A First Communion dream in doubt

(Correction: Because of an editing error, a story in yesterday's City & Region section about a girl with celiac disease seeking her First Communion mischaracterized Catholic doctrine. Catholics believe the wafer and wine are the body and blood of Christ, not representations.)

The white dress from Sears is hanging in her closet, near the long veil and the matching purse. She has practiced cupping her hands together to receive the wafer from the priest. And she chatters with excitement about the party to be held in her honor afterward.

But as Victoria Coyne, 7, prepares for her first Holy Communion, there has been a major snag: As a child suffering from both celiac disease and diabetes, she can neither eat the wheat wafer that represents the body of Christ nor drink the wine that signifies his blood.

''I already got the stuff ready," said Victoria, who hopes to make her First Communion in June at St. Marguerite D'Youville Church in Dracut. ''My mom is trying to talk to the priest, and so is my dad."

Her parents thought they found a solution in a rice Communion wafer -- free of gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains that makes her ill -- but official church policy forbids its use. The ritual of Communion is tied to the Last Supper, when Jesus is believed to have eaten wheat bread and drunk grape wine with his disciples. Canon law requires that both wheat and grapes be part of the Communion service. Worshippers who receive Communion consume at least one: Children usually eat only the wafer, and adult Catholics sometimes receive both wafer and wine.

Church officials have grappled repeatedly in recent years with the collision between longstanding church teachings and modern medicine. In his previous job leading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the issue of worshippers suffering from celiac disease and alcoholism, allowing for the substitution of low-gluten wafers and a slightly fermented grape juice.

Officials in the Boston Archdiocese say they have seen more than 40 cases in the past year and a half in which people with celiac disease and other illnesses cannot eat the traditional Communion wafers. Each case was resolved, usually with low-gluten wafers, said Kevin Shea, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston.

About 1 out of 133 people suffers from celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. For those with the disease, which is genetic, ingesting gluten damages the small intestine, impairing the ability to absorb nutrients from food. If the disease goes untreated, it can cause other conditions, including anemia and osteoporosis.

Some of the conflicts have been bruising. In 2001, the Boston Archdiocese told the family of a 5-year-old girl with celiac disease that when she took her First Communion, she could not substitute rice wafers for traditional communion wafers. Her family left the church and began practicing as Methodists.

In New Jersey, a bishop declared invalid the First Communion of a girl with celiac disease who took rice wafers instead of those containing gluten. Her mother unsuccessfully petitioned the Vatican to reverse the decision.

Victoria's multiple health issues complicate her case. Her body cannot tolerate even the low-gluten wafers, her mother said. The solution for Victoria may lie in a low-alcohol grape juice, often offered to priests who are alcoholics; her parents are investigating whether it is safe for their daughter.

Although the Coynes are grateful for the support of their priest, the Rev. Paul Clifford, they are discouraged by the church's rules on Communion, which they believe are overly rigid.

''Right now we're frustrated, because it just doesn't seem right that she would be expected to ingest something that would be harmful to her body in order to make her First Communion," said Stephanie Coyne, Victoria's mother. ''She's sad. She's been at Sunday school for two years, practicing what she needs to do to make her First Communion."

Shea, the archdiocesan spokesman, said Clifford was determined to find a solution. He offered to hold a special First Communion service for Victoria and her friends if she felt self-conscious about drinking the grape juice rather than taking a wafer, Shea said.

''They're going to find a way for that First Communion," he said. ''There's no question about that."

Kathleen Burge can reached at kburge@globe.com.