INTRODUCTION 7 Because of the practical theological nature of this research, and considering the objective to learn from the encountered practice, this study takes a positive view on the phenomenon as starting point. Consequently, this study does not offer a comprehensive critique of the encountered practice. Such criticism is, without doubt, possible from various disciplinary backgrounds. The practice could be evaluated and critically reviewed from liturgical, canonical, and dogmatic perspectives, for instance. Yet given the purpose of this study, critical reflection will take place from the very perspective of the practice itself and directed towards the theological consensus, addressing the other options only occasionally. Finally, this research is embedded in a research program of Tilburg University’s School of Catholic Theology: ‘The Transformation of Religion in Late Modernity: The Case of New Catholicism.’ It relates to one of the program’s sub-questions in particular: “What kinds of theology, what practices, and what forms of spirituality are being advanced or should be advanced?” This question, with its normative connotation, loosely plays a role in the background. In the context of this study, it can be rephrased into the question that this research in and of itself cannot fully answer, but to which it tries to contribute nonetheless: Might Eucharistic hospitality be the way to proceed as a next step during this liminal and intermediate stage of the ecumenical process towards Christian unity? Thus, this study approaches a highly relevant topic in contemporary Catholic and ecumenical theology from an innovative and challenging interdisciplinary perspective.
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