106 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT (Colombia) in 1968. 261 Willebrands, although a fervent protagonist of ecumenism long before Vatican II, never considered Eucharistic sharing a viable way towards unity in the West. He issued several statements which still form the basis for the definition of exceptional circumstances listed in the Ecumenical Directory of 1967, sec. 55 (and the new edition of 1993, sec. 131).262 This explains why he attempted to prevent acts of Eucharistic hospitality in Taizé to the point of calling on Msgr. Le Bourgeois of Autun not to visit the community on 2 February 1973, when he planned to celebrate the Eucharist there. Sabine Laplane notes that the bishop soon regretted his decision to yield to Cardinal Willebrands and that he initiated a new visit to Taizé. On 5 April 1973, he celebrated Mass in the community, inviting all brothers to receive Communion. This was the starting point for an enduring practice: “for the first time, on 11 June, Sunday of Pentecost, all brothers of the community can receive communion in public during Mass. A practice that continues until today.”263 From that moment onward, the brothers would receive Communion from the Holy Reserve on weekdays – a tabernacle had been installed in the Church of Reconciliation the previous Winter – with Mass celebrated every Sunday, presided over by a Catholic priest. This implied that most Protestant ordained brothers stopped presiding over Eucharistic liturgies, following the example of Brother Roger himself.264 Somewhat surprisingly, Schelkens directly relates Willebrands’ final clarifications regarding the discretion of local bishops to decide which cases met the requirements for Eucharistic hospitality, issued in October 1973,265 to the events in Taizé. Schelkens notes: It was not said in so many words, but this accommodated the wishes of local bishops and of Schutz, who had requested Pope Paul VI 261 Schelkens, Johannes Willebrands: een leven in gesprek, 331; cf. Casadei and Wouda, “Eucharistic Hospitality: Reconsidering the Terminology,” 51. 262 Schelkens, Johannes Willebrands: een leven in gesprek, 334. 263 Laplane, Frère Roger de Taizé, 376. Original text in French: “Et, pour la première fois, le 11 juin, Dimanche de la Pentecôte, tous les frères de la communauté peuvent communier publiquement lors de la messe. Pratique qui se prolonge jusqu’aujourd’hui” (translation: FW). 264 Laplane, 376. 265 Johannes Willebrands and Charles Moeller, “A Note About Certain Interpretations of the ‘Instruction Concerning Particular Cases When Other Christians May Be Admitted to Eucharistic Communon in the Catholic Church,’” Information Service, no. 23 (1974): 25–26, http://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/acta-oecumenica/informationservice-/information-service-23.html.
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