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Celiac.com 01/08/2025 - For Catholics with celiac disease, safely partaking in Holy Communion can be a deeply personal and complex issue. The unique challenge lies in balancing religious practices with medical requirements. Here, we explore the intricacies of low-gluten hosts and their safety, offering practical advice for individuals and parishes. Understanding Gluten-Free Standards and Church Accommodation Celiac disease requires strict dietary adherence, but the Catholic Church accommodates these needs by allowing low-gluten hosts for communion. Australia, in particular, upholds some of the world’s strictest gluten-free standards. The Coeliac Society of Australia has confirmed that low-gluten hosts—though not entirely free of gluten—are likely safe for many individuals with celiac disease. The key to understanding their safety lies in the numbers. People with celiac disease are typically advised to limit gluten intake to less than 10 milligrams per day. While this threshold may vary slightly, it is a useful guideline. Comparatively, a typical slice of bread far exceeds this amount, containing thousands of milligrams of gluten. Low-Gluten Hosts: A Breakdown of Gluten Levels Low-gluten hosts, such as those manufactured by companies like Cavanagh Altar Breads, weigh about 33 milligrams each and contain between 5 and 70 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. At the lower end of this spectrum, a host would contain approximately 0.0002 milligrams of gluten—an amount significantly below the daily safe limit. Even at higher ppm levels, the amount of gluten in these hosts is minimal, especially since they are consumed infrequently. The Coeliac Society of Australia supports this conclusion, though individuals with heightened sensitivity may need to proceed with extra caution. Addressing Gluten Reactions Despite these assurances, some individuals still experience reactions to low-gluten hosts. There are two primary reasons for this: heightened sensitivity or cross-contamination. For those who are hypersensitive, consuming the Blood of Christ only—an acceptable alternative under Catholic doctrine—may be the safest option. However, cross-contamination during the liturgy is a more common issue. Preventing Cross-Contamination During Mass, there are several opportunities for gluten to inadvertently transfer to a low-gluten host. For instance, when the priest breaks the Eucharistic bread (the fraction rite), crumbs may fall near or into the pyx containing low-gluten hosts. This risk can be reduced by positioning the pyx away from the main altar bread. Handling practices also play a role. The priest or minister distributing communion should avoid direct contact with the low-gluten host to minimize contamination. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference recommends handing the pyx directly to the communicant rather than touching the host itself. Managing the Chalice and Cleansing Rituals For individuals receiving the Blood of Christ, additional precautions are necessary. The chalice used for celiac communicants should be separate from those used during the rite of commingling, where a fragment of the host is added to the wine. This ensures that gluten does not accidentally enter the chalice. Cleansing practices also require attention. If a chalice is improperly cleaned after a previous service, trace amounts of gluten could remain. Assigning a specific acolyte to handle celiac-safe chalices and ensuring thorough cleaning are effective ways to mitigate this risk. Collaboration Between Individuals and Parishes Successful navigation of low-gluten communion requires open communication between individuals with celiac disease and their parish. Discussing specific needs with the priest and clarifying the available accommodations can prevent misunderstandings and enhance safety. Parishes can further support congregants by training liturgical ministers on best practices for preventing cross-contamination. Dedicating specific chalices and maintaining clear protocols for cleaning vessels are simple yet impactful measures. The Importance of Medical Monitoring Finally, individuals with celiac disease should continue regular medical monitoring, even if they appear to tolerate low-gluten hosts. This allows for early detection of potential damage and ensures long-term health. Consulting with healthcare providers about any symptoms or concerns provides an additional layer of protection. The Goal: Safe Communion for All Low-gluten hosts offer a viable option for many Catholics with celiac disease, enabling them to fully participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion. By understanding the gluten content, implementing safeguards against cross-contamination, and fostering dialogue between parishioners and clergy, the Church can ensure that all members can partake safely. For those living with celiac disease, these measures represent both a physical and spiritual opportunity to embrace their faith without compromising their health. Read more at: catholicweekly.com.au Watch the video version of this article:
