Thank you for comments, and for taking the time to read my post. I know it’s a long article. And you make an excellent point about the ways we accommodate the other needs in the congregation. I think it’s awesome that your church added a ramp to the altar. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any other church doing that.

The 100% wheat composition seems arbitrary, if I’m honest.

My church installed a ramp to the altar when they remodeled. They installed a hearing loop for those hard of hearing. They provide larger missals for those with limited vision. Surely a small wafer is doable!

“I cannot believe Christ would abandon people like me.” I 100% agree with this thought. I think Christ would want you to find a place to worship where you are completely accepted, including your Celiac Disease, and not be ostracized at communion.

I converted to Catholicism a few years ago, after much thought. I am coeliac but could tolerate a communion wafer. Now my coeliac is much worse and I have also recently been diagnosed with severe colitis.
I have been told by specialists that I should have no gluten.
My church does not offer wine to communicants since Covid.
Nor does the Catholic Church allow genuinely gluten-free communion wafers.
I feel utterly let down – betrayed- by the Catholic Church. What do I do? Accept a life never having communion, or go to our local Methodist church who would accept me taking communion with them.
I know the Catholic theological answers but I cannot believe Christ would abandon people like me.

Dear Full Of Hope, it’s definitely something to consider. My husband and I attend a Methodist church that allows gluten free communion. (In fact, I make the gluten free bread for communion, every month.) My husband often jokes that Methodist is “Catholic Lite.” It has a hierarchical structure, but not one head leader. We say the Lords’ Prayer every Sunday, and sing the doxology every week. Different from the Catholic church is that we welcome women pastors. Ours is fantastic.

Dear Jo,
Thank you so much for sharing about your experience. I remember what it was like for me when I couldn’t partake in communion. I always wondered if people were wondering while I was still sitting in the pew. Even if they weren’t silently judging me, I couldn’t help feeling ashamed that I wasn’t partaking in Communion. Like you, I believe that Jesus sees us, and loves us, as we are. Regardless of whether or not we’re taking part in a church tradition.

Thank you for writing this wonderful article! My eyes brimmed with tears. I am allergic to the tiniest speck of gluten as well as to wine and alcohol in general. You can add to that an allergy to all grains, beef, pork, dairy, nuts, fish, and most kinds of produce. Many of those food allergies are life-threatening to me, as are my allergies to latex and many chemicals. And there are thousands of people like me with the same life-threatening allergies! I am also Catholic, and I feel the loss of not being able to partake in the Eucharist. However, I completely agree with your take that this is not how Jesus would want it to be. He doesn’t want anything separating us from him. I have accepted (mostly) that the church will not likely change this law during my lifetime. But I do find it hypocritical and hurtful. Thank you for your thoughtful message. I will continue to focus on my personal relationship with God, as I feel his complete love and acceptance in my soul, regardless if my immune system can tolerate the details in the ingredients for “valid” communion.