03.05.2004
Ecumenical Dialogue Must Continue on Celebration of the Eucharist
Vatican Document Affirms Already Established Roman Catholic Restrictions for Eucharistic PracticesGENEVA, 3 May 2004 (LWI) – The Vatican document Redemptionis sacramentum, (The Sacrament of Redemption) made public April 23 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, affirms already established Roman Catholic Church regulations for Eucharistic practice, said Acting LWF General Secretary, Rev. Sven Oppegaard.
Oppegaard said the document reaffirms implicitly some significant differences from other church traditions such as the Lutheran, which also sees itself as representing a valid expression of the faith of the universal church in the area of the Eucharist, but with different practical consequences, for example, in the area of Eucharistic hospitality.
On the common basis of sacramental faith, ecumenical dialogue must continue on the important subject of the celebration of the Eucharist, so that the unifying power of Holy Communion can become, also in practice, a shared treasure within the one ecumenical movement, Oppegaard stressed. (164 words)
The English language version of the document Redemptionis sacramentum can be found on the Vatican Web site at:www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html
The full text of the statement by Rev. Oppegaard on the document Redemptionis sacramentum follows:
Concerning Redemptionis sacramentum. On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, instruction by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Statement by Rev. Sven Oppegaard, Acting General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation
Geneva, 30 April 2004
The document, Redemptionis sacramentum, from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, expresses in the form of instructions the official rules governing the practices of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the Eucharist. By the many references to the Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia it is clear that this document seeks to substantiate, in the area of practical implementation, the sacramental theology expressed in that Encyclical.
Referring to the Encyclical, the instruction notes with sadness that ecumenical initiatives which are well-intentioned, nevertheless indulge at times in Eucharistic practices contrary to the discipline by which the Church expresses her faith. Such practices, it states, lead to “ambiguity” and “depreciation” which must be corrected so that the Eucharist can continue to shine forth in its radiant mystery.
By the liturgical directions given, the document affirms already established Roman Catholic parameters for Eucharistic practice. Doing this, it reaffirms implicitly some significant differences from other church traditions, such as the Lutheran, which also sees itself as representing a valid expression of the faith of the Universal Church in the area of the Eucharist, but with different practical consequences, e.g. in the area of Eucharistic hospitality.
The Lutheran Reformation upheld a strong Eucharistic spirituality. Lutherans could therefore affirm large parts of the Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia. And together with the new instruction, Lutherans would clearly affirm that “the Church herself has no power over those things which were established by Christ himself and which constitute an unchangeable part of the Liturgy.” Lutherans would also firmly uphold that the mystery of the Eucharist “is too great for anyone to permit himself to treat it according to his own whim.”
On the common basis of sacramental faith, ecumenical dialogue must continue on the important subject of the celebration of the Eucharist, so that the unifying power of Holy Communion can become more and more, also in practice, a shared treasure within the one ecumenical movement.
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