CHAPTER 1: ECUMENICAL PROGRESS AND STAGNATION 39 Communion together, without the opportunity to respond to this wish with the blessing of the church.94 The press release of 22 February formulates a little stronger that “in interconfessional marriages, in individual cases, the spiritual hunger for common reception of Communion can be so pressing that it can become a hazard to the marriage and the faith of the spouse not to be allowed to respond to it.”95 The intention is clear: to resolve the specific challenges partners in a mixed marriage experience in their marital bond or personal faith due to the inability to receive Communion together with their spouses. In this sense, the document truly is a pastoral aid, concerned primarily with the spiritual wellbeing of Catholic individuals and their spouses.96 The debate: Objections with some considerations Several objections were made to the proposal before the final document was released. Some mentioned here come from the bishops that urged Rome to intervene, while others were expressed in the subsequent international debate. I will discuss them because they summarize the debate about the topic of Eucharistic sharing in ecumenical contexts. The first objection is formal in nature. It considers the competence of bishops’ conferences in general to address the question in the first place. Cardinal Woelki, archbishop of Cologne and informal leader of those voting against the proposal, explains that the topic is so important “that we consider it 94 Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, “Mit Christus gehen,” sec. 18. Original text in German: “Es ist eine große Not, wenn der Glaube, der eine Frau und einen Mann dazu geführt hat, einander das Sakrament der Ehe zu spenden und es wechselseitig voneinander zu empfangen, zur Sehnsucht nach der gemeinsamen Kommunion führt, ohne dass sich ein Weg zeigt, diesem Wunsch mit dem Segen der Kirche zu entsprechen” (translation: FW). 95 Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, “Pressebericht des Vorsitzenden der DBK,” 5. Original text in German: “in konfessionsverschiedenen Ehen im Einzelfall der geistliche Hunger nach dem gemeinsamen Empfang der Kommunion so drängend sein kann, dass es eine Gefährdung der Ehe und des Glaubens der Ehepartner nach sich ziehen könnte, ihn nicht stillen zu dürfen” (translation: FW). 96 The bishops hereby take into account the interpretation of grave necessity provided by Pope John Paul II. He leaves out the precondition of danger of death and only speaks of nonCatholics “who greatly desire to receive these sacraments” (UUS, sec. 46; John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Encyclical on the Eucharist in Relation to the Church (Rome, 2003), sec. 46 (henceforth cited as EE)) and concludes that “the intention is to meet a grave spiritual need for the eternal salvation of an individual believer” (EE, sec. 45).
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