CHAPTER 3: EUCHARIST IN ECUMENICAL MONASTERIES 105 foundation for the practice of Eucharistic hospitality and calling upon churches to consider offering such hospitality. 257 The report incorporated the preparatory work of Faith and Order and, as such, shows significant resemblance with the section on the Eucharist in the 1982 Faith and Order paper, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. These three developments – acknowledgment of the universal significance of the ministry of the pope, expression of converging Eucharistic theologies, and contemplating the option of multiple ecclesial belonging – formed important building blocks for the practice of Eucharistic hospitality that would be established in 1973. After the Council, Brother Roger intended to find ways to fully incorporate Catholics into the community. Until then, Catholic participation in the life of the community had been limited to the presence of Catholic orders (both male and female) in and around Taizé.258 A Belgian Catholic doctor, the later Brother Ghislain, was convinced that he should join the Taizé community rather than the Franciscans who had settled in Taizé in 1964. Canonical challenges aside, this raised the question of Eucharistic communion in all seriousness. The community prepared a formal request to Pope Paul VI and the Roman institutions, asking for permission to receive Communion in Roman Catholic Eucharistic celebrations.259 They enjoyed the support of the local Catholic bishop, Msgr. Le Bourgeois, who celebrated the Eucharist with Brother Roger, Brother Ghislain, and several others, all of whom received Communion.260 Karim Schelkens, biographer of Cardinal Willebrands (President of the SPCU since 1969 after serving as Secretary under Cardinal Augustin Bea) demonstrates how the quest for Eucharistic hospitality in Taizé coincided with similar initiatives elsewhere. These included the search for adequate solutions for the growing number of mixed marriages and, most notably, the three highlevel ‘incidents’ with Roman Catholic officials extending or enjoying Eucharistic hospitality in Paris (France), Uppsala (Sweden), and Medellin 257 For the English translation of this text, see Catherine E. Clifford, ed., For the Communion of the Churches: The Contribution of the Groupe Des Dombes (Grand Rapids MI/Cambridge U.K.: Eerdmans, 2010), 13–23. 258 Today, the Taizé community is still accompanied by sisters from several Catholic congregations. They assist the brothers of Taizé in welcoming their guests, accompany the female guests who spend a week in silence, and function as confidential counselors for female guests. 259 Laplane, Frère Roger de Taizé, 340. 260 Laplane, 375.
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