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Celiac disease is becoming more known as more people are being diagnosed with it. Although it’s not entirely clear if the disease is becoming more common or people are just finally being diagnosed properly, the numbers of affected people are rising and this is presenting problems with some life-long rituals.
Celiac disease is a silent disease at first. It is the inability of the body to digest gluten, which is a found protein in wheat, rye, and barley. People with celiac disease should not eat any gluten at all, not even small amounts, as gluten damages the villi, the tiny hair-like structures along the intestines that help move the food forward. If the villi can’t do their job, the result is malnutrition.
Besides having to adapt your diet significantly if you have celiac disease, you also have to be very cautious about where gluten may be found. For example, it can be found in the coatings on some medications and vitamins, even in toothpaste. And, for Roman Catholics, in the Host, the bread taken at communion.
The little white discs that are blessed and consumed by Catholics around the world have gluten in them, which presents a problem for devout believers. And, calls for a gluten-free Host have not been met with success, the reason being the Church believes that for the Host to be bread, it must have gluten (Gluten hosts concern parishioners).
What do you think? Should the Church accommodate those with diseases such as celiac disease?
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Image: PhotoXpress.com
You can get gluten-free wafers. Although I don’t have anyone at my church right now that needs them. I’ve been at church’s before where we’ve had them available. Granted, I’m Anglican, not Catholic. But the gluten isn’t important theologically for communion.
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper with His Apostles, He used unleavened bread made from wheat. This is the sign He established for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and the sign which has continued for 2000 years. As Catholics, we believe that the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is really and truly present in both the consecrated Host (the Holy Eucharist), as well as the consecrated wine (the Precious Blood). Those who are unable to take the Host due to health reasons (there are the sick who cannot even swallow solid food as well) may ask their pastor to receive the Precious Blood (the wine) only. In this case, they still receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, without becoming sick from the wheat. Others who cannot take wine for health reasons may receive the Eucharist (the Host) only, and still receive the whole Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, who cannot be divided.