Guadalajara, Oct. 13 (CWNews.com) - Catholics do not have a "right" to receive the Eucharist, Cardinal Bernard Law has argued.

Speaking at the International Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, the former Archbishop of Boston said that many Catholics have developed the mistaken impression that if they attend Mass and wish to receive Communion, they have a "right" to do so, even if they are in a state of mortal sin. Cardinal Law reminded listeners that unworthy reception of the Eucharist is a grave sin.

The American cardinal's remarks strengthened the message delivered by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara at the opening session of the Eucharistic Congress. "Our purpose is to revive Eucharistic wonder in our hearts and minds," the Mexican prelate said.

"Men and women of our day, with their thirst for eternity not properly satisfied, are in search of Christ," Cardinal Sandoval said. He went on to say that the Church can satisfy that search in the Eucharist. But in order fully to appreciate the Eucharist, he added, "we must revive our faith."

Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo of Seville, Spain, picked up the same theme, reporting that in Europe it is "difficult to live faith in the Eucharist, in a multicultural context that scorns and mocks Christianity." The solution, he agreed, is to "rediscover a sense of mystery" in the Eucharistic liturgy.