The Vatican has announced that the bread which is eaten during Holy Communion must not be made from gluten-free bread. The letter, sent to Bishops from Cardinal Robert Sarah at the request of Pope Francis, made it clear that 'bread made from another substance…does not constitute valid matter for confecting the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament.' Sucks to be gluten free right now.
Is the Catholic Church being too harsh in outlawing gluten-free bread? Those suffering from Coeliac disease, a condition where the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, can experience diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating when they eat bread. If you suffer from this gluten intolerance, the church’s ruling actively excludes you from taking part in a major ritual in the Christian faith - the Eucharist.
But despite the fact that an estimated 1.2 billion peoplein the world are Catholics, the Pope’s law will actually affect fewer people than you might think. We all know someone who grandly claims to be ‘gluten free’ as they refuse croissants and pick on rye bread. This is fair enough… if you actually have been diagnosed with Coeliac disease or a gluten allergy. However, there are also a proportion of people because they think it will make them lose weight, or even in some instances to hide an eating disorder. I’m not saying all your friends who suddenly claimed to be gluten free are lying, but some studyies estimate that only 1% of Brits are medically diagnosed with Coeliac disease. In fact, 86% of individuals tested in a recent study who believed they were gluten sensitive could actually tolerate it. So, it could just be the power of placebo giving those stomach aches. Dun dun dun. These stats mean 99% of people should be able to eat the wheat wafer at Holy Communion without issue.
In the Vatican’s defence, Christians believe the bread and wine you receive at Holy Communion undergoes something called ‘Transubstantiation’. This is the process where the bread supposedly becomes the body of Christ and the wine actually becomes his blood. Yum. Since Holy Communion is for Christians an act of remembrance of Jesus’ self-sacrifice, offering a gluten-free option of Jesus’ body could seem disrespectful.
Before the Pope’s ban on gluten-free communion bread, one Twitter user commented: ‘My Church started offering gluten-free bread for communion and it's the most 2017 thing I've ever been a part of’. There's plenty of stuff that we'd like the Catholic church to get on board with (women's reproductive rights anyone?), but maybe it’s okay that the church isn’t trying to adapt it to be ‘2017’ in this instance.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.