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AUSTRALIA
In 1993 Pastoral Guidelines for Eucharistic Hospitality were published by the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane under the title Blessed and Broken (see Interchurch Families, 4,2 Summer 1996, p.8). They were the first guidelines in an English-speaking country to recognise that some interchurch couples experience a serious spiritual need to share communion on a continuing basis, and that this continuing need can be met. In 1999 the Diocese of Broken Bay produced very similar guidelines (see IF 8,1 January 2000, p.8) under the title One Body Broken, as did the Diocese of Rockhampton (IF 8,2 Summer 2000, p.7).
Now Bev Hincks of the Newcastle and Hunter interchurch families group reports that her own Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has followed suit. A great deal of work over a number of years (in which she has participated) has gone into the presentation of these guidelines. The Pastoral Guidelines themselves are contained in a 12-page booklet entitled Real Yet Imperfect. Backing these up is a much longer ‘Companion to the document Real Yet Imperfect’, which covers the whole range of ‘Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations within the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle’. This includes quite a lengthy section of ‘recommendations to assist in the pastoral care and spiritual well being of interchurch spouses and their families’. At the launch of the booklets in June 2001 Bev Hincks was asked to give a brief account of how the documents had been put together, and to relate them to guidelines that had already appeared in other parts of the world.
The general guidelines for eucharistic sharing include the statement that: ‘Communicant members of other Christian traditions who manifest Catholic belief in the Eucharist, and who wish to receive, may do so on certain occasions by way of exception, provided the conditions for admission are met. Such occasions for individual decision-making may include celebrations of Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion, Nuptial Masses, Ordinations, Ministry to the Sick and Dying, Funeral Masses and special Eucharistic celebrations.’
In the case of interchurch families, ‘their baptismal unity has been further sealed by the Sacrament of Marriage. Both may experience a real need to express that unity whenever they attend Mass together. If this occurs infrequently, both may receive the Eucharist provided that it is the spontaneous desire of the non-Catholic spouse to do so. This need may arise on the occasions listed above, and other special occasions known to the family. If this occurs frequently, the non-Catholic spouse may request permission to receive the Eucharist every time s/he attends Mass with his/her spouse, but joint pastoral care by the clergy of both denominations should be offered to help the person understand the significance of such requests.’
CANADA
Some time ago we recorded Linda Buchanan’s story of re-affirming her Catholic confirmation ‘in front of my second Christian family’, the United Church of Canada (see Interchurch Families 8,1 January 2000, p.5). Another young Canadian has now taken a similar step. 17-year old Juanita Karstad wrote from Saskatoon: ‘On 4 November 2001 I affirmed my faith in the Lutheran church. This was a special occasion as I have already been confirmed in the Catholic Church six years prior to this event. I know that at this point in time this situation is rare; I hope it will not be so rare in the future. I’m just a building block helping to pave the path to an ecumenical world because together we can make a difference. I have considered myself as belonging to both churches my entire life. There were a few people in the Lutheran church who thought I had given up my Catholicism to become a Lutheran but I straightened them out by telling them I was both. I think that my mission for now is to educate my fellow Christians from both my churches that I belong to both and am still serving the same Lord.’
Juanita reports that when she first consulted her Lutheran pastor he said that this could be possible, and that when she told her Catholic priest of her decision, he said that there would be no problem provided that she would not be confused and disrupted in her faith. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada a decision on confirmation is a matter for the local congregation, and after confirmation it is possible to participate in decision-making and accept responsibilities in the local church. Juanita’s preparation had a special character. Her pastor wrote: ‘In Juanita’s case we established first our common ground in baptism, the scriptures and our shared history. Then we spent the balance of our time in conversation about sacraments, especially the eucharist, worship and church structures. By trusting the instruction that Juanaita was already given, I believe that we also honour the tradition she has grown in. The emphasis of the class was not on the differences between our churches, but on the unique gifts that each tradition has to give to the other. Juanita herself in belonging to both becomes a gift unique among us.’
Warm congratulations to Ray and Fenella Temmerman on being presented with the 2001 Ecumenical Leadership Award by the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, Montreal. Without their hard work the 2001 international interchurch families conference at Edmonton would not have been possible,
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The Czech Bishops’ Conference issued its guidelines on sacramental sharing in 2000. It sets out the general principles on sacramental sharing, following the 1983 Code and the 1993 Ecumenical Directory. It then makes it own application in a section entitled Directives established by the Czech Bishops’ Conference. Section 4 is directly relevant to interchurch families, and we quote it in full. This section also refers back to section 2, which states that the eucharist may be administered, with episcopal permission, in the following cases of serious spiritual need:
1 celebration of a mixed marriage
2 an exceptional occasion in marriage such as baptism of children, children’s first holy communion, a significant wedding anniversary, funeral mass for a deceased member of the family,
3 the reinforcement of the life of grace and faith in confessionally mixed families (as an exception, in a case of genuinely serious need)
4 the applicant is Catholic in faith and orientation, but serious circumstances prevent him from crossing formally into the Catholic Church.
Section 4 states:
Catholic ministers will assess individual cases and administer these sacraments only according to these established norms, or according to the norms of the relevant diocesan bishop, and will be governed by the principles of the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism. In case of need, they will consult with the relevant bishop, and if necessary ask his permission.
In order to reinforce the life of grace and faith in confessionally mixed families in a case of serious need (see section 2 above), it should first of all be clarified during a pastoral discussion whether and how the particular married couple (and their children, where relevant) experience this separation at the Lord’s table as a burden and a threat to their community of life and faith, and then present the bishop with a request for a decision.
If the non-Catholic husband (or wife) is given the opportunity for full eucharistic sharing, care should be taken that this particular case does not become a general precedent for all mixed marriages without distinction.
In places where the reception of the sacraments by Christians of other churches may provoke disapproval among Catholic Christians, the Catholic minister should pre-empt this, for example, with a suitable explanation.
SCOTLAND
In 2001 the Unity, Faith and Order Commission of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) produced a 16-page handbook entitled Marriage Discipline and Pastoral Care: a guide to current practice. It is intended to help those who prepare couples for marriage or who officiate at marriages between Christians of different church traditions. It consists of a contribution from each of the ten member denominations of ACTS describing their current practices in relation to marriage, divorce, and the marriage of divorced persons. ‘It is particularly important that all clergy involved in an ecumenical marriage can ensure that the husband and wife and both families appreciate the implications of the practice of the respective churches, in such matters as eucharistic sharing or divorce.’ In spite of the title, the introduction explicitly states that ‘this booklet is not itself a pastoral resource for the support and nurture of Christians in such marriages’. However, it also states that: ‘Given the societal strains on stable marriage, and the frequent reduction of marriage to a mere negotiable contract, all the churches would wish to celebrate the discovery of joy, trust, mutual comfort in vulnerability and shared lifelong learning in faith which characterise many marriages between Christians of different traditions.’ Having started on this work, it would be good if ACTS asked its Unity, Faith and Order Commission to carry it further by producing a publication which would be a pastoral resource for the support and nurture of interchurch families in the Scottish situation.
RCC/WCC JOINT WORKING GROUP
Following the Jubilee Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Harare in 1998 (see Interchurch Families 7,2 Summer 1999) the subject of ‘the ecclesiological significance of interchurch families’ returned to the agenda of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches. Martin and Ruth Reardon were asked to address the JWG on this subject when it met at Dromantine in Northern Ireland in May 2001. The Group is taking the question very seriously. Its two co-moderators, Roman Catholic Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow and Bishop Jonas Jonson of Strängnäs, of the Swedish Lutheran Church, plan to attend the Second World Gathering of Interchurch Families to be held near Rome in July 2003.
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10.2.8-9
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