Eucharistic coherence5/15/2023 "Moreover, as the prefect's sound theological and pastoral advice opens a new path for moving forward, we should take this opportunity to reenvision the best collegial structure for achieving that," the letter said. "The high standard of consensus among ourselves and of maintaining unity with the Holy See and the universal church as set forth by Cardinal Ladaria is far from being achieved in the present moment," the prelates wrote. productively in the fractured and isolated setting of a distance meeting." The bishops said the serious nature of "eucharistic worthiness" and other issues raised in Cardinal Ladaria's letter requires the bishops to "forge substantive unity," something which they said is "impossible to address. The archdiocese did not respond to a CNS email seeking comment. The letter from the bishops was sent on letterhead of the Archdiocese of Washington. It outlines three parts, subtitled "The Eucharist, A Mystery to be Believed," "The Eucharist, A Mystery to be Celebrated" and "The Eucharist: A Mystery to be Lived."Įach part has three topics that would be addressed including, respectively, the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in Communion, unity, beauty and identity as the "fount and apex of the whole Christian life," and moral transformation, eucharistic consistency and missionary discipleship. Gomez's memo included a draft, dated May 14, of an outline of a possible document with the proposed title "The Mystery of the Eucharist in the life of the Church: Why It Matters." "As you will note, the focus of this proposed teaching document is on how best to help people to understand the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist as the center of their Christian lives," the archbishop wrote. It added that if the action is approved, the doctrine committee would begin its work, subject to the conference's "usual process of consultation, modification and amendment" when presented for consideration at a future general assembly. "Importantly, the Action Item does not ask the body to approve a final statement, but only whether drafting of a text may begin," the memo said. The process, the memo explained, involves the creation of an "Action Item" for the bishops to consider. Rhoades took such a step by asking the Administrative Committee to include time on the spring agenda to discuss such a question. Gomez said the bishops' conference rules require that the body of bishops first be asked whether to issue a document on a particular topic. O'Malley of Boston and Cardinal Joseph W. The bishops wrote that "we respectfully urge that all conference-wide discussion and committee work on the topic of eucharistic worthiness and other issues raised by the Holy See be postponed until the full body of bishops is able to meet in person."įour cardinals are among those signing the letter: Cardinal Blase J. The letter cites May 7 correspondence from Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, to Archbishop Gomez. Rhoades chairs the bishops' Committee on Doctrine, which would draft the document if approved by the full assembly.Īrchbishop Gomez's memo came in response to a May 13 letter, which was obtained by Catholic News Service, to him from 67 bishops who asked that any discussion on "eucharistic coherence" be removed from the assembly agenda. It set the spring assembly agenda during its meeting in March. The Administrative Committee includes conference officers and all of the committee chairmen. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, for the discussion on drafting a document to examine the "meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the church." Gomez of Los Angeles explained that the bishops' Administrative Committee approved a request from Bishop Kevin C. In a May 22 memo to fellow bishops, Archbishop José H. The back-and-forth messages follow an increasingly public debate among the bishops about Catholic politicians who support keeping abortion legal and whether they should be denied access to the Eucharist. Conference of Catholic Bishops' president explained in a memo the procedure followed in bringing the question to a vote during the June 16-18 virtual meeting. After receiving an unprecedented letter from 67 bishops appealing for a delay in a discussion during the bishops' upcoming spring general assembly on whether to prepare a teaching document on the reception of Communion, the U.S.
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