Catholic church invalidates 8 year-old's first communion due to wheat allergy!

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...-regional-wire

8-year-old's first Holy Communion invalidated by Church

By JOHN CURRAN
Associated Press Writer

August 12, 2004, 2:25 PM EDT

BRIELLE, N.J. -- An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot consume wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained none, violating Catholic doctrine.

Now, Haley Waldman's mother is pushing the Diocese of Trenton and the Vatican to make an exception, saying the girl's condition _ celiac sprue disease _ should not exclude her from participating in the sacrament, in which Roman Catholics eat consecrated wheat-based wafers to commemorate the last supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion.

"In my mind, I think they must not understand celiac," said Elizabeth Pelly-Waldman, 30. "It's just not a viable option. How does it corrupt the tradition of the Last Supper? It's just rice versus wheat."

It's more than that, according to church doctrine, which holds that communion wafers must have at least some unleavened wheat, as did the bread served at the Last Supper.

The Diocese of Trenton has told Waldman's mother that the girl can receive a low-gluten host, drink wine at communion or abstain entirely, but that any host without gluten does not qualify as Holy Communion.

Pelly-Waldman rejected the offer, saying even a small amount of gluten could harm her child.

Gluten is a food protein contained in wheat and other grains.

"This is not an issue to be determined at the diocesan or parish level, but has already been decided for the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world by Vatican authority," said Bishop John M. Smith.

"Hosts that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist," Smith said in a prepared statement released Thursday by the diocese.

Celiac sprue disease, an autoimmune disorder, occurs in people with a genetic intolerance of gluten.

When consumed by celiac sufferers, gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, blocking nutrient absorption and leading to vitamin deficiencies, bone-thinning and sometimes gastrointestinal cancer.

It isn't the first such communion controversy. In 2001, the family of a 5-year-old Natick, Mass., girl with the disease left the Catholic church after being denied permission to use a rice wafer.

Some Catholic churches allow the use of no-gluten hosts, others don't, according to Elaine Monarch, executive director of the Celiac Disease Foundation, a Studio City, Calif.-based support group for sufferers.

"It is a dilemma," said Monarch. "It is a major frustration that someone who wants to follow their religion is restricted from doing so because some churches will not allow it."

"It is an undue hardship on a person who wants to practice their religion and needs to compromise their health to do so," Monarch said.

Haley Waldman, a shy, brown-haired tomboy who loves surfing and hates to wear a dress, was diagnosed with the disorder at 5.

"I'm on a gluten-free diet because I can't have wheat, I could die," she said in an interview Wednesday.

Last year, in anticipation of the Brielle Elementary School third grader reaching Holy Communion age, her mother told officials at St. Denis Catholic Church in Manasquan that the girl could not have the standard host.

The church's pastor, the Rev. Stanley P. Lukaszewski, told her that a gluten-free substitute was unacceptable.

But a priest at a nearby parish contacted Pelly-Waldman after learning about the dilemma, volunteering to administer the sacrament using a gluten-free host.

She said she won't identify the priest or his parish for fear of repercussions from diocese.

On May 2, Waldman _ wearing a white communion dress _ made her first Holy Communion in a ceremony at the priest's church. Her mother, who also suffers from celiac and had not received communion since her diagnosis four years ago, also received.

But last month, the diocese told the priest that Waldman's sacrament would not be validated by the church because of the substitute wafer.

"I struggled with telling her that the sacrament did not happen," said Pelly-Waldman. "She lives in a world of rules. She says `Mommy, do we want to break a rule? Are we breaking a rule?"'

Now, the mother is seeking papal intervention. She has written to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, challenging the church's policy.

"This is a church rule, not God's will, and it can easily be adjusted to meet the needs of the people, while staying true to the traditions of our faith," Pelly-Waldman said in the letter.

For her part, Pelly-Waldman _ who attends Mass every Sunday with her four children _ said she is not out to bash the church, just to change the policy that affects her daughter.

"I'm hopeful. Do I think it will be a long road to change? Yes. But I'm raising an awareness and I'm taking it one step at a time," she said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

The real sad fact here is that a wafer cannot be blessed anymore by a guy in a robe, than myself, a woman who has given her life to Christ, is celibate by choice (well, until marriage), and filled with the holy ghost.

