A co-worker who is Presbyterian said that she received Communion with her husband, who is Catholic, in his church. He was divorced and I don't know if his present marriage took place in the Catholic Church. They go one week to his church and the next to her church.

I explained to her that she should not receive Communion since she is not Catholic and doesn't believe in everything we believe. She thinks that just because she is Christian and believes in the Real Presence then she should be able to receive.

Was I wrong to tell her this? And is there a better reason for her not being able to receive?

Janice--

A better reason for her not being able to receive Catholic Communion is because she is not Catholic. Period. Just as she would respect the rules of a mosque or synagogue by not wearing shoes in a mosque or expecting to read from the Torah in a synagogue, so she should respect the Catholic Church's rules for distribution of Communion within its churches.

That said, it really is too personal of a conversation for co-workers. I cannot recommend saying anything else to her on the matter unless she reintroduces the subject herself.

Michelle Arnold
Catholic Answers

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