| God Spot This Christian Resource Blog has been created by a group of friends from around the world. Our purpose is to provide links to useful resources, some commentary on topical or doctrinal issues, a place where anyone can come with questions and a means whereby we can share our faith. And above all, to grow and encourage each other. As Christians, we believe we bear God's image in this world, and seek to glorify God's name in this endeavour. Any Christian who wants to join with us is very welcome! |
||
| . | ||
|
Information Scripture Resources Interesting Links Archives |
Friday, August 20, 2004 Wafers Must Have Wheat, Says VaticanGary, good to know you're still in the land of the living (and busy at that!). We start back at BSF, 6.30 am leader's meeting tomorrow. That will make you feel good. They have introduced some changes - no bells to warn that discussion time is over, no automatic posting of notes to those away (only if asked), and a greater focus on "training". Oh, also no mention of the A.S.K. prayer program in the intro sessions. Are these improvements? Somebody thinks so!The one change I truly desire, a "late" 7 am start on Saturday mornings, is apparently considered not conducive to strict BSF disciplinary policy. Now, in today's Age, alarming news for (some) Catholics: Wafers must have wheat, says Vatican By Barney Zwartz (Religion Editor) Thousands of Catholics with wheat allergies may suffer a reaction to the eucharist thanks to a Vatican directive that the wafer must contain wheat. Father Williams said gluten-free communion wafers had been available to coeliac sufferers for a decade, kept in a separate dish. But the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had recently determined that only wheat-based flour was valid matter for celebrating the eucharist. "The church would not deliberately attempt to poison its communicant members," he said. "The last thing we want is to alarm Catholic coeliac sufferers." He suggested people with coeliac disease could try the new formula, saying: "Hosts are no bigger than a 20 cent piece and very thin - we're not talking slices of bread here. "But very sensitive sufferers are not going to be disbarred from sacred communion because they can receive communion in just one kind." (That is, leave the wafer but take wine from the chalice). Now, I am not a Catholic and don't want to offend any dear brothers and sisters who are. But statements like the following seem very much akin to the Jewish habit of creating rule upon rule, and then behaving like the Pharisees when those man-made rules aren't strictly adhered to (and without mentioning names, I just realised that other organisations also easily fall into this habit!): The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith ruled last year that gluten-free hosts were invalid, but low-gluten hosts were acceptable under certain conditions. But there is a voice of reason: Father Tony Doherty (former dean of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral) told Online Catholics website: "The insistence on wheat flour by Rome is another unfortunate occasion when non-essential matters create discord." # posted by geoff @ 10:14 am 0 comments
Comments:
Post a Comment
|
|
| << That's it! But checkout the Archives for more... | ||
|
||