Canon law does not make for easy sound bites. The current controversy concerning cohabiting couples and whether they should (or can) receive Holy Communion amply illustrates this. It reminds us that when applied to concrete - often painful - situations, the task of explaining the Church's position unequivocally is more urgent and difficult.

Various readers have claimed that the opinions expressed by some priests are at odds (dissenting, even) with our bishops' clarification on this matter. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The bishops stated that people who live together outside of marriage should not receive Holy Communion. And lest people think the Church is targeting cohabiting couples, Bishop Mario Grech amplified this point in recent days, explaining that this position applies equally to anyone who has committed mortal sin and has not had recourse to the sacrament of reconciliation.

The fact that the responsibility to abstain falls on the people involved, it appears, is a nuance that still eludes certain readers. In fact, some continue to infer a contradiction between the bishops' position and answers given by some priests to certain questions on this issue.

I, for instance, was quoted as saying it is for the individual to decide whether to receive Holy Communion, not the priest. An attentive reading of these words will show there is no contradiction.

Whereas the bishops were outlining the general principle (enshrined in Scripture, by the way) that people who commit mortal sin should not receive Holy Communion, I was answering a very specific question concerning a concrete situation: whether a priest administering Holy Communion should deny it to cohabiting couples (the assumption being that they are well-intentioned).

In my answer, I attempted to condense the content of various canons (articles of Church law). Canon 915, for instance, states that those who have been excommunicated, interdicted or obstinately persist in manifest (i.e. public) grave sin are not to be admitted to Communion. Canon 220, on the other hand, states that no one may unlawfully harm the good reputation which a person enjoys.

Mindful of these laws, our bishops prudently placed the onus of the decision on the person rather than on the ministers of Communion (be they priests, deacons or laymen). For believers, the actual distribution of Holy Communion is a holy and precious moment: it would be preferable if awkward scenes of people being told to refrain from receiving Communion are avoided.

I reiterate that my answer did not refer to the wider issue about what guidelines priests should give such people during sacramental confession, or in spiritual direction. That is a separate matter which has already been tackled by the bishops and with which, needless to say, I am in complete agreement.

In fact, I have elsewhere stated that if a parish priest is aware that couples living together outside of marriage would like to receive Holy Communion, he should seek to approach them discreetly and engage them in friendly dialogue.

Such dialogue would hopefully help form their conscience and enable them to understand that, as a general rule, their situation precludes them from receiving Communion. It would also enlighten them about the risk of giving scandal, which is a most serious matter and must be avoided at all costs.

And as I stated in answer to some doubts voiced online, the question of whether certain categories of people should receive Holy Communion is only one part of the story, albeit an important one.

We desperately need to move away from the reductive view which considers the Eucharist as a reward, or a mere obligation. It is Our Lord's gift of Himself and should be treated as such. It is not a rite of passage or a form of 'checking-in' (as sadly happens at some public functions like funerals, weddings or First Holy Communions).

And while the Eucharist should constitute the pinnacle of a Catholic's efforts to live an authentically Christian life, the measure of a person's faith is much wider than whether they receive Holy Communion or abstain. The bishops' invitation to cohabiting couples to participate in the life of the Church means that - even if their situation deprives them of Holy Communion - in the Church they will always have a family and a home.

Fr Gatt is a canon lawyer.