All of the Eastern Catholic
churches, not just those based in the Middle East, have thousands of
their faithful living in predominantly Latin-rite Catholic countries and
need to find new ways to minister to them, said the head of the
Ukrainian Catholic Church.
In the modern world, the territory of an individual church "is made up
of people of faith" no matter where they live, Ukrainian Cardinal
Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych said in a written submission to the Synod
of Bishops for the Middle East.
The Vatican released his statement Oct. 21.
Catholic Church law limits the authority of Eastern-rite Catholic
patriarchs and major archbishops to the traditional territory of their
churches, but Cardinal Husar said the church must "rethink and review"
those restrictions to ensure that the Eastern churches can minister
effectively to their members.
The cardinal asked Pope Benedict XVI to set up a body, like an Eastern
church's permanent synod, that would bring all the patriarchs and major
archbishops together regularly so they could share ideas and problems
and receive suggestions and encouragement from the pope.
He also asked the pope to dedicate a future Synod of Bishops "to the
general theme of the nature and role of the Eastern Catholic churches."
The arrival of Eastern Catholic immigrants, whether from Middle East or
Eastern Europe, means the Catholic Church must find "the courage in the
Holy Spirit to live the harmony in multiplicity or diversity in all
those regions that, up to a few decades ago, were characterized by the
presence of a single rite and were used to a sort of monopoly," the
cardinal told the synod.
In addition, Cardinal Husar said even the smallest Eastern Catholic
communities in the West must recognize their obligation to be
missionaries and must not think that only Latin-rite Catholics have the
right and obligation to welcome new members.
"The wealth of our spirituality and our liturgies is a patrimony to be
shared and not jealously guarded or even hidden in our communities," he
said.
SIC: CNA/INT'L