German Priests Challenge Church Law On Communion For Divorced / Remarried Catholics

In the Archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany, more than 160 members of the clergy has signed a statement saying that they regularly administer the Eucharist to Catholics who are divorced and remarried, in direct violation of Church law.

The Archdiocese of Freiburg has responded with a complaint that the priests’ statement has been “blown up by the media.” The archdiocese suggested that priests might administer the Eucharist to divorced and remarried Catholics under certain limited circumstances, but not as a “general and undifferentiated” practice.

June 8, 2012 (Vatican Insider) -- The wait is over. It is now time for action: this is what the more than 150 priests and deacons of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, in Germany (161 at the time this article was written) must have thought, as they issued an open declaration on the internet, stating that they regularly administered communion to divorced couples who had remarried.

In their manifesto, the priests – who account for approximately a seventh of the clergy in Freiburg, led by Archbishop Rober Zollitsch who is also President of the German Episcopal Conference – stated they were fully aware they were violating the rules laid down by the Catholic Church: “With our signature, we declare that in our pastoral activity regarding remarried divorcees, we are allowing ourselves to be guided by mercy,” they wrote, quoting the salus animarum suprema lex (the salvation of souls must always be the supreme law) principle.

In going against the dictates of the Catholic Church, “we take account of the conscious decision made by the individuals involved and the real life situation that follows.” “In our communities, remarried divorcees take communion and receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the anointing of the sick, with our approval,” the parish priests declared, adding that those who divorce and remarry also participate in parish councils and play an active role in the catechesis and community activities.

The issue of remarried divorcees is a delicate issue, particularly in German speaking countries, but in others as well. The issue was brought before Benedict XVI by the then federal president Christian Wulff, himself a divorcee, during the Pope’s visit to Germany last November. The issue is one of the five critical points which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith highlighted in a recent notification regarding a book published by a nun in the U.S.

During the recent Word Meeting of Families in Milan, Pope Benedict XVI admitted that the situation of remarried divorcees is “one of the great causes of suffering for the Church today”: “we do not have simple solutions - he said -. Suffering is great and all we can do is help parishes and individuals to help these persons endure the suffering of this divorce.”

In their manifesto, the priests in Freiburg referred explicitly to the Memorandum entitled “Achieving a necessary turning point” which was launched by hundreds of theology professors in March 2011 and published in the book “An opportunity for reconciliation?” by the theologian Eberhard Schockenhoff which deals with the issue. Over 300 members of the Freiburg clergy signed a petition supporting the Memorandum.

In a communiqué, the Archdiocese of Freiburg said the priests’ initiative had been “blown up by the media and this is “neither useful nor constructive.” Though it may be possible for a priest to make a “conscious,” “responsible and well-grounded” choice in certain concrete cases, this can in no way become a “general and undifferentiated” practice that goes against the universal Church doctrine.