On October 14, 1994 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a letter to the world’s bishops, affirmed the continuous theology and discipline of the Catholic Church that those who are divorced and remarried without a decree of nullity for their first marriage are in an objectively adulterous union that prevents them from honestly repenting, receiving absolution for their sins and receiving Holy Communion.

These couples are irregular because they are either not married at all or, if they are, their marriage is invalid according to the Catholic Church. Other couples who lead a married life in cohabitation without, however, being married are also considered irregular and prohibited from receiving Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Penance if they intend to continue in such a state.

Holy Communion can only be received worthily, that is, when one is in the state of grace, otherwise the recipients, as St Paul had said, will be receiving their own condemnation.

On the other hand, Pope John Paul II stated in Reconciliation And Penance that the Church desires such irregular couples to participate in the Church’s life as much as possible: in Mass, Eucharistic adoration, rosary, processions, Way of the Cross and other church devotions, as these help them greatly toward full sacramental participation. In the light of all this, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech was right in affirming at the Synod of Bishops that the Church must continue to support these irregular couples as a tangible sign of her love and care for them.

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