Quote:
Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie
Wouldn't the woman have known she would be refused communion? It couldn't have been a surprise to her that living in a state of unrepentence (according to Catholic teaching) would disqualify her.
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It is very uncommon for individuals who present themselves for communion to be refused. However, the woman should have known that it was inappropriate for her to do so as she was living a lifestyle contrary to Church beliefs and thus not "in communion" with the Church. The act of receiving communion represents that a person is accepting of all Church teachings. In this situation, the woman could have instead presented herself for a blessing, as anyone is welcome to do. I do agree that this is quite an upsetting situation, but the priest probably felt that he was protecting the woman by not giving her communion.