Clinton Communion Scandal: Who's to blame?

I have been watching the uproar over the Clinton Communion scandal for several days and have seen many different parties accused of causing the scandal: Clinton shouldn’t have received Communion because he is a Baptist; Clinton put the priest in a difficult position by going up for Communion; the priest should have refused to give him Communion; the priest should not have given him the African bishops’ statement on non-Catholics receiving Communion; the bishops should never have written the document in the first place.

What is odd about the whole situation is that the true blame lies with a party in Rome, not Africa, and almost no one has bothered to mention it. Before I reveal the secret, I would like to go over a few facts. Unfortunately, these have been gathered from the media so I cannot guarantee that all are completely reliable.

First, several weeks ago the African bishops’ conference issued a document stating that in certain situations it would be permissible to allow non-Catholics to receive Holy Communion in order to foster unity.

Second, the priest, prior to Clinton’s arrival at the Church, gave Clinton’s planners a copy of the document and told them that if Clinton wanted to receive Communion he was welcome to.

Third, Clinton went to Communion causing a sudden uproar and a major scandal.

Fourth, when asked why he gave Clinton Communion, the priest initially said that Clinton’s approach had surprised him and he did not think it was appropriate to turn him away.

Fifth, Clinton’s planners and the African bishops’ conference confirmed that the priest had in fact given a copy of the document to Clinton before Mass and invited him to receive Communion.

Sixth, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine and the Faith issued a statement saying that the document written by the African bishops and the permission given for Clinton to receive Communion were wrong and contrary to Church teaching.

The real culprit in this scandal is not Clinton. It is not the priest. It is not even fully the African bishops’ conference. The real culprit is the Sacred Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith in Rome. The African bishops’ statement allowing reception of Communion by non-Catholics was completely contrary to Canon Law, the law of the Church and Church tradition. Even so, the office that is supposed to make sure that such errors are corrected said nothing until AFTER Clinton received Communion.

At best, it appears that the Congregation is just slow to act. At worst, it appears that the Congregation only acts when prompted by a major scandal. Either way, such lack of action is a major scandal in itself. This age is one of confusion and deceit where the loyalty of bishops and priests to the Church is constantly in doubt. Several months ago, a similar situation resulted in the same silence from Rome. The President of Ireland (a Catholic) received communion in an Anglican church and said that she does it frequently and does not care if the Church says it is wrong. Unfortunately, instead of restating the Church’s position, the Sacred Congregation said nothing. Once again, the faithful were left questioning what is really true. These issues are not small issues about how many candles to light at Mass or whether a camel can fit through the eye of a needle. These issues strike at the very core of Catholic faith.

Are we, as Catholics, different from all other religions? Do we truly believe that transubstantiation changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? If we do, how can we allow those who are non-Catholic and who publicly challenge the very principals of the Church to receive Communion? How can we allow Catholics to receive communion in churches that do not believe what we believe and teach things contrary to the Catholic faith? The scandal and confusion must be stopped but it is only going to happen if Rome starts safeguarding the faith instead of watching in silence. When those who are supposed to guard the faith stand by silently while the faith is abused, they share the guilt of those directly involved.

Ian Rutherford
April 6, 1998