New Jersey Catholic Conference statement regarding bishop’s document on Eucharist

Since the conclusion of the Spring Plenary Assembly of the U.S. bishops last week, there has been much attention on the vote taken to draft a document on the Eucharist. The focus of the secular media and some Catholic media on the vote may have created confusion as to the purpose of the vote and its intended goal. We would like to take this opportunity to clarify some misinformation.

The vote by the bishops last week tasked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine to begin the drafting of a teaching document on the Eucharist. The question of whether or not to deny any individual or groups Holy Communion was not on the ballot.

The alarming data published regarding Catholics who either don’t understand or believe in the true nature of the Holy Eucharist; the steadily declining pre-pandemic numbers of Catholics who have not attended Sunday Mass regularly; and the call for Catholics to return to Mass as pandemic restrictions have been lifted, all make the timing of this new document on the Holy Eucharist spiritually opportune. In addition to this proposed document, the USCCB has initiated plans for a three-year “Eucharistic Revival” throughout all the dioceses and parishes in our country, beginning in the summer of 2022.

To learn more about the proposed document on the Eucharist, the Bishops’ vote to approve the drafting of the document, and the planned “Eucharistic Revival,” please click here.

-New Jersey Catholic Conference