Cohabiting Couples To Be Refused The Eucharist?

[Hilde]

In Malta.

Just look at this blog [url="http://canonlawblog.blogspot.com/"]right here.[/url]

And look [url="http://maltadiocese.org/lang/en/news/the-sacraments-of-marriage-and-the-eucharistis-sagramenti-taz-zwieg-u-l-ewkaristija/"]here[/url]. Just do it.

[CatherineM]

Malta's hardcore. I wish we could all do that. I wonder if it is easier there because it's an island and everyone kind of knows each other. In a place like Edmonton where everyone is from somewhere else, it can be harder to know without giving every new parishioner the third degree.

[Brother Adam]

Anyone in a state of mortal sin should refrain from receiving the Eucharist.

[MithLuin]

According to a comment on the second blog, the message of the bishop(s) of Malta was prompted by a comment made on a TV show - perhaps suggesting that cohabiting was okay, and one could still go to church and receive communion? I don't know what the scandalous remark was, but quite certainly it is what prompted this statement from the bishops.

[Norseman82]

[img]http://shadowsbastion.com/gallery/albums/uploads500b/applause.gif[/img]

It should be common knowledge and something that shouldn't even have to be said, though.







Of course, we also need to do something about EMHCs that cohabitate....

[Hilde]

If that's the case, it's great that they took formal action.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='27 May 2010 - 05:46 PM' timestamp='1275000406' post='2119361']
Anyone in a state of mortal sin should refrain from receiving the Eucharist.
[/quote]
The problem comes from the folks who don't think they are doing anything wrong.

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='Norseman82' date='27 May 2010 - 05:57 PM' timestamp='1275001039' post='2119374']
Of course, we also need to do something about EMHCs that cohabitate....
[/quote]

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='27 May 2010 - 06:00 PM' timestamp='1275001222' post='2119378']
The problem comes from the folks who don't think they are doing anything wrong.
[/quote]

and the ones who know and just don't care

[Resurrexi]

Malta rox my sox.

[Galloglasses' Alt]

Because my problem is related to this issue. I live in a housing estate in the city of Belfast for my university studies and often I have to rent a room from one of my Landlord's house and have no control over who rents the other rooms. For my first year I had to share my house with two girls, (in succession not at the same time) that I didnt know. does this count as co-habitation?

[Thomist-in-Training]

[quote name='Galloglasses' Alt' date='27 May 2010 - 09:30 PM' timestamp='1275010232' post='2119470']
Because my problem is related to this issue. I live in a housing estate in the city of Belfast for my university studies and often I have to rent a room from one of my Landlord's house and have no control over who rents the other rooms. For my first year I had to share my house with two girls, (in succession not at the same time) that I didnt know. does this count as co-habitation?
[/quote]

In the strict sense def no. In a broader sense like 'is this a living situation that a Catholic oughta avoid' it depends on the exact setup I guess. I can't really tell from your description. (Is it like an apartment and you have your own bathroom, or do you run into girls in the hallway at all hours of the night etc.) But that's def. not what cohabitation means and you can't be in a state of mortal sin unless you know what you're doing is wrong. If you know a real good priest describe to him the house setup and ask. If you really don't then perhaps various Phatmassers can help you figure it out.

NB even if you were living in the same house as a girl that wouldn't be defined as cohabitation as I understand it, in the situation you've described; but it could possibly be considered an [i]occasion of sin [/i]depending on the circs, that's why I say to ask a priest since you feel there might be an issue.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Galloglasses' Alt' date='27 May 2010 - 08:30 PM' timestamp='1275010232' post='2119470']
Because my problem is related to this issue. I live in a housing estate in the city of Belfast for my university studies and often I have to rent a room from one of my Landlord's house and have no control over who rents the other rooms. For my first year I had to share my house with two girls, (in succession not at the same time) that I didnt know. does this count as co-habitation?
[/quote]

It sounds like you were in a [i]necessary[/i] occasion of sin, which is okay as long as you persist in prayer and the reception of the sacraments.

[Galloglasses' Alt]

Well its a house not an apartment and there's only one bathroom. I usually stay in my room most of the time like the social butterfly I am, so I rarely ever meet the girls.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Galloglasses' Alt' date='27 May 2010 - 08:51 PM' timestamp='1275011483' post='2119479']
Well its a house not an apartment and there's only one bathroom. I usually stay in my room most of the time like the social butterfly I am, so I rarely ever meet the girls.
[/quote]

Dude, it sounds like you're [i]definitely[/i] fine. No sin involved (as far as I can tell).

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Galloglasses' Alt' date='27 May 2010 - 10:30 PM' timestamp='1275010232' post='2119470']
Because my problem is related to this issue. I live in a housing estate in the city of Belfast for my university studies and often I have to rent a room from one of my Landlord's house and have no control over who rents the other rooms. For my first year I had to share my house with two girls, (in succession not at the same time) that I didnt know. does this count as co-habitation?
[/quote]
Co-habiting is what used to be called " liiving in sin" and no you are not.

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

[quote name='Galloglasses' Alt' date='27 May 2010 - 07:30 PM' timestamp='1275010232' post='2119470']
I have to rent a room from one of my Landlord's house and have no control over who rents the other rooms. . does this count as co-habitation?
[/quote]

No, clearly they are not speaking of people who rent rooms. They are speaking of couples shacking up together.

[tinytherese]

If the couple is fornicating (and possibly contracepting as well) then they definitely shouldn't be receiving Our Lord. In my experience, people in general know that the Church is against premarital-sex, but often they don't know [i]why.[/i]

I remember reading in Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World: A Guide for Catholics, how the author pointed out that even if a man and woman were living together, but not sleeping together that the people around them probably would assume that they were having sex (because really how many cohabitating couples don't or in the beginning claim that they won't yet give into temptation eventually.?) If people around them knew that they were Catholic and cohabitating, that could cause scandal for them, especially if they themselves are Catholic. "Oh well they're Catholic and do it. It might be okay to do it then." It would especially be scandalous to fellow parishioners and in particular to young people, since they would be setting a bad example, especially if they are seen receiving communion.

[MIKolbe]

I appreciated the kindness with which this truth was reiterated by the Bishop.

[MithLuin]

[b]TT[/b], my parents do marriage prep (pre-Cana) with couples preparing for marriage in the Catholic church. Very often, they have to deal with couples who are cohabiting - this comes up right away when they each have the same address for their contact info. Recently, they had a couple who had that situation, and as my dad started to explain things to them, they told him no, no, we're waiting til marriage.

My dad was surprised by this, so he told someone at work the scenario, and she said "That's what my husband and I did."

So, it does happen. Not often, mind you, but it does happen. Co-habitation happens often for financial reasons, so it's possible for couples to decide to do 'the right thing' as far as sleeping arrangements go, even if they are certainly leading others to make scandalous conclusions. While it is good to avoid scandal, certainly it is better to avoid mortal sin. So, at least they got part of it right.