Church takes Communion away from Girl

This sounds like something Archbishop Burke, here in St. Louis, would do… take away a little girl’s First Communion. An AP story reports that the Diocese of Trenton invalidated the First Communion of a girl with a rare digestive disorder because the host contained no wheat. Eating anything with gluten could harm this girl, but the church says the host has to have some wheat, or her Communion is invalid. Says who? God? If God exists, I doubt he/she/it would really care whether the host has gluten in it or not. This is yet another Church rule handed down by a bunch of guys (emphasis on guys) ages ago.

The Church says that she can receive Communion by only drinking the wine, but celiac sufferers have concerns that wine may be contaminated during the service or before the service by coming in contact with materials containing gluten.

Many other churches allow the use of gluten-free hosts, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church. I think it is about time that someone in Rome gets a clue.