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Celiac.com 12/13/2022 - Being gluten-free presents some challenges for Catholics with celiac disease, especially if they cannot receive the host via the chalice, as was the case during the height of the Covid epidemic. We've done a few articles off gluten-free communion wafers, and on the church rules around them. Communion Bread Must Contain "Some" Wheat Catholics with celiac disease who hope to take communion in the form of gluten-free bread or wafers are likely hoping in vain, because according to church law, all bread that is consecrated at the altar must contain a percentage of wheat. The latest confirmation of this reality comes via Sister Fiachra Nutty, from St Mary’s Abbey, in Waterford, Ireland. Sister Fiachra’s job up until September of 2020 was baking and selling holy bread. The pandemic has "made some of our work redundant, our primary work here is prayer,” she said on RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline. Before the pandemic, Sister Fiachra was working on Eucharist bread. She said she made five different sizes of bread both in brown and white. But there was never a gluten-free option. "We don’t do gluten-free,” she said. “That is by canon law that the bread that's concentrated at the alter must have a percentage of wheat, so we can't produce gluten-free hosts and be in conformity with canon law." She acknowledged the existence of gluten-free hosts, but noted the law. "Now, there are gluten-free hosts out there and I’m not trying to cause trouble with anybody but under canon law it's not supposed to be concentrated." Celiacs Should Take Communion from the Chalice She advises Catholics with celiac disease to consider that, absent the bread or wafer, they can choose to receive from the chalice. People who "have a problem with gluten...should really be receiving from the chalice. I know we can’t now but pre Covid.” The rule that communion hosts must contain gluten has presented challenges for numerous Catholics looking to receive communion. How much the practice of conferring host and chalice at mass has changed back to its pre-Covid ways remains unclear. Perhaps Catholics with celiac disease who take mass can chime into our comments and let us know the disposition of the host and chalice in your local parish, both pre- and post-covid. Certainly, for Catholics looking to receive communion via the host, this news will likely be unwelcome, and possibly present some challenges to receiving communion. There is also a possibility of ingesting cross-contamination when drinking from a chalice that has been shared with others who have just eaten a gluten-containing host. Are you Catholic? Have you run into this problem in your local parish? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Read more at independent.ie
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Celiac.com 08/09/2012 - Among many gluten-free catholics, there's been a good deal of excitement lately about low-gluten and gluten-free communion wafers for Mass in the Catholic church. However, much of that excitement seems to have been misplaced, at least in Ohio. That's because the Catholic Diocese of Columbus recently said that gluten-free wafers don’t meet Vatican standards because they don’t contain wheat. For Catholics, consecrated bread and wine are the literal body and blood of Jesus, and the sacrament of Holy Eucharist is “the heart and the summit of the Church’s life,” according to its catechism. Because Jesus ate wheat bread with his apostles before his Crucifixion, church law requires the host to be wheat and only wheat, said Deacon Martin Davies, director of the Office for Divine Worship at the Diocese of Columbus. Without wheat, the wafers cannot be consecrated and used in Mass, so no gluten-free wafers. In 1995, the Vatican said low-gluten hosts are valid if they hold enough gluten to make bread. Worshippers wanting the low-gluten option were required to present a medical certificate and obtain a bishop’s approval. The policy was loosened in 2003 to eliminate the medical-certificate requirement and to allow pastors to grant approval. The Vatican also said that Catholics with celiac disease could receive Communion via wine only. However, for faithful catholics with celiac disease and gluten intolerance who want to participate more fully, the low-gluten version, which some say tastes terrible, remains the only communion wafer option. U.S. Catholic bishops have approved two manufacturers of low-gluten wafers. One is the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri; the order’s website says it has provided hosts for more than 2,000 celiac sufferers. The other is Parish Crossroads in Indiana, which provides low-gluten hosts made in Germany. The low-gluten wafers made by the Benedictine Sisters contain less than 100 parts per million, says Mary Kay Sharrett, a clinical dietitian at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She said the amount of gluten in one of the hosts is 0.004 milligrams and that researchers have found it takes about 10 milligrams per day to start a reaction. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed a rule that says products could be labeled gluten-free if the gluten content is less than 20 parts per million. Source: The Columbus Dispatch
