Communion
US Chinese churches on the front lines of coronavirus vigilance
By Yonat Shimron — February 25, 2020
CARY, N.C. (RNS) — Churches have taken it upon themselves to self-quarantine, in keeping with Centers for Disease Control guidance.
Communion should be personal, not political
By John Gehring — October 31, 2019
(RNS) — Pastors who think they are protecting the faith by denying pro-choice Catholics Communion should remember that Jesus built his movement by instead inviting the sinful and vulnerable to the table.
Understanding US Catholics’ belief in the Eucharist
By Gregory A. Smith — August 19, 2019
(RNS) — Pew Research Center's understanding is that the belief that the Eucharist is really the body and blood of Christ is central to the Catholic faith. As such, we sought to measure what American Catholics believe on the subject.
German Catholics’ confusing attempt to allow Communion for Protestants
By Tom Heneghan — July 12, 2018
(RNS) — New guidelines intended to allow German Protestants to receive Catholic Eucharist with their Catholic spouses has left the country's Catholics caught between its majority’s desire for a relaxation of the rules and the limits to change in the world’s largest church.
Vatican stalls German bishops’ plan to give Protestants Communion
By Christopher Lamb — June 11, 2018
ROME (RNS) – Disagreements between Catholic bishops in Germany about plans to give Communion to Protestants have spilled out into the wider Roman Catholic Church.
Communion must also be for the gluten-free
By Kendall Vanderslice — July 11, 2017
GRAFTON, Mass. (RNS) — Symbolism means little if Jesus’ presence does not actually break down the divisions that keep Christians from joining in communion with one another. (COMMENTARY)
Marriage and divorce: The limits of the Roman Catholic mind
By Mark Silk — April 28, 2017
Eastern Orthodoxy's doctrine of oikonomia seems to be a bridge too far.
Church of Scotland to consider online baptisms, Communion
By Yonat Shimron — May 19, 2016
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) A Church of Scotland committee is pushing for "a wide-ranging review of practice and procedure which is impacted by the use of new technology in church life."
Papal document prescribes pragmatic view of family
By Rosie Scammell — April 8, 2016
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Francis' apostolic exhortation maintains church teachings on divorce and sexuality but stresses the need for “a healthy dose of self-criticism.”
Pope to stress broader conception of family
By Rosie Scammell — April 7, 2016
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Apostolic Exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), will be the culmination of two synods in which family matters were hotly debated by bishops.
Did Pope Francis say Lutherans can take Communion at Catholic Mass?
By David Gibson — November 20, 2015
(RNS) Pope Francis set traditionalist teeth on edge yet again by seeming to suggest that a Lutheran could receive communion in the Catholic Church after consulting her conscience.
NJ archbishop sets rules for barring Catholics from Communion
By David Gibson — October 13, 2015
ROME (RNS) Archbishop John Myers drew a line at the altar rail for Catholics who support gay rights or abortion rights and for Catholics whose marriages are not considered valid by the church.
Catholic to Catholic-ish: 45 percent in US feel connected to the faith
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — September 2, 2015
(RNS) A new survey offers an original way of viewing the spectrum of American Catholicism that Pope Francis will encounter this month on his first U.S. visit.
Most US Catholics are fine with nontraditional families
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — September 2, 2015
(RNS) When Pope Francis meets thousands of U.S. Catholic families this month, he'll find them excited to see him -- but not necessarily in line with many Catholic teachings on family life.
