Catholic celiacs have limited options when it comes to receiving communion at Mass. In 1995, and again in the summer of 2003, the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reiterated the interpretation of Canon Law (924.2), namely that Special hosts quibus glutinum ablatum est [in which gluten has been removed] are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist; and that low-gluten hosts are valid matter, provided that they contain the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread, that there is no addition of foreign materials, and that the procedure for making such hosts is not such as to alter the nature of the substance of the bread. The May 2000 U.S. Bishops Committee on the Liturgy newsletter went on to say that In the light of the increasing scientific evidence that even a small amount of gluten may be dangerous to sufferers of Celiac Sprue disease many would hesitate to recommend the use of "low gluten" hosts. Thus the only viable solution seems to be the offering of the Precious Blood to such persons.
The doctrine of concomitance teaches Catholics that the whole Christ is present under the appearance of bread and also under the appearance of wine. However the traditional manner of receiving the Eucharist for the past few centuries has been for Catholics to receive communion only in the form of bread. This tradition is one that many Catholic celiacs grew up with and one that is very close to their hearts. The inability to receive communion in the traditional manner after a diagnosis of celiac disease can be a constant source of pain and spiritual isolation. Receiving both the Body and Blood of Christ at communion (receiving under both species) has become more commonplace in the U.S. since the Second Vatican Council encouraged the faithful to receive communion under both species as a more complete sign of Christs sacrifice. This practice can vary from parish to parish and from diocese to diocese at the discretion of the bishop.
Catholic celiacs should understand that they have the right, as a Catholic in good standing, to receive holy communion (Canon 843), and that the Precious Blood must be made available to people with celiac disease if they request it, even if it is not offered to the rest of the congregation. Moreover, Catholic celiacs have the right to request that they receive communion in a separate chalice because the Precious Blood in the celebrants chalice has added gluten through the fermentum which is added in the rite of fraction and commingling during the liturgy of the Eucharist.
Several articles have recently appeared in Catholic publications regarding the development of extremely low-gluten hosts by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of Clyde, Missouri. The gluten content of these hosts is reported as 0.01%. These hosts have been approved by the Catholic church for use at Mass. Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research was quoted in the February 15, 2004 issue of Catholic Review as declaring these hosts perfectly safe for celiac sufferers.
For many years patients with celiac disease have been told by celiac disease experts that they must avoid even trace amounts of gluten. People with celiac disease were told that there was no known safe amount of gluten. Yet here is a well known expert declaring that these low-gluten hosts are safe. Dr. Fasano did not return any phone calls or emails aimed at establishing just how he determined that .01% gluten was safe. So Dr. Don Kasarda, an international expert on gluten and grains was contacted. When he was asked about the safety of .01% gluten he described some of the early studies done by Dr. Catassi and his group that determined that 100 mg of gliadin (or roughly 200 mg of gluten) per day produced minimal morphological changes in the intestinal histology of celiac patients. He therefore thought that it might be reasonable to assume that if a low gluten host weighed about 0.5gm, then a person receiving the low gluten host could be receiving about 0.05 mg of gluten/gliad