Taking C of I Communion a sham, says archbishop

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, has said it is "a sham" for a Roman Catholic to take Communion in a Protestant church. He also took issue with comments by the Archdeacon of Dublin, the Ven Gordon Linney, that a Catholic may take Communion from a Protestant in exceptional circumstances. "Under no circumstances is that possible," he said.

Dr Desmond Connell said a Catholic priest "might give the Eucharist to a Protestant in exceptional circumstances, provided the Protestant expresses a faith that is identical with the Catholic eucharistic faith".

If a Catholic wanted to be truly courteous in attending a Church of Ireland service, "you will not engage in the deception that is involved in taking Communion".

Speaking in an interview with Eamon Dunphy on Radio Ireland's Last Word programme last night, Dr Connell said participating in the Eucharist was the most profound expression of one's faith. Catholics celebrated the Eucharist in the light of their apostolic faith. "You cannot at the same time celebrate the Eucharist professing that apostolic faith, as we would maintain it, and professing a faith that is other than the apostolic faith, that is incompatible with it."

"Though people do not seem to appreciate it", if Roman Catholics took Communion in a Protestant church, "they have their own Catholic faith and they profess that, and what they are in fact doing in partaking of the Eucharist in a Protestant church is a sham". Therefore it seemed to him "profoundly insulting to the Church of Ireland or to any other Protestant church" to do so.

As regards the return of the former bishop of Galway, Dr Eamonn Casey, Dr Connell felt it "very important this be done properly". Over the years he had had many letters from people who had been "deeply hurt by what had happened". It was his view at the time that there should have been "an acknowledgement of the enormity of what had happened".

Others thought a man should not be hit when he was down, Dr Casey was going through enough and it should not be added to. He thought some people believed the bishops were looking after one of their own. "I must say I was unhappy," Dr Connell said. If Dr Casey came back it had to be "in such a way he will not revive the hurt that has been experienced th rough his behaviour in the past".

Other bishops had retired in the last 30 years "and each and every one of them, if I might put it this way, got lost. There wasn't one other word from them. That has been the practice." That should be the way where Dr Casey, as a retired bishop, was concerned, he said.