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Celiac.com 11/26/2014 - Catholics with celiac disease received some hopeful news recently, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted overwhelmingly in favor of drafting of a revision to the Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons with Disabilities. The vote was 207 bishops in favor and one against, with one abstention. The bishops voted to change the guideline to accommodate people with celiac disease and others who cannot consume wheat, and have been unable to take full communion. Because churches are required to serve communion wafers that contain wheat, numerous people have been unable to consume the wafers, and have thereby been missing out on what many deem to be a crucial part of communion. Some Catholic churches have tried to accommodate people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities by offering low-gluten communion wafers. However, even the low-gluten versions approved by the church generally did not meet the FDA standards requiring less than 20 parts per million of gluten, and were thus unacceptable to many with celiac disease or severe gluten sensitivity. For these people, even small amounts of the wheat gluten can cause health problems. Exactly what changes the bishops will make regarding the Eucharistic wafer remain to be seen. Ideally, the new guidelines will permit wafers that are safe for people with celiac disease, and which will permit them to enjoy full communion. How do you feel about this? Is it welcome news? Do you know any catholics who’ve been missing out on communion? Stay tuned for more news on the new guidelines. Here, you’ll find a copy of the November 2014 USCCB General Assembly Agenda Item Vote Results.
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Ernesto Guifaldes, M.D. of the Pontificia Unicersidad Catolica de Chile has sent me much information, is particularly knowledgeable in this area. If you have any questions about this subject, please contact Ernesto at: eguirald@lascar.puc.cl The following is a letter dated March 10, 1996, and was sent to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from the Vatican. It represents the official position of the Catholic Church with regard to gluten and the Eucharist. Your Eminence/Excellency: In recent years, this Dicastery has followed closely the development of the question of the use of low-gluten altar breads and mustum as matter for the celebration of the Eucharist. After careful study, conducted in collaboration with a number of concerned Episcopal Conferences, this Congregation in its ordinary session of June 22, 1994 has approved the following norms, which I am pleased to communicate: I. Concerning permission to use low-gluten altar breads: A. This may be granted by Ordinaries to priests and lay persons affected by celiac disease, after presentation of a medical certificate. Conditions for the validity of the matter: 1) Special hosts quibus glutinum ablatum est are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist; 2) Low-gluten hosts are valid matter, provided that they contain the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread, that there is no addition of foreign materials, and that the procedure for making such hosts is not such as to alter the nature of the substance of the bread. II. Concerning permission to use mustum: A. The preferred solution continues to be Communion per intinctionem, or in concelebration under the species of bread alone. B. Nevertheless, the permission to use mustum can be granted by Ordinaries to priests affected by alcoholism or other conditions which prevent the ingestion of even the smallest quantity of alcohol, after the presentation of a medical certificate. C. By mustum is understood fresh juice from grapes, or juice preserved by suspending its fermentation (by means of freezing of other methods which do not alter its nature). D. In general, those who have received permission to use the mustum are prohibited from presiding at concelebrated Masses. There may be some exceptions however: in the case of a Bishop or Superior General; or, with prior approval of the Ordinary, at the celebration of the anniversary of priestly ordination or other similar occasions. In these cases, the one who presides is to communicate under both the species of bread and that of the mustum, while for the other concelebrants a chalice shall be provided in which normal wine is to be consecrated. E. In the very rare instances of lay persons requesting this permission, recourse must be made to the Holy See. III. Common Norms: A. The Ordinary must ascertain that the matter used conforms to the above requirements. B. Permissions are to be given only for as long as the situation continues which motivated the request. C. Scandal is to be avoided. D. Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of the priest, candidates for the priesthood who are affected by celiac disease of suffer from alcoholism of similar conditions may not be admitted to Holy Orders. E. Since the doctrinal questions in this area have now been decided, disciplinary competence is entrusted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. F. Concerned Episcopal Conferences shall report to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments every two years regarding the application of these norms. With warm regards and best wishes, I am Sincerely yours in Christ. The leader of the fight for Celiacs in the Catholic Church has recently died. Archbishop Derek Worlock of Liverpool was diagnosed in the 1980s with celiac disease and presented a strong case in Rome for celiac sufferers to be allowed to receive special hosts at Communion, which was reluctantly granted. He died of lung cancer on February 8, 1996.