Where did Jesus say that he gave man the blessing to turn wine into blood and bread in body? He didn't. I bless my food before I eat it, and it is not anymore or any less special than a priest praying over communion.

I think the Catholic church needs to do some praying. Do they honestly believe that the Lord would have turned down one of his disciples during the last supper if they were allergic to the food?

that's kinda messed up. though in symbolic purposes, if her body rejects the "body of christ" the symbolism is sorta lost. but damn, man, get some gluten free wafers. our church used them.

Before people get pissed off, this is a rare disease, and probably has not happened in God knows how long. I think it's safe to guess they will make an exception for her, it might take some time, but when you have a large church with a lot of people, there can be red tape, unfortuently.

Originally Posted by Epiphany

The real sad fact here is that a wafer cannot be blessed anymore by a guy in a robe, than myself, a woman who has given her life to Christ, is celibate by choice (well, until marriage), and filled with the holy ghost.

Once again, you fail to grasp the teachings of the Catholic Church. He is more than just a guy in a robe, he is a priest. Christ commissioned the apostoles to do this. It's called Apostolic Succession, and is a very important teaching in the Church. Communion blessing is not the only rule where Apostolic succession comes in to play either, by any means. I don't want to stray off topic, however, I do think women should be allowed to be priests, I think most Catholics feel this way to. But, until we get another pope, it's not going to happen. Pope John Paul is very, (in my opinion too) conservative.

Where did Jesus say that he gave man the blessing to turn wine into blood and bread in body? He didn't. I bless my food before I eat it, and it is not anymore or any less special than a priest praying over communion.

Your pot roast or steak is not the Body/Blood of Christ!!! You do not have the power vested in you to do so, either. That is the most absurd, simplistic comparison I have heard yet, and is somewhat insulting as well. My family prays before meals to, but we are not turning dinner in to the body of Christ. It is more of a thanksgiving, so to speak. Christ set down the law the night of the last supper, he commissioned his apostoles to continue to do communion (in the literal sense I might add as well)

I think the Catholic church needs to do some praying. Do they honestly believe that the Lord would have turned down one of his disciples during the last supper if they were allergic to the food?

I think you should do some praying--about how you think your pot roast is even in the same category as Holy Communion.


And finnaly, I will show what the early Christians/Church fathers beleived when communion was done during the mass: (Real Presence)

Ignatius of Antioch:
I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible" (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).


Cyril of Jerusalem

"The bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, but the invocation having been made, the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine the blood of Christ" (Catechetical Lectures 19:7 [A.D. 350]).


Justin Martyr
"We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus" (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).


Tertullian

"[T]here is not a soul that can at all procure salvation, except it believe whilst it is in the flesh, so true is it that the flesh is the very condition on which salvation hinges. And since the soul is, in consequence of its salvation, chosen to the service of God, it is the flesh which actually renders it capable of such service. The flesh, indeed, is washed [in baptism], in order that the soul may be cleansed . . . the flesh is shadowed with the imposition of hands [in confirmation], that the soul also may be illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh feeds [in the Eucharist] on the body and blood of Christ, that the soul likewise may be filled with God" (The Resurrection of the Dead 8 [A.D. 210]).

Once again, you fail to grasp the teachings of the Catholic Church. He is more than just a guy in a robe, he is a priest.

The Father of my parent's Catholic church sips wine at a retaurant bar and has his body raveged with cancer from cigarette smoke. The holy ghost isn't dwelling in that temple! You cannot touch sin in one hand and God in the other. He might be a priest, but him blessing my food isn't much help. My Apostolic Pentecostal Pastor, on the other hand, is alcohol free, smoke free, and filled to the brim with the holy ghost. Hmmm, who should be praying over a wafer?

Your pot roast or steak is not the Body/Blood of Christ!!! You do not have the power vested in you to do so, either.

Power comes only by the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). Unless a priest has been baptized into Jesus Christ (by his name) and filled with the spirit of God, he has no power. Jesus said do ALL things in his name. Not in trinity titles.

