Dog owners who shared the Eucharist with their pets are not excommunicated, Swiss bishop rules
April 28, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Following an investigation, Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, Switzerland, ruled that three dog owners who shared the Blessed Sacrament with their pets did not incur an automatic excommunication because they did not act with sacrilegious intent. Canon 1382 provides that “one who throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.”
The incident during place last October 4, the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, at Good Shepherd Parish in Zurich. The diocese stated:
Due to a poor weather forecast, the blessing [of the animals] was moved indoors and combined with a Eucharistic celebration. During this Eucharistic celebration, three people shared portions of their hosts with their dogs.The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
The findings clearly showed that the three individuals did not act with sacrilegious intent. Consequently, these individuals cannot be accused of sacrilege, as they lacked this sacrilegious intent. Therefore, they did not incur the excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See as a penalty for their actions.
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