Mel Gibson Skips Communion

Apparently Mel Gibson isn't holier than thou.

The "Passion of the Christ" actor and devout Catholic has been taking a pass on Communion at the Holy Family Chapel in Agoura Hills, Calif., and has asked fellow parishioners not to gossip about him, People magazine reported

Gibson, 53, has recently been opting out of the Catholic tradition in the wake of his split with wife of 28 years Robyn Moore and the  announcement that his new 39-year-old girlfriend is pregnant with his child.

"I did a pretty good hatchet job on my marriage," Gibson confessed last month.

The actor also told the 70-member congregation not to gossip about his personal life, which has been blasted on the front pages of tabloids.

Under Catholic doctrine, Gibson is considered an adulterer and is ineligible to take Communion until he ends the relationship and confesses his sin.

"It would be heartbreaking for Gibson," a Catholic priest who celebrated Mass at Gibson's chapel told People. "We have sympathy for a person in that situation."

Gibson met Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva after the singer signed on to his Icon Records label in 2008. They appeared publicly for the first time during a Los Angeles film screening in April.

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