Literally spitting on sacred beliefs
By Cazzy Lewchuk, Opinions Editor
Many Christian churches have some form of communion, during which attendees taste a representation of the body and blood of Christ. Although the ceremony and ingredients vary by denomination, itâs generally represented by crackers/bread and wine or grape juice.
In the Catholic Churchâby far the worldâs largest church and Christian denominationâcommunion (known as the Eucharist) is very serious business. While many churches offer open communion and see it as purely symbolic, Catholics believe their ceremony to be strictly for members, and a holy affair. Through a mysterious process known as âtransubstantiation,â it is believed that the substance or essence of the offerings actually become the body and blood of Christ.
Catholics in good standing receive the Eucharist, literally ingesting the eternal love of Christ, who is also God. The ceremony is conducted under specific circumstances: Only Catholic priests are allowed to bless the crackers and wine of communion. Until the ceremony begins, itâs just a cracker, but after consecration, it has become infused with a literal reality of Godâs presence.
To a non-Catholic it may all sound silly. Those who donât believe wonât understand the process, and may go so far as to âdesecrateâ the host to mock the religion. This is treated as a mortal sin, on par with murder or other serious offences, and is punishable by excommunication (formal exclusion) from the Church. It may seem silly, but the host is a representative of God/Jesus, who is obviously the most holy and important part of Catholicism. By violating the host, you are, in effect, spitting in the face of God. Itâs not just disrespectful to their religion, itâs downright hurtful. Host desecration remains a problem wrestled with by the Church continuously: from disillusioned Catholic school kids, to a professor in Florida in 2008 who encouraged people to send him desecrated hosts and posted photos online.
Iâm not Catholic. Iâm not even religious, and I donât believe that a cracker is actually infused with the essence of God because of a priestâs actions. There are a lot of things I donât agree with in Catholic doctrine, and spitting on a cracker (as opposed to eating it and turning it into feces) is only one of the many things I donât believe will harm your eternal soul. But I do recognize the incredible rudeness of mocking someoneâs deeply held personal beliefs.
When you go out of your way to mock someoneâs religion by violating their sacred beliefs, youâre really hitting below the belt. Youâre certainly free to make that point and believe whatever you want about it, but youâre deliberately upsetting hundreds of millions of people so that you can make a smug point about how you donât agree with them.
Indeed, I believe non-religious people seem to have a double standard for Western religions that are more commonly known and practiced. It may be because their prevalence in our culture makes them more acceptable targets to mock. Someone whoâs quite happy to spit on a sacred communion cracker might not be as comfortable disrupting a traditional Native spiritual ceremony. Both cases are infringing on peopleâs sacred spiritual beliefs that are incredibly important to themâeven if they arenât to you. If youâre comfortable upsetting that many people for your own self-satisfaction, and if youâre confident God wonât be upset, itâs your freedom to do what you want. But you should always consider what your actions say about you, and how they are perceived to others.
