Dr Empey says Archbishop's remarks cause `acrimony'

The row between the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland over inter-church communion has intensified, following recent remarks by the Cardinal-elect, Dr Desmond Connell.

The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, yesterday said Dr Connell's remarks would cause "acrimony" on what should have been "a joyful occasion" for Dublin Catholics.

Speaking in a Sunday Business Post interview, Dr Connell was critical of the Church of Ireland practice of inviting all baptised Christians to take Holy Communion at its Eucharist services.

"It is all very well to say that everybody whose conscience permits him is welcome to come to communion, but in circumstances when it is known that this is tantamount to an invitation to Catholics [in attendance] to come to communion, that fails to respect the faith and obligations of our members and, consequently, the cause of ecumenism," Dr Connell said.

"The Church of Ireland knew that we have a very clear position on the question of Catholics receiving communion in churches other than Catholic churches," he said.

In a brief statement last night Archbishop Empey said it was "with sincere regret" he responded to what Archbishop Connell had said.

Referring to Dr Connell's elevation to cardinal this week, Dr Empey said he was "saddened that what should be a joyful occasion for the majority church on this island and, particularly for its members in Dublin, is being marred by acrimony.

"The Archbishop asks the Church of Ireland to respect the `very clear position' of the Roman Catholic Church regarding inter-communion. However, I must ask the Archbishop to respect our position which is also very clear.

"We welcome to Holy Communion all those who are baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity, our communicant members of their own churches and whose consciences allow them to receive Holy Communion," Dr Empey concluded.

Speaking on RTE news later, Dr Empey said: "When I go to a Roman Catholic church I respect that tradition that we do not come forward for communion and I respect their position on that. But when we are on our own Church of Ireland churches then I have to ask him to respect our position in that matter."

In the Sunday Business Post interview, Dr Connell said that "for Catholics, when we receive Holy Communion, it is a statement that we are in full communion with those people with whom we are taking communion. It is a very public statement of common faith, of full communion of belief and worship.

"We have a certain communion with other Christians, such as members of the Church of Ireland, but our communion with the Church of Ireland and other Protestants is incomplete; because we and they do not have the same faith about, for example, the Eucharist.

He continued later in the interview: "I like to be honest and to face the differences honestly, but I do not think that the whole question of inter-communion is being sufficiently clearly dealt with at the moment.

Dr Connell left for Rome last night and so was not available for further comment.

Church differences in Ireland over inter-communion came to a head in December 1997 when the President, Mrs McAleese, a Catholic, took communion at Christ Church Cathedral.

In January 1998 Dr Connell said in an interview with Eamon Dunphy on Today FM that it was a "sham" for a Catholic to receive communion in a reformed church. Later, the three Catholic Bishop's Conferences on these islands issued the joint One Bread One Body document, which said it was wrong for a Catholic to receive communion in any reformed church.