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(Celiac.com 05/14/2000) Some bishops conferences (e.g.: Chile) have allowed communicants to take communion in the form of consacrated wine alone. Nowadays, in some countries (the U.K. for instance), wafers made of wheat which contains only traces of gluten - and hence probably not deletereous for the celiac patient - are being made. The Vatican has allowed the use of such wafers through a statement of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith of June 19th, 1995. The Bishops Conference of England and Wales, for instance, has stated recently that they follow the 1995 norms on low-gluten altar breads from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In implementing these norms, the Conference established a certificate for those affected by the coeliac condition. This is then administered in the local diocese. The following comes from the report of the English and Welsh bishops meeting of November 1997. Certificate for coeliac sufferers: At its Low Week 1996 meeting, the Bishops Conference asked that its advisory panel on the coeliac condition draw up a suitable certificate for use by those with the coeliac condition to show that they have received permission for the use of low-gluten altar breads as valid matter for the celebration of Mass. Such a certificate was approved by the Bishops Conference. Britain has one of the highest rates of the coeliac condition in the world. This certificate enables sufferers to present a low-gluten host for consecration, particularly when traveling and in regions where they are not known by the priest. Those with the condition may obtain the certificate by applying to their parish priest. - Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, norms concerning the use of low-gluten altar breads and mustum [non-alcoholic wine] as matter for the celebration of the Eucharist, 22 June 1995. I. Concerning permission to use low-gluten altar breads: A. This may be granted by Ordinaries to priests and laypersons affected by celiac disease, after presentation of a medical certificate. B. Conditions for the validity of the matter: 1. Special hosts quibus glutinum ablatum est are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist; 2. Low-gluten hosts are valid matter, provided that they contain the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread, that there is no addition of foreign materials, and that the procedure for making such hosts is not such as to alter the nature of the substance of the bread. II. Concerning permission to use mustum: A. The preferred solution continues to be Communion per intinctionem, or in concelebration under the species of bread alone. B. Nevertheless, the permission to use mustum can be granted by Ordinaries to priests affected by alcoholism or other conditions which prevent the ingestion of even the smallest quantity of alcohol, after presentation of a medical certificate. C. By mustum is understood fresh juice from grapes, or juice preserved by suspending its fermentation (by means of freezing or other methods which do not alter its nature). D. In general, those who have received permission to use mustum are prohibited from presiding at concelebrated Masses. There may be some exceptions however: in the case of a Bishop or Superior General; or, with prior approval of the Ordinary, at the celebration of the anniversary of priestly ordination or other similar occasions. In these cases, the one who presides is to communicate under both the species of bread and that of mustum, while for the other concelebrants a chalice shall be provided in which normal wine is to be consecrated. E. In the very rare instances of laypersons requesting this permission, recourse must be made to the Holy See. III. Common Norms: A. The Ordinary must ascertain that the matter used conforms to the above requirements. B. Permissions are to be given only for as long as the situation continues which motivated the request. C. Scandal is to be avoided. D. Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of the priest, candidates for the priesthood who are affected by celiac disease or suffer from alcoholism or similar conditions may not be admitted to Holy Orders. E. Since the doctrinal questions in this area have now been decided, disciplinary competence is entrusted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. F. Concerned Episcopal Conferences shall report to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments every two years regarding the application of these norms. Thanks are given to Tom Horwood, Esq., Catholic Media Office, The Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and to Ernesto Guifaldes, M.D. of the Pontificia Unicersidad Catolica de Chile. According to the UK Coeliac Society you can now obtain gluten-free Communion Wafers from the following: Eiren Religious Supplies Concord House Union Drive Sutton Coldfield West Midlands IB73 5TE UK
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