Communion for Divorced and Remarried Abandoned?


First Italian language group drops the subject

by Rodney Pelletier  •   October 21, 2015  ROME, October 21, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Stanislaw Gądecki, the head of the Polish episcopal conference, reports that the first Italian small group — of which he is a part — is no longer promoting giving Holy Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.
Originally the group was heavily in favor, but it's been dropped from the final report that will be presented to Synod Fathers tomorrow.
Cardinal Gądecki noted in his personal blog (as translated by jlpressagency.com):
In the end report of our circolo there are no words about Holy Communion for the divorced living in new unions, from which I deduce that there must have been a sharp U-turn, since earlier they were strongly defending this position, and now suddenly they have abandoned it.
It isn't necessarily an indication the subject will be left out of further Synod discussions or that advocates in the first Italian small group have had a change of heart. With a new emphasis on "language" by Synod members and early backlash by a fair number of bishops early on, it may simply be a shift of tactics.
Insiders are saying, however, that it's a sign that things are not going well for the liberals. Although they still occupy positions of power, they don't seem to have the majority, and today's small circle reports are an indication of a turnaround.