Eucharistic Wine and an Alcoholic Priest; Hosts for the Gluten-allergic

Q:One of our parish priests suffers from alcoholism and says he has permission to use grape juice at Mass, rather than wine. Our question is whether he should distribute this consecrated grape juice to us, or use another chalice which contains consecrated wine for the Communion of the people. One priest said that unfermented grape juice is not valid matter for Mass. If that is the case, are this priest's Masses invalid? Some of us are very disturbed over this.

A: Just recently the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, under the signature of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, issued a statement that deals with the matter for the Eucharist under both forms. Canon law, based on the teaching of the Church concerning the Eucharist, demands that bread for the Eucharist must be merely wheat and recently made so that there is no danger of corruption. Wine for the Eucharist must be natural from the fruit of the grape and not corrupt (see Canon 924). Various decrees and instructions forbid additives and mixing with foreign substances. Theologians and canonists discuss what would affect validity of the matter. Matter in this sense refers to the physical material used in celebrating the Eucharist.

If an alcoholic priest is among concelebrants he may simply receive the host and not partake of the chalice. Nevertheless, ordinaries may grant permission to use must or mustum (more about this below) to alcoholic priests who cannot ingest even the smallest quantity of alcohol. For this permission the priest must present a medical certificate.

Those who receive permission to use mustum are ordinarily prohibited from presiding at concelebrated Masses. But the decree provides for some exceptions. In such a case the alcoholic who presides may use mustum for his own Communion but he is to provide another chalice in which normal wine has been consecrated for the other celebrants.

By extension of this directive, I would presume that an alcoholic priest offering Mass in a parish setting would consecrate regular altar wine for the Communion of the people if Communion is to be distributed under both forms.

While providing for the use of mustum for alcoholic priests, the Congregation also gave directives about the use of low-gluten altar bread for priests and laypersons who are affected by celiac disease (a digestive illness) or who are allergic to gluten and also present a medical certificate. Hosts in which there is no gluten are invalid for the Eucharist. But, as we will see below, reduced-gluten hosts can be acceptable.

Pastors and rectors of churches are usually careful to purchase both wine and hosts from sources that follow the requirements for the eucharistic bread and wine.

While insisting that it must be wine that is used for the Eucharist, some writers state that as soon as grapes are crushed the juice is on the way to fermentation (in the process of becoming wine) and will continue fermenting unless something is done to stop it. They say, therefore, that fresh juice from grapes, to which nothing has been added, would be valid matter.

Such grape juice whose fermentation has been suspended by freezing, or other methods which do not alter its nature, is called mustum. In the case of an alcoholic priest, Cardinal Ratzinger instructed, the preferred solution to his problem in celebrating would be for him to communicate himself by intinction (dipping the host in the consecrated wine).

Low-gluten hosts are valid matter, provided: 1) they contain the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread, 2) there is no addition of foreign materials and 3) the procedure for making such hosts is not such as to alter the nature of the substance of bread. When a medical certificate has been presented, ordinaries may grant priests and laypersons permission to receive such bread.

I would only suggest after all this that you be happy for your priest who seems to be successfully struggling with his addiction, and that you be supportive and encouraging as he tries to live soberly in his ministry.