A Chara, - Mgr Denis Faul of Co Tyrone mistakenly asserts (March 5th) that "the Eastern Catholic Churches do not allow their members to receive the Catholic Eucharist." Since I am the only Eastern Catholic priest in Ireland, I hope that you will permit me to correct this serious error.
All Catholics, of whatever ritual tradition, are permitted and welcome to receive Holy Communion at any Catholic celebration of the Eucharist (the Mass, as the Western Church calls it, or the Divine Liturgy, as the Eastern Churches call it). All Catholic priests, of whatever ritual tradition, are permitted and welcome to concelebrate the Eucharist with one another.
Not only does Mgr Faul not understand this vital point, he also seems to be asserting that the Eastern Catholic Churches are not Catholic at all, or that an Eastern Catholic Eucharist is not Catholic. With these words, Mgr Faul has deeply insulted every Eastern Catholic who might run across his comments. Three Eastern Catholic Patriarchs became Cardinals a fortnight ago; does Mgr Faul think that these Cardinal Patriarchs declined to receive Holy Communion from Pope John Paul II? On the previous Sunday, the Armenian Catholic Patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Saint Peter's, with Pope John Paul II presiding; the Pope received Holy Communion from the hands of the Armenian Catholic Patriarch.
The number of Eastern Catholics who endured martyrdom and heroic suffering for our communion with Rome runs into the hundreds of thousands, even in the 20th century at the hands of the Communists. Mgr Faul has neither mission nor mandate to deny us that communion.
As for the question of Eastern Orthodox Christians receiving Holy Communion, I can assure Mgr Faul from many years of personal experience that such Eucharistic sharing is frequent, and is based on the clear teaching of the Second Vatican Council that "Eastern Christians who are separated in good faith from the Catholic Church, if they are rightly disposed and make such a request of their own accord, may be given the Sacraments of Penance, the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick" (Vatican II, Orientalium Ecclesiarum).
Even before I had seen your edition of March 5th, I received several telephone calls from distressed parishioners, asking me how Mgr Faul could possibly have issued such a statement. I would invite him to produce an immediate retraction and an apology to those whom he has gratuitously offended. - Is mise,
An tAthair Brian O Caileachair, Greek-Catholic Congregation in Dublin, Gairdini Achadh na Fuiseoige, Tir an Iuir, Baile Atha Cliath 6 Iar.