I was not much surprised that a bishop absolved three women who shared consecrated hosts with their dogs.
It happened in Switzerland, in the Diocese of Chur, where the bishop determined that three faithful who gave consecrated hosts to their dogs to eat during a parish Mass in Zurich will not be excommunicated, because there was a lack of "sacrilegious intent".
The incident occurred on October 4, 2025, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, following the blessing of animals united with the Eucharistic celebration in the Good Shepherd parish. During Communion, three women received the consecrated host and gave a piece of it to their dogs.
For a normal Catholic, one who has not gone mad, for a Catholic who still believes that the Holy Eucharist is truly, really and substantially the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the thing provokes horror, because it is an extreme desecration. Yet, I repeat, I am not surprised that the three women came to this and the bishop established that there was no sacrilegious intent. In a reality in which dogs and cats have now acquired more value than humans and are cared for and pampered more than children, and in a Church that has lost the sense of sin and the sacred and has aligned itself with the world, it is entirely logical that we have reached this point.
Canon 1382 §1 of the Code of Canon Law is quite clear. It establishes that whoever throws away the consecrated species or takes or retains them for a sacrilegious purpose incurs automatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. But for Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain this is not the case. The diocese, in its kindness, has described the event as "deplorable", but no measures were taken.
We note this. The Most Blessed Sacrament was given to dogs to eat and no one has been held canonically responsible.
According to the parish priest, Father Marcel von Holzen, the episode is merely the fruit of ignorance. "There are parishioners who do not properly understand the Eucharist," the priest said, and so, in short, these are things that can happen. No self-criticism, no repentance. Yet, if we have come to this, will it not be because the parish and diocese have created the conditions for it to happen?
The diocese announced that, in response to the incident, a retreat was promptly organized for the parish team in order to study together the letter "Desiderio desideravi" by Francis on "the liturgical formation of the people of God". The synodal Church works this way. Is there a sacrilege? Okay, let us sit around a table and talk about it.
The parish priest justified himself by saying that initially only the blessing of animals outdoors had been planned. But then, because of bad weather, everyone took refuge in the church and a Mass was also celebrated there. During which the three faithful were somewhat carried away by enthusiasm.
I repeat: why be surprised since Communion is now reduced to a gadget? Since everyone (forgive me, one is compelled to say dogs and swine) can seize, distribute and receive it as and when they wish like a simple piece of bread? Why remain bewildered given that faith in the Real Presence has now disappeared?
By their fruits you will know them.
