Why does the Catholic Church refuse to let other Christians participate in the Communion?

Question

Catholics want us to be tolerant of them but they are not tolerant of us at all.

Answer 1

At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Take this bread. It is my body.” The he said, “Take this and drink. This is my blood. Do this in memory of me.”

Catholics believe this was the First Eucharist, that through some miracle the bread and wine actually became the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Catholics reenact the Last Supper during every Mass, where the priest, acting in place of Christ, changes the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is a great sacrament of thanksgiving and unity of Catholics.

Anyone who does not believe in the actual presence of Christ and is not united with the Catholic faith is asked, out of respect, not to receive the Eucharist.

Catholics, out of respect for other Christian faiths, do not receive Communion in non-Catholic churches.

We pray that one day Christian unity will succeed and we will all be called to the same table.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Reception of the Holy Eucharist is not about tolerance.

Catholic Doctrine professes the belief in the Real Presence of the Eucharist. That is, consecrated bread and wine are not symbols. They are the Body and Blood of Christ. Most non-Catholic Christians don't believe this.

To knowingly allow a non-believer in the Real Presence to receive Communion in a Catholic Church is to defile the Eucharist.

Also, when one receives Communion in a Catholic Church, it is an act of profession of all Catholic beliefs and practices. Therefore, a non-Catholic Christian, who is not "in communion" with all Catholic beliefs cannot receive the Eucharist at mass.

As you can see, the Church's take on the Eucharist has nothing to do with tolerance. It is because the Church so reveres the Eucharist that is is offered only to those who believe in the Real Presence and follow Catholic beliefs and practices as a whole.

Reception of the Holy Eucharist is not a right. It is a privilege, but it is a privilege that anyone can earn.

Answer 3

I'm not sure that admitting someone to communion or not is a matter of "toleration." Is it intolerance when people who have not completed certain educational requirements are refused a driver's license? Is it intolerance if I don't invite you to my family picnic or my class reunion? It's a funny notion of tolerance that requires you to invite everyone to everything you do.

For Catholics, the Eucharist is the real presence of the sacrificed and risen Christ and, as such, makes major demands on those who receive it. This follows St. Paul's warnings about eucharistic discipline in 1 Corinthians 11. You can't receive the body of the Lord if you do not recognize it as His body or if you live at major variance with His will. Recognizing it as His body means understanding what happens in the sacrament, and that means receiving some kind of preparation or teaching before you receive it. Many Protestants do not agree with the Catholic Church about what is happening in the Eucharist, and so, from the Catholic point of view, don't see it as the Lord's body. And if Christ willed the Church to be the ordinary means of salvation, as Catholics believe, then not being formally united to that Church is to be at a major variance with Christ's will. Furthermore, because the Eucharist is the presence of Christ, it is the sign of unity of Christians. It would make no sense for people who are not unified to share in the meal.

None of these things are matters of tolerance. I would think that for me to tolerate you is for me to allow you to live in peace and to be the master of your own freedom to the extent that it doesn't disturb the common good. It's hard to see how Baptists being denied Communion at a Catholic church denies the Baptists the right to live in peace and live according to their own consciences as far as public order allows.

Answer 4

I don't know. I know and understand alot of the Catholic prayers and the Catholic ways/beliefs.... apparently better than alot of Catholics do, (I even believe the wafer and wine are literally Christ's body and blood) I've wanted to go and get communion while I was there at mass and someone said that I couldn't just because I didn't get approved by a priest of the catholic church to do so, but I said... isn't Jesus the priest above all other priests? I know and love Jesus! But.. she couldn't answer me. I wish they would allow it... I love Catholics a whole bunch, it just makes me very sad that they don't allow other christians to join with them in that... I don't know, I guess they just have their own ways... :o(

Answer 5

You need to look up the word "tolerant." Tolerance means respecting people's beliefs and recognizing their right to believe what they want. Tolerance does not mean giving up your beliefs so that you don't offend or exclude others.

Closed communion is an ancient Christian practice, and is traditionally restricted to those who are in good standing with the Church. To be in good standing, you at least have to be a member. Communion is considered a benefit of membership, just like the benefits offered to members of any organization.

And no, I am not Roman Catholic.

Answer 6

Catholics believe Jesus is actually present in the Euscharist. Most Christians do not, and to partake of that would be considered dangerous to a Catholic. It also is considered a sign of complete unity, and as a non-Catholic you would not be a part of that.

There are some exceptions, and I sent you the link to the Catholic library.

Answer 7

They believe that communion becomes the body of Christ during Mass and therefore want those participating to support that belief.

""Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law. . . . "

"Another reason that many non-Catholics may not ordinarily receive Communion is for their own protection, since many reject the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Scripture warns that it is very dangerous for one not believing in the Real Presence to receive Communion: "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (1 Cor. 11:29–30). "

Answer 8

Just because it claims to be Christian, it is nothing more than what it really made itself in the year 325... Roman Catholic based on ancient pagans' doctrines and traditions which made it impossible for them to refuse at the time... and the vast majority went along with it as it is not customary for pagans to die for any belief. True Christians were burned at the stake and only reappeared much later... as the few that escaped were mostly hiding in the mountains and reading their bibles in secret! What is no longer a secret though is what the Empire of Babylon The Great is all about and the Catholic Church is it! The ones they have undertow their spell for having brain-washed them for so long seem to be the only ones unaware of who it really is... Its sad! But there's still some light at the end of the tunnel... as so many are now reading the Bible and increasingly having their eyes open and walking away!

Answer 9

Because most other Christians do not discern that Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine -- body, blood, soul, and divinity. It is for their own protection:

"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." (1 Corinthians 11:27-30)

Answer 10

Because Catholics believe that God loves us so much that he comes to us in the form of bread and wine to be one with us. Catholics believe that it isn't really bread and wine anymore; it is truly the body and blood of Jesus. That's why they call it communion -- com-UNION. It is so precious and so special that they don't want to share it with people who think it's just a piece of bread that tastes like plastic.