Die soeben erschienene Kongregation für den Gottesdienst und die Sakramentenordnung "Instruktion Redemptionis sacramentum" über einige Dinge bezüglich der heiligsten Eucharistie, die einzuhalten und zu vermeiden sind, hat sicherlich auch Auswirkungen auf die katholischen Jugendkirchen.

Wir haben zur Information einen Link zu dem Text der Kongregation gelegt. Vatikan-Beobachter bezeichneten das Dokument mehrheitlich als "gemäßigt", weil es nur die geltenden Regeln in Erinnerung rufe. Andererseits werden "gut gemeinte ökumenische Initiativen" kritisiert, "die der Disziplin bei der Eucharistie" (Abendmahl) widersprechen.

Artikel von Die Welt dazu  

Die New York Times (by the Associated Press) schreibt am 24. April dazu:
Catholic Church Focusing on Abortion

Pope John Paul II opposed the war on Iraq, urged restraint in the global response to terrorism and implored American politicians to spare the lives of death row inmates. So why has the stance of Roman Catholic politicians on abortion become a touchstone?

Cardinal Francis Arinze, a top Vatican official, said Friday that priests should deny Communion to Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights, though he stopped short of saying whether John Kerry should receive Communion.

The Democratic presidential candidate says he personally opposes abortion but supports a woman's right to choose -- and Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, has said he would refuse to give Kerry Communion.

Experts on Catholicism say the abortion focus is driven by a mix of theology, internal church debates over what defines a true Catholic and an imperative to respond to the top public issues of the day.

Abortion is a central concern because opposition to the procedure is based on the church's earliest teachings about preserving human life -- which have not changed even as church positions have wavered on other issues, experts say.

``There is no wiggle room,'' said the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and editor of First Things, a conservative magazine. ``It is the direct taking of human life -- direct, knowing, deliberate -- and this is always and everywhere, in every circumstance, condemned by the church.''

Catholic teaching is equally clear about euthanasia -- it is never allowable -- but that has been less of a ``hot-button issue'' than abortion recently and therefore has not become a focus in church leaders' dealings with Catholic politicians, Neuhaus said.

Pope John Paul II opposes capital punishment, as do American bishops, but church teaching on the practice is not as definitive and has changed over time, making it difficult for church leaders to demand that Catholic lawmakers agree.

John Paul explained this in his 1995 encyclical, ``Evangelium Vitae,'' or ``Gospel of Life,'' in which he harshly denounced the death penalty, but stopped short of a blanket condemnation of executions.

The encyclical said the death penalty was morally wrong in all but ``cases of absolute necessity ... when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society,'' although such cases are rare, the pontiff wrote.

``Capital punishment, that's been problematic,'' said the Rev. James Halstead, head of the religious studies department at DePaul University, a Jesuit school in Chicago. ``It's not clear from day one and it's not clear in lots of quarters in Catholicism today.''

The pope's opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq also would not create pressure to chastise Catholic lawmakers who support the war, said the Rev. David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America.

The pope's statement reflected his ``feelings and opinions,'' not fundamental church teaching, and Catholic thought on what constitutes a just war has changed over the history of the church, he said.

O'Connell views the focus on abortion -- and the demand that Catholic lawmakers oppose it -- as part of a Catholic search for ``authenticity'' in their religious life, especially after the ravages from the clergy sex abuse crisis, which is now in its third year.

``People are concerned that if you say you are Catholic, you identify that way, that you be truly Catholic,'' he said. ``This is not a time for the cafeteria Catholic.''

David Gibson, author of ``The Coming Catholic Church'' and a former Vatican radio newsman, said internal church battles between conservative and more liberal Catholics are also a factor. Conservatives have put enormous pressure on bishops to punish lawmakers who defy church teaching.

``It's one of those identifiers of where you stand in the culture wars within Catholicism,'' Gibson said. ``It's not just abortion or abortion rights. You want to deny pro-choice politicians Communion. That puts you on one side or another in the internecine battles.''