At ecumenical congress, leading German bishop rules out general ‘cross-denominational’ Communion (CNS)

Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops’ conference, said that he administers Holy Communion “if someone joins who believes what we Catholics believe and wants to receive the Body of the Lord in faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ.” His position, he said, is different from “cross-denominational Communion in the sense of a general mutual invitation to participate in the Eucharist and the Lord’s Supper.”