| Many Roman Catholics are
barely aware of the presence in their midst of Catholics who are not
of the Latin or Roman liturgical tradition. These Catholics
constitute a small percentage of the 1.1 billion Catholics in the
world, which accounts for their relative anonymity. However, such
Eastern Catholics are a vibrant part of the Church and represent the
ancient traditions of the Christian East which were largely lost to
the Catholic Church in 1054 AD. In that unfortunate year Eastern
Orthodox Christians, in the person of the Patriarch of
Constantinople, and Latin Christians, in the person of the Supreme
Pontiff, broke their ecclesiastical communion. With the exception of Maronite Catholics, Eastern Catholics are Christians who at some
point in history returned to communion with the Holy See from the
traditions and Churches of the East. They are thus usually
identified along national or ethnic lines, as are the Eastern
Churches from which they came. (see FAQ "Catholic
Rites and Churches")
As bridges to the Christian East not in communion with Rome, the
Church places great value on the ecumenical role which Eastern
Catholics can play. The Second Vatican Council, the ecumenical documents
of the Holy See, and the writings of the Holy Father, call on
Eastern Catholics to preserve their own traditions, both for their
own sake and for the ecumenical value they represent in relations
with the Orthodox and other Eastern Churches. The Holy See has also
taken care to speak clearly of the status of Eastern Catholics,
preserving both their freedom of governance and their necessary submission to
the supreme authority of the Apostolic See.
Churches. Every Catholic belongs to a specific ritual Catholic Church, with an identifiable hierarchy, at the head of
which is usually a Patriarch. Membership is accomplished at the
time of baptism. According to the Code of Canons of the
Eastern Churches (Pope John Paul II, 1990) canon 27,
A group of faithful united by a hierarchy according to the
norm of law which the supreme authority of the Church expressly
or tacitly recognizes as sui iuris (of its own
right) is called in this Code a Church sui iuris.
One can thus speak of the Roman or Latin Church. It has a
hierarchy, its own mechanisms of governance under the Patriarch of
the West, laws set out in the 1983 Code of Canon Law,
and is ultimately subject to the Supreme Pontiff, who in this case
is also Patriarch. Likewise, one can speak of an Eastern Catholic
Church, such as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which has an
identifiable hierarchy under the Patriarch of Lvov, Ukraine, is
governed by its own law, under the aforementioned Code of
Canons of the Eastern Churches, and is ultimately subject to the Supreme
Pontiff, as every Catholic Church is (Code of Canons of
the Eastern Churches, canons 43-48). Thus, when speaking of
Eastern Catholics it is correct to speak of them as belonging to
Eastern Catholic Churches, and as individuals to specific Eastern
Catholic Churches. Rites. A Rite is a specific form or way to celebrate
the Eucharistic and sacramental liturgies of the Church. When
the Gospel was brought to different peoples, its essential
sacramental elements were inculturated into those societies
through different ritual forms, so that they would be meaningful
and understandable to them while expressing the divine
mysteries they contained. There is thus more than one Rite in
the Church, although because of its size most Catholics and
non-Catholics associate the Latin or Roman Rite with Catholicism. The
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches describes rites this way
in canon 28,
1. A rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual and
disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history
of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the
faith is manifested in each Church sui iuis.
2. The rites treated in this code, unless otherwise stated,
are those which arise from the Alexandrian, Antiochene,
Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan traditions.
Since several Eastern Catholic Churches can share the same
"liturgical, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," for
example, the Constantinopolitan or Byzantine (see FAQ mentioned
above), and share them with Churches not in communion with Rome,
the expression "Eastern Rites" only applies in the
limited context of the various Eastern historical, liturgical and
theological patrimonies. Eastern Catholics belong to Churches,
therefore, not Rites.
Sister Churches. It has become quite common to speak
of Sister Churches, both in connection with the relation of
the separated Churches of the East (e.g. the Orthodox) with
Rome, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches with Rome. This
is possible because all the Churches in question have a valid
hierarchy. (This term can thus never be applied to the
ecclesial bodies derived from the Reformation, as they lack a
valid hierarchy.)
While useful ecumenically, the term is only valid within
certain theological limits, which were specified in 2000 by
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this
instruction the Holy See makes clear that the use of this
expression, with respect to Rome in particular, does not
derogate from the prerogatives given in Divine Law to the
Apostolic See. (see Note
on the Expression "Sister Churches")
Thus, Rome as the See of Peter is the Mother Church of
Christendom. Considered solely as a diocese she is a sister of every other local Church, since
each local Church (with a bishop, presbyterate and diaconate
representing Christ the Head, and the people His Body) is fully a sign of
the whole Church, the whole Mystical Christ. Also, each ritual Church (Latin,
Ukrainian, Byzantine,
Maronite, Syro-Malabar, Coptic etc.) can be considered a sister of
every other ritual Church.
Some have suggested that Rome cannot be both a sister and a
mother. The language is not only NOT inconsistent but very Scriptural. Thus,
in the Song of Songs the Bridegroom calls his Bride his sister
(Song 4:9-10).
It is the language of love, that is of a deeply shared spiritual
communion. Likewise, the
Church is the Bride of Christ, but also His Body. Different human realities convey different aspects
of the mystery which is the Church. They complement, not
contradict. It is thus true that the Roman Church is both sister
to all Catholic Churches and Mother of them all. And in the sense
explained by the Congregation, she is "sister" to the
ancient Christian Churches of the East, as well.
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