Pope Francis: German Proposal on [Sacrilegeous] Intercommunion Will Be "Guiding Document"

On his flight from Geneva to Rome (June 21), Pope Francis commented on the letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith against the German bishops’ proposal on allowing Protestants to receive Communion.

Francis stressed that the bishops should "study the thing further" as the German proposal “will be a guiding document so that every diocesan bishop can work with what canon law already permits." For obvious theological reasons, canon law prohibits intercommunion.

Francis said, that he wants to ensure that the German idea is on “a good path”.

According to Francis, the “difficulty of the discussion” is not the [sacrilegious] distribution of Holy Communion to Non-Catholics, but the lacking authority of a bishops’ conference, because [for obvious theological reasons] canon law does not foresee that bishops' conferences make decisions over the head of single bishops who are responsible for their own dioceses.

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