church."

The Philadelphia guidelines were issued to follow up on the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, released to summarize the work of the Synod on the Family. Archbishop Chaput took part in the October 2015 session of the Synod, and chairs the committee of bishops monitoring the implementation of Amoris Laetitia in the US.

The guidelines stress that Catholics who undergo a civil divorce should seek an annulment from a Church tribunal if they intend to remarry. Annulments "cannot be granted informally or privately by individual pastors or priests," the document emphasizes.

The guidelines encourage pastors to provide support and encouragement for all Catholics who encounter marital difficulties, and especially those who honor their marital vows even after a civil divorce. "God is faithful to them even when their spouses are not, a truth that fellow Catholics should reinforce," the guidelines say.

The document suggests that when divorced and remarried Catholics agree to abstain from sexual intercourse, while they may receive the Eucharist, "they should do so in a manner that will avoid giving scandal or implying that Christ's teaching can be set aside."

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