Q. Who may receive Holy Communion?

A. Last week this column presented some basic perspectives on the bishop's duty to teach the authentic position of the Church on issues of faith and morals. Today's column addresses Church teaching on who may receive Holy Communion.

Scripture teaches: 'Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and the blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself .' (1 Corinthians 11:27-28a). In order to worthily receive Holy Communion in a Catholic Church, a person must: (1) be Catholic (either by baptism or by being received into the Church; (2) have attained the age of reason (about seven) and be aware of what they are doing, and (3) not be aware of grave unconfessed sin. The first two criteria are clear. But what is 'grave unconfessed sin?'

A grave sin, also called a mortal sin, is a sin which is objectively serious as defined by the Church, and which has been committed after sufficient reflection with full consent to the will. It is important to note that it is the Church, not the individual, which pronounces whether a sin is grave or not. The Church makes this determination based on its Scripture and its Sacred Tradition, not on the basis of individual choices or opinions.

While the gravity of a sin is objective, only the individual can assess whether the sin was committed after sufficient reflection and with full consent of the will. A priest in confession or counseling can help a person to sort out the seriousness of his or her sins.

People who come to receive communion are presumed to be acting in accord with Church teaching. In general, clergy and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion do not 'read' the state of a person's soul when they come up to receive Holy Communion. It is not known when the person went to confession last, whether they have truly repented their sins. The priest may not know whether a person is in a marriage recognized by the Church. A priest may refuse Holy Communion to a Catholic only when he has a good reason to believe that the sacrament would be profaned, or when serious public scandal may result from giving Communion to a particular person because of that person's notorious public sin. Such circumstances arise very infrequently.

It may be that the bishops will provide some guidance in the future about the reception of Holy Communion by some public persons who have taken positions contrary to Catholic faith and morals. That remains for the future.

The more important question, for each of us, is 'What is the state of my soul?' We should always encourage each other in faith, hope and charity, and pray for all persons to grow in holiness. We ought not to be preoccupied with the real or presumed sins of others.