Originally Posted by Epiphany

The Father of my parent's Catholic church sips wine at a retaurant bar and has his body raveged with cancer from cigarette smoke. The holy ghost isn't dwelling in that temple! You cannot touch sin in one hand and God in the other. He might be a priest, but him blessing my food isn't much help. My Apostolic Pentecostal Pastor, on the other hand, is alcohol free, smoke free, and filled to the brim with the holy ghost. Hmmm, who should be praying over a wafer?



Power comes only by the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). Unless a priest has been baptized into Jesus Christ (by his name) and filled with the spirit of God, he has no power. Jesus said do ALL things in his name. Not in trinity titles.

wow. so according to your rules, no priest or leader of the church will ever be allowed to bless anything, since they're all sinners. the holy ghost will dwell in whatever temple he's asked to enter. that's the point. addictions aside, what's wrong with wine? see, this is one of the reasons i'm not a pentecostal, ya'll are too willing to judge other people's actions.

Originally Posted by Epiphany

The Father of my parent's Catholic church sips wine at a retaurant bar and has his body raveged with cancer from cigarette smoke. The holy ghost isn't dwelling in that temple! You cannot touch sin in one hand and God in the other. He might be a priest, but him blessing my food isn't much help. My Apostolic Pentecostal Pastor, on the other hand, is alcohol free, smoke free, and filled to the brim with the holy ghost. Hmmm, who should be praying over a wafer?

So what?! He is a priest, he is human, he is going to sin just like your pentecostal pastor.

HOW IS SIPPING WINE AND SMOKING A SIN?????? It's not. I could care less if your pastor is filled with the "Holy Ghost", he is far from an ordained priest.

Power comes only by the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). Unless a priest has been baptized into Jesus Christ (by his name) and filled with the spirit of God, he has no power. Jesus said do ALL things in his name. Not in trinity titles.

Yeah, I am going to beleive your Holy Roller Pentacostal interpretation of the bible over what the Apostoles and early Church fathers practiced, those that were closest to Christ. Absurd. What King James did was dangerous, and I don't know how people can sleep at night knowing that they are using a bible,created by an anti-catholic king, who removed 7 books out of it--a political, non eccelestial figure nonetheless. Besdies that, all priests have made their First Communion, Baptism, and Confirmation (recieving of the holy spirit) so they obviously fit your criteria.

Originally Posted by Jozak

So what?! He is a priest, he is human, he is going to sin just like your pentecostal pastor.

Yes, everyone sins. The difference? You cannot claim God and one hand and cling to sin with the other.

HOW IS SIPPING WINE AND SMOKING A SIN?????? It's not. I could care less if your pastor is filled with the "Holy Ghost", he is far from an ordained priest.

And as you have said repeatedly, the Catholic church is based on tradition. When the apostles broke away from tradition and the Pharises spoke against it, they were repremended by Christ. Sorry, Jesus said that he gave power to those filled with the holy ghost. A priest who isn't filled with the holy ghost is just a man reading from the Bible. Anyone can read a Bible passage and talk about it. It's sad that the holy ghost isn't being taught in Catholic churches they way the Bible tells us. Jesus himself said that water and spirit are necessary to enter into Heaven. The difference between an, "Ordained", priest, and a true man of God? It's kind of like college. The courses in the holy ghost are working towards a degree. Simple traditions of man that tell a priest that they are ordained, are like non-credit courses.

Who ordains someone to be a teacher of the word? GOD, not man. God gives direction in the life of those he sends in his name. Man does not.

Yeah, I am going to beleive your Holy Roller Pentacostal interpretation of the bible over what the Apostoles and early Church fathers practiced, those that were closest to Christ.

Those who are closest to Christ were filled with the holy ghost! How do we know this? Acts says, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in new tongues as the spirit enabled them." Which happened after Jesus told them it would. My pastor is filled with the holy ghost just as the apostles were. They spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost and so does my Pastor and congregation. This is what those who were closest to Jesus did and this is what we as his followers now do. Holler Roller? Yes.... what were the apostles? Holy Rollers! They were on fire for Christ, they spoke in his name, and they were filled with his spirit. My pastor's interpretation? Correction.... When God ordaines one to preach, they must first be filled with his spirit. Read the Bible... The holy spirit is a counselor, a teacher, a guide. My pastor does not, "interpret," the Bible. Rather, the holy ghost speaks through my pastor. He does not read a passage from the Bible and sit and tell us a little story like the priests do in the Catholic churches I have attended during much of my childhood. My pastor prays, and fasts and is filled with the holy ghost (All the things those apostles did) and the spirit of God living inside of him shows him the way. Just as the holy ghosts shows the way of truth to the rest of believers he dwells inside. Which is what Jesus tells us in the Bible that he would do. My Holly Roller pastor follows God's word, not rules and traditions of men.

How do you think that God showed his people that they were filled? He didn't say, "You will have a wonderful feeling inside"? No, he said, "with foreign lips and strange tongues".

I would love to hear a Priest defend his actions against the word of the Lord! If I was to walk into my parent's church and start praying in the Spirit, people would look at me like I was insane. Which is interesting because they claim to profess God's word, yet they simply, "forget", about Acts? It's funny how Catholic churches around the world celebrated Pentecost this past year, but ignored the account of how it took place. It was amusing some Catholic churches around the area had signs reading, "Pentecostals welcome."

Besdies that, all priests have made their First Communion, Baptism, and Confirmation (recieving of the holy spirit) so they obviously fit your criteria.

Peter said: "Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit (Actts 2:38)

Didn't Jesus say to Peter that he was the rock he would build his true church on? Hmmm..... Well Peter says in the name of Jesus and priests aren't baptized in the name of Jesus. If salvation comes under no other name than his (Acts 4:32), and he died for our sins, then being baptized in his name makes sense which is why Peter mentioned this.

Acts 10:47 Peter says, "They have recieved the Holy Spirirt just as we have"(which was again, during pentecost while praying in the upper room)
and again Peter,"Ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ"

Confirmation:The Eastern Church omits the imposition of hands and the prayer at the beginning, and accompanies the anointing with the words: "the sign [or seal] of the gift of the Holy Ghost." These several actions symbolize the nature and purpose of the sacrament: the anointing signifies the strength given for the spiritual conflict; the balsam contained in the chrism, the fragrance of virtue and the good odor of Christ; the sign of the cross on the forehead, the courage to confess Christ, before all men; the imposition of hands and the blow on the cheek, enrollment in the service of Christ which brings true peace to the soul. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04215b.htm)

Peter and Philip layed hands and prayed while those, who had been baptized in Jesus named prayed. Then they recieved the holy spirit. They didn't recieve it because of laying of hands, they recieved it through prayer and through God granting it. (Acts says those who were first filled at Pentecost were in the upper room praying). How did they know? They spoke in tongues. All I see in the above paragraph is symbolisim and tradition. Nothing concrete. The Bible clearly states that God would grant the holy spirit to those who seek, but he also gives an example of how we will know. That is through tongues as his word says.

"Confirmation is to baptism what growth is to generation. Now it is clear that a man cannot advance to a perfect age unless he has first been born; in like manner, unless he has first been baptized he cannot receive the Sacrament of Confirmation"

Those in the Bible who recieved the holy ghost did so after baptism in the name of Jesus. Not titles. This is clearly stated!!!

I had transferred to a Christian school and was not attending the Catholic church any longer so I did not make my confirmation. But guess what? I was filled the holy ghost and spoke in tongues (like the Bible said I would) back in February of this year. No priest kissed me on the cheek (thankfully), there was no adopting the name of a saint (as they do here). There was prayer like in that upper room, there were those filled with the holy ghost laying hands on me, and I was feverently praying to God. That is how those in the Bible recieved the Holy Ghost and that is how I did.

Jesus said: "everything you do, do it in my name". Why doesn't that Catholic church do things in Jesus's name if they believe they are Christians?

It's pretty simple if you look at it. The Bible lays it all out for us, yet these false prophets go and change the word around. They tell you what the Bible says according to them. When you are filled with the holy ghost, the spirit of God living inside you tells you what the Bible says according to Him. Not according to man.

Remember, I do not hate Catholics. I simply do not hate anyone. As I have said, my family is Catholic. What I do hate is the false doctorine being spread.

how is the holy spirit not in the priests? i don't think that follows at all.

--Makin the sighn of the cross.... -Swingin a chicken around yer head... -It all looks the same to me! -pist