Posted on 04/07/2006 1:19:39 PM PDT by Cheverus
Well then, you're very welcome!
I've heard other stories, such as yours. One of our parishioners while hospitalized at a Catholic hospital, was denied communion because the chart listed them as Maronite. I believe EWTN and the Internet have been instrumental in educating Latin Rite catholics. There is still a long way to go, though.
This article has helped fill in the gaps of my understanding of how the Eastern Catholic Churches evolved in this country. It's no wonder they adopted some of the Latin practices in order to prevent their parishioners from leaving. It's a question of educating others. When I meet Maronites who are registered at RC parishes, I speak with them about their proud Maronite heritage and invite them to come back. Sadly, many of them are totally ignorant of that heritage and pleasantly surprised. I do the same for RCs that happen to visit. God willing, this one small voice can make a difference.
Dear NYer,
"One of our parishioners while hospitalized at a Catholic hospital, was denied communion because the chart listed them as Maronite."
I find these stories positively astonishing.
sitetest
"Faux Orthodox...is a good name for them. Seems like they really want to be Orthodox but they just gotta love that POPE... just gotta!"
Just a personal opinion, but I don't think they are "faux" anything. Every Eastern Rite Catholic I have known has been a very faithful and fine Eastern Christian. They are what they are more because of accidents of history than anything else. The overwhelming majority I know are "cradle", Maronites (all immigrants) or Melkites or Eastern European "Greek Catholics". Not one of those cradle types has anything at all good to say about Latin Rite ecclesiology as it has developed over the past, say, 300 years and they know and care little or nothing about what happened before that. They have a very Eastern attitude towards hierarchs, which is to say, they remember +John Chrysostomos' comment about the floor of hell. As a group, I find them far more hostile to Rome than most Orthodox I know since, I suppose, their unfortunate experiences with Roman ways are far more fresh than ours as Orthodox and they are sort of caught in Rome's embrace. Their prayer life and spirituality is distinctly Orthodox. The Melkites and Maronites see themselves as fully Orthodox with some sort of tie to the Pope, but nothing beyond that. The Eastern Europeans seem to see themselves as neither fish nor fowl...and they don't seem to like that one bit. I should qualify the foregoing by saying that I only know well a couple of eastern Rite priests, both Melkites and no hierarchs. I did speak with a Ruthenian hierarch once some years ago on a legal matter. He seemed at pains to convince me he was really Orthodox, which struck me as strange at the time. I haven't heard that from the laity I know.
The attitude of converts to the Eastern Rites may be different, but I don't know any of them save here on FR.
Faux? Nope, nothing faux about them at all, LIW!
Dear Freepers in Christ,
This is an awesome article on the Eastern Catholic Churches in the United States.
On E.W.T.N. Television, there is a Program called "Light of the East" which is anchored by two Eastern Rite Catholic Priests and is broadcast to Asian and South Asian Catholic Viewers every Monday.
Does anyone have any specific information on the Melkite Catholic Church, the Armenian Cathoilic Church and on the Assyrian Catholic Church.
In Christ,
You may also want to visit these two sites:
and this one ....
Thanks, I posted this and was away from the computer all weekend.
I think Fr. Grigasy, captured the flavor of the interactions between Eastern and Latin Rite Catholics, most Latin Catholics are ignorant of the Eastern Rites....not malicious, just ignorant.
Also, I thought it a good article to post because unlike so many others on this site, I don't think there is anything wrong with having a thoughtful discussion on bone headed moves like "Cum Data Fuerit"
Thanks for the re-format; much easier to read!
"Faux Orthodox...is a good name for them. Seems like they really want to be Orthodox but they just gotta love that POPE... just gotta!"
Your comment was inflammatory and uncalled for.
Eastern Catholics are quite happy being exactly that: eastern Catholic. While the liturgy and traditions of the eastern Catholic churches are often very similar to those of the Orthodox churches, there are differences.
As for the relationship between eastern Catholics and their western bretheren, the incidents discussed toward the end of this article lend something of an insight. Eastern Catholics have often been treated very poorly.
"I think it was my brother-in-law, Calin Tamiian, who was ordained in Canton, OH while being married. I didn't know that he didn't have permission from the Pope (or that he needed it for that matter)."
They don't need permission at this point. But there is a tradition in the U.S. of not ordaining married men to avoid antagonizing the much larger Roman Catholic church. There is a very sad history in the U.S. regarding married Priests, as this article indicates.
Since each of the eastern Catholic churches are "sui iuris", how they view the issue does differ from church to church. The general trend has been to return to our eastern tradition (i.e. some married Priests). The Romanian and Melkite churches have been ordaining married men in the U.S. for awhile. The Ruthenian (Byzantine) Catholic church just ordained it's first married Priest in the U.S. in about 70 years just a few weeks ago. I doubt the Maronites will ordain a married man in the U.S. during my lifetime.
"When it came time for my confirmation, about 25 yrs ago, my Pastor steadfastly refused any of my Byzantine relatives as potential Confirmation sponsors and actually approved, as a special circumstance, my un-confirmed younger sister as my sponsor. We - me, my mother, her former Pastor - could not convince him that they were 'practicing Catholics'."
Sounds about right. Most western Catholics are completely unaware of the fact that there are Catholics who are not Roman Catholic. That's changing slowly but surely.
"I find these stories positively astonishing."
Astonishing and sad.
My husband wants to know where in Southern California is this Romanian Catholic Church? Thanks.
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