Fears that severe discipline could be meted out to Catholic priests in Ireland who give Communion to Protestants, or who themselves take part in Protestant Communion services, have increased greatly following the suspension of a German priest earlier this month.
Father Bernhard Kroll was suspended from ministry within three days of taking Communion at a Lutheran service in Berlin on May 31st. The service took place during the Kirchentag ecumenical conference, but was not officially part of the conference.
It is believed to be the first such disciplinary action by Church authorities following publication in April of the Pope's Holy Thursday encylical, Ecclesia de Eucharista. This bans Roman Catholics from Communion in all Reformed churches and bans members of Reformed denominations from Communion in Roman Catholic churches, except in rare instances.
In Ireland, it is known that some priests will not refuse Communion to non-Roman Catholics who go to the altar rails during Mass. Similarly, some priests receive Communion when attending Reformed Church services.
Father Kroll had his priestly faculties suspended and was relieved of his duties as pastor of a parish in Bavaria and as diocesan spiritual adviser to the lay organisation, Catholic Young Community, at a meeting with Bishop Walter Mixa, of the Eichstatt diocese.
Bishop Mixa said that Father Kroll had taken part in a "prohibited service" and had disobeyed the recent papal encyclical. Father Kroll would be "given an opportunity to rethink his understanding of his priestly role", the diocese said in a statement.
Another Catholic priest who led an open Communion service in the same Lutheran church during the same conference is under investigation by Church authorities. Father Gotthold Hasenhuettl distributed Communion to worshippers.
A recent Der Spiegel poll found that 88 per cent of Catholics in Germany and 86 per cent of Protestants favoured a common Eucharist. However, Cardinal Walter Kasper, himself German and president of the Vatican's Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has said that public pressure would not help to bring agreement on the Eucharist.