In Kazakhstan, His Excellency Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, conveyed that divorced people living with someone else would not dare ask for Holy Communion because they know they are living in a situation of sin and highlighted that this would be a blasphemy. But the three bishops of Kazakhstan emphasized in their statement that no bishop or group of bishops have the authority to authorize Communion for Catholics who are divorced and remarried unless the couple has received an annulment or has made a sincere pledge to abstain from sexual relations.
As reported by Catholicphilly, His Grace Schneider remarked that “If different people our statement as a confrontation with the Pope, that is their view, not ours. It is not a rebuke, confrontation or challenge, but a service in charity and truth.
In outlining a process of discernment to be led by a priest, the Buenos Aires’ guidelines do not say all Catholics are welcome to receive Communion no matter what their marital situation is, nor do they say no Catholic in a second marriage may access the sacraments.
