Pope says Catholics seeking confirmation can join Anglican ordinariate

Demonstrating the role of Anglican Ordinariates in the new evangelization, baptized Catholics can now join the groups set up for Anglican converts, according to a change in rules made by Pope Francis.

Those who were baptized Catholic but have not received Confirmation and First Communion are now allowed to join the ordinariates. Previously, baptized Catholics were not eligible to join the groups unless they had family who were ex-Anglicans.

“This confirms the place of the Personal Ordinariates within the mission of the wider Catholic Church, not simply as a jurisdiction for those from the Anglican tradition, but as a contributor to the urgent work of the New Evangelisation,” the United Kingdom's ordinariate announced July 9.

Taking its cue from the late John Paul II, the new evangelization is the common term for bringing the Gospel to formerly Christian nations, and can be seen in the new outreach to people who were baptized as Catholics but who never completed the process of Christian initiation.

Benedict XVI allowed for the groups to be set up with his 2009 apostolic constitution “Anglicanorum coetibus,” which provided for ordinariates, or Anglican communities wishing to enter into the Catholic Church.

His “complementary norms” governing the groups said that “those baptized previously as Catholics outside the Ordinariate are not ordinarily eligible for membership, unless they are members of a family belonging to the Ordinariate.”

On May 31, Pope Francis modified the complementary norms, adding a section which says that “a person who has been baptized in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the Sacraments of Initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the evangelizing mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or both.”

It was emphasized that Catholics must meet the objective criterion – lacking at least one of the sacraments of initiation – to join the groups for former Anglicans, and they may not join “for purely subjective motives or personal preference,” according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In addition to the U.K.'s Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, there are also ordinariates in North America and Australia.

“I certainly welcome this development, which further establishes our place in the work of the new evangelization,” said Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, ordinary of the Chair of Saint Peter, in North America.

“Particularly in North America, with large percentages of 'unchurched' peoples, it is inevitable that we will encounter those who have no formal ecclesial relationships but who are seekers of truth,” he added in his statement.

Can I receive Holy Communion in the Maronite Rite even though I was confirmed in Latin Rite?

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Of course. As one priest expressed it well, "same faith, different flavor".

Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:

"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).

Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.

To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15).

A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his or her obligations at any Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaldeans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.

Please freepmail me if you would like more information on the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Ping to post #9.

There may be some issues if you wish to formally join the parish, or have you children baptized/confirmed/receive first Holy Communion there, or get married there.

Not sure I understand the issues to which you refer. Speaking from personal experience, in the 9+ years since becoming a parishioner at a Maronite Catholic Church, I have witnessed an influx of Latin Rite Catholics into the parish. Since Catholic is Catholic, there is no need to formally switch rites. For mixed couples (Maronite and Latin Rite), it is suggested that, for the benefit of the children, they follow one rite. Even then, people tend to move around. We also have Melkite and mixed Orthodox / Maronite families in our parish. We come together as a community each week to worship God then gather afterwards for refreshments and conversation. It is like an extended family.

I think EWTN is mistaken making it sound like *anyone* who has not been confirmed can join the Ordinariate. That's not what I read in the norms:

http://usordinariate.org/membership_norms_amended.html

5§2: A person who has been baptized in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the Sacraments of Initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the evangelizing mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or both.
In communicating this modification, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stresses that the objective criterion of an incomplete catechesis is the baptized Catholic who lacks one or other of the Sacraments of Initiation (Confirmation, reception of the Eucharist). Catholics