Bob Sungenis again misleads the people with the same false and already refuted arguments

Bob Sungenis, a “Catholic” apologist and defender of Vatican II and the New Mass, was recently asked a question by a man who was concerned that John Paul II may not be the Pope. The man had read an argument that John Paul II cannot be the Pope because John Paul II’s new Code of Canon Law teaches that Catholic priests can lawfully give Holy Communion to non-Catholics. The man was troubled by the argument that if John Paul II is the Pope, then the Catholic Church has officially erred in allowing Communion to be given to non-Catholics.

In the past, Bob Sungenis responded to this argument by making the argument that John Paul II has protected himself from error because Canon 844.4 of the New Code only concerns “danger of death.” In our article on Bob Sungenis, we refuted this ridiculous argument. The “danger of death” escape is false, first of all, because Canon 844.4 teaches that Communion may be given in danger of death or some other great necessity.

Canon 844.4, New Code of Canon Law: “If the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed.”

Secondly, the Bob Sungenis “danger of death” escape is false most clearly because Vatican II, Antipope John II’s Catechism (#1401) and Canon 844.3 all teach the same heresy that Catholic priests may give Holy Communion to non-Catholics without any mention of “danger of death”!

Vatican II Document, Orientalium Ecclesiarum # 27: “Given the above-mentioned principles, the sacraments of Penance, Holy Eucharist, and the anointing of sick may be conferred on eastern Christians who in good faith are separated from the Catholic Church, if they make the request of their own accord and are properly disposed.”

There is no mention of “danger of death.”

Antipope John Paul II, Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 1401): “When, in the Ordinary’s judgement, a grave necessity arises, Catholic ministers may give the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick to other Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church, who ask for them of their own will, provided they give evidence of holding the Catholic faith regarding these sacraments and possess the required dispositions.”

There is no mention of “danger of death.”

Canon 844.3, 1983 Code of Canon Law: “Catholic ministers may licitly administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick to members of the oriental churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church, if they ask on their own for the sacraments and are properly disposed. This holds also for members of other churches, which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition as the oriental churches as far as these sacraments are concerned.”

There is no mention of “danger of death.” So, we can see that Mr. Sungenis’ “danger of death” argument is blown out of the water. Vatican II and the New Catechism teach that Holy Communion may be given to Eastern Schismatics without any mention of danger of death.

Thirdly, the Bob Sungenis “danger of death” escape is false because even if Vatican II had mentioned “danger of death,” it still wouldn’t change the heresy. It is never lawful to give Holy Communion to a non-Catholic until he reconciles with the Church, and every Catholic should know this. Mr. Sungenis is actually a heretic for defending and asserting that it is allowable to give Holy Communion to a non-Catholic in danger of death. He rejects the following dogma that the sacraments do not profit non-Catholics unto salvation; and thus, that it is never lawful to administer Holy Communion to a non-Catholic.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia productive of eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”

It is a solemnly defined dogma that only for those who abide in the Roman Catholic Church do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation. Popes throughout the ages have proclaimed that non-Catholics who receive the Holy Eucharist outside the Catholic Church receive it to their own damnation.

Pope Pius VIII, Traditi Humilitati (# 4), May 24, 1829: “Jerome used to say it this way: he who eats the Lamb outside this house will perish as did those during the flood who were not with Noah in the ark.”

Pope Gregory XVI, Commissum divinitus (# 11), May 17, 1835: “… whoever dares to depart from the unity of Peter might understand that he no longer shares in the divine mystery…‘Whoever eats the Lamb outside of this house is unholy.’”

Pope Pius IX, Amantissimus (# 3), April 8, 1862: “… whoever eats of the Lamb and is not a member of the Church, has profaned.”

But after all of these facts were posted in our article about him months ago, proving that Canon 844.3 mentions nothing of danger of death, that both the New Catechism and Vatican II explicitly teach that non-Catholics may lawfully receive Communion without any mention of danger of death, Bob Sungenis is still using the same false and refuted response. In Question 27 (June, 2004) of the Questions and Answers Section of his website, Bob Sungenis wrote:

R. Sungenis: “Second, we had the issue of Canon 844 come up on our Q and A board in December of 2003, so I will not have to repeat myself… The simple answer to this is that Canon 844.4 is speaking about something far different than the above mentioned papal decrees, namely, the "danger of death." None of the papal statements you have solicited are addressing the issue of death, but only the general rule that the sacraments are not to be given to non-Catholics. Moreover, canon 844.4 is careful to say that those who do not have full communion can receive the sacraments "provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed." Thus, even in the face of an emergency such as death, precautions are taken. END

Although I an no fan of John Paul II, he is the pope and we must respect his office, or God will judge us. As much as we would like to pin him down, John Paul II has protected himself in Canon 844 because his mandates are only in cases of exception or emergency, not as a general and binding rule of the Church. As pope, he has the right to make those exceptions.”

This is completely false and already refuted. It is actually a lie, considering that we pointed out this falsehood months ago. Why anyone actually buys this man’s defense of the Vatican II sect is beyond me. The fact is that it is an undeniable fact that the Catholic Church teaches that it is unlawful to give Holy Communion to non-Catholics. The Vatican II sect officially teaches that it is lawful to give Holy Communion to non-Catholics. The Vatican II sect of Antipope John Paul II cannot be the Catholic Church. Those who attempt to circumvent this undeniable fact by repeating the same false and already refuted arguments, that the Vatican II sect is only allowing this in danger of death (which wouldn’t matter anyway), just heap damnation upon themselves.