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In this issue we bring you news of the part that interchurch families played at the Jubilee Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare in December 1998, and explain something of the situation of interchurch families in Zimbabwe. Those of us who went from England and from Australia were amazed to discover that in Zimbabwe the issue for interchurch families is not about baptism, sharing communion and so on, but whether a wife should be forced to belong to the church of her husband when she marries. It is a reminder of the social and cultural differences that affect interchurch family life. Yet there are also, of course even deeper underlying convictions and aspirations that unite interchurch families all over the world.
The publication in October 1998 of One Bread One Body, with its norms on eucharistic sharing, has been a major event for interchurch families in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In this number of Interchurch Families we give a shortened version of a commentary on the document that is published elsewhere. We shall need to return again and again to the issues that have been raised by One Bread One Body; it opens up the possibility of a process of on-going dialogue between interchurch families and our bishops and church leaders, pastors and communities. For our part, AIF is committed to carrying this dialogue forward.
Here I would simply like to refer to the question of reciprocity. Our bishops have made it clear that Catholics are not authorised to receive communion from ministers whose orders are not recognised by the Roman Catholic Church. This is entirely consonant with general church law as it stands at the present time. The question that this raises for some interchurch families is one of conscience. There is a short section on authority and conscience in the recently-published agreed statement by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, The Gift of Authority, (49) that is important for interchurch families. Those called to the ministry of authority "must … duly respect the consciences of those they are called to serve."
This is a difficult and painful area for some interchurch families. Of course there are Roman Catholics who want to share communion with their spouses in the church of their spouse. Marriage is about mutuality. This has to remain a matter for the conscience of the individual Roman Catholic. Some Catholics married to other Christians will decide in one way, some in another. Some will decide differently on different occasions. There are no right answers. I have myself been greatly cheered since I was told of some advice given by the late Oliver Tomkins, Anglican Bishop of Bristol, to a Catholic priest who was debating whether or not he should receive communion at an Anglican celebration in a certain situation. Oliver Tomkins said something like this: "Well, if you do receive, you will be witnessing to the unity we have already been given in Christ. If you do not receive, you will be witnessing to the great work of reconciliation that is still to be achieved. And both are Gospel witnesses." Both are Gospel witnesses.
Ruth Reardon
In this issue: Homily by Robert Murray SJ pp.2-3; Interchurch Families in Zimbabwe by Oscar Wermter SJ pp.4-6; Setting Up a Local Group in Zimbabwe, p.5; WCC Harare Assembly pp.7-8; Commentary on One Bread One Body pp.9-14; Conferences Around the World, p. 16
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7.2.1
Published by the Association of Interchurch Families, England
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