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Hi Friends!
I have just returned from church where my parish priest informed me that the
Catholic church has approved "the use of of low-gluten altar breads for
people affected by celiac disease and revised procedures for permitting the
use of MUSTUM for priests affected by alcoholism." ( This quote is from
COMMITTEE ON THE LITURGY NEWSLETTER 3211 Fourth Street NE, Washington, DC
20017.) This newsletter, which my priest gave to me, also gives the text of a
letter from Cardinal Ratzinger outlining the new approved norms. I quote from
the newsletter below:
 
"I.     Concerning permission to use low-gluten alter breads:
   A.  This may be granted by Ordinaries to priests and laypersons affected
by celiac             disease, after presentation of a medical certificate.
 
   B.  Conditions for the validity of the matter:
    1.  Special hosts quibus glutinum ablatum est are invalid matter for the
celebration             of the Eucharist;
    2.  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
procdure for making such hosts is not such as to alter the          nature of
the substance of the bread."
 
I asked my priest if the host that I presently make for my son would be
valid.  He assumed that it would but asked that I submit the recipe to him
along with a medical certificate to get the bishop's approval.  Up until now,
 I have made a host that looks very similar to the "regular" kind and Ryan
has received it at communion with the rest of the congregation.  After the
mass, he has received the wine to make his Eucharist "legal" in the eyes of
the church.  My recipe is simply using Bette Hagman's flour mixture of  2
parts white rice four (the kind from an oriental store), 2/3 part potato
starch flour, and 1/3 part tapioca flour.  I mix it with water until it is a
dry paste and pat out small amounts at a time to about 1/8 inch thickness.
Then I use a very small cookie cutter to shape it. (A small medicine bottle
of 3/4" to 7/8" diameter would work) and bake at 350 degrees F on a no stick
pan until it is set, NOT browned.  It looks very similar to the host used by
everyone else in the congregation.
 
I have concerns that the host I've been making will still not be "legal".  It
doesn't seem so by the wording of this document.  However, I will attempt to
have it approved by supplying a sample.   Melissa Picchini
 
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