.- Officials
from the Diocese of Phoenix have responded to recent criticism over a
local autistic boy who some claim is being denied communion by Bishop
Thomas Olmsted.
A March 4th
headline in the Arizona Republic newspaper blared that the Church had
denied communion to 10-year old Matthew Moran, a charge which the
diocese says, is mistaken.
Under the Moran
family’s recent practice, Matthew would receive the host on his tongue
where it would sit only momentarily before his father would take it out
of the boy’s mouth and consume it himself.
Phoenix Bishop
Thomas Olmsted said that this practice does not allow the boy to truly
“receive” the Body of Christ and that Church teaching is clear on norms
for Eucharistic reception. He wrote in a recent letter that Matthew is
not prohibited from receiving communion, only that he could "not able
to approve the present practice."
Rosalind
Gutierrez, who is director of the Diocesan Office of Worship, and
Isabella Rice, director of the Office of Disabilities and Pastoral Care
Ministries, submitted an editorial piece to the Arizona Republic
outlining the situation from the Church’s perspective. It will appear
in tomorrow’s edition.
They say that
although it has been reported that Matthew cannot receive communion
without spitting it out, evidence from the Diocese of Pittsburgh
disputes this.
That diocese
provided Phoenix officials a statement from the boy’s catechist there
which said that “After many practices in the classroom, (Matthew) was
able to consume some unconsecrated hosts”, and “did sip the
unconsecrated wine.”
Gutierrez and
Rice also cited Fr. David Driesch, pastor of St. Bernard Parish in
Pittsburgh, who stated, “On the day of his First Holy Communion, I gave
Matthew the consecrated host, he received it and consumed it in my
presence.”
The Diocese of
Phoenix is now asking what happened? The editorial stated that “The
documents from the Diocese of Pittsburgh clearly prove that Matthew is
able to receive the Eucharist in the manner prescribed by the Church
and in the manner in which he received at his First Holy Communion.”
Gutierrez and
Rice added that “accordingly, the Diocese of Pittsburgh never endorsed
the present practice of just touching the consecrated host to Matthew’s
mouth or tongue. Therefore, Bishop Olmsted has never denied the
Eucharist to Matthew.”
They said that
in fact, it is Bishop Olmsted who “is seeking to return Matthew to the
fullness of reception that he previously experienced.”
The prelate,
they pointed out, “is asking that Matthew again receive the Eucharist
in ways that are consistent with Church teachings and the documents.
The reception of the Eucharist is not ‘in the eye of the beholder,’ as
some apparently would like us to believe. The reception of the
Eucharist is an objective, grace-filled reality at which the
consumption of the consecrated host brings the communicant into a
oneness with Jesus Christ and His Church.”
“Continuing to deny Matthew the fullness of the grace of the Eucharist”, the letter stressed, “would be unconscionable.”
The diocese says
they are determined to work with Matthew and his family because he
“deserves to be able to take the Eucharist fully and completely.”
Gutierrez and
Rice said that “the decision to receive the Eucharist” is that of the
individual. No one can receive on our behalf — it is an act of our free
will to approach the Blessed Sacrament,” and explained that “For this
reason, Bishop Olmsted continues to commit the resources of the Phoenix
Diocese to assist the Moran family.”
“We also trust”,
they wrote, “that God is not restrictive in how He blesses people. If
Matthew never receives Eucharist in the manner prescribed by the
Church, we trust that God will continue to bless Matthew in ways known
to Matthew and God alone.”
