Did Jesus break Canon 915?

It seems an absurd question (let’s not even get into technical matters such as jurisdiction, etc.), but there are some who have pointed to the example of our Lord at the Last Supper as a rebuke to those who would enforce Canon 915 by not admitting to Holy Communion those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.”

Our Lord, they say, knew Judas was an evildoer and yet did not exclude him from the table when he gave his body and blood under the forms of bread and wine – the first Holy Communion.

To begin with, the Gospel accounts are not explicit about Judas on this point, which makes them problematic as grounds for challenging what is given in other Scriptures and in Church Tradition.

In any case, the Gospels are very clear that Jesus and Judas were the only people in the room who knew what Judas was doing. Therefore, the sin, grave as it was (the gravest ever), was not manifest, strictly speaking, and for that reason alone canon 915 would not apply.

Canon 915 is NOT about judging the state of a person’s soul. Nor does it tell us to treat sinful people shabbily (far from it). We are ALL sinners: repenting of the wrong we have done, resolving to do only what is right, and asking God’s grace.

Canon 915 only comes into play in cases of excommunication, interdict, or obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin. In these cases, Holy Communion is simply inappropriate because these individuals have broken their communion with the Church in extremely serious and public ways.

Sometimes it is appropriate to make the brokenness of their communion clear by formal Church action (i.e., excommunication and interdict), but not always.

Sometimes the brokenness of their communion is already made apparent by their obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin. These are not the ordinary sinful situations in which so many of us struggle. These sins are not just serious: they are grave. They are not subjective and private: they are manifest. They are not occasional or even habitual: they are obstinately persistent.

How grave is grave? How obstinate is obstinate? That is ultimately a pastoral decision, belonging to those entrusted with authority over the flock. Keep in mind that the purpose is not punitive. The goal is always to bring people back into a communion that is more complete and true.

Canon 915 is not designed to be exercised by moralizing elitists but by loving pastors who, as appropriate, need to use this and every resource at their disposal for the salvation of souls: those within the flock, those outside the flock, and those who stray.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
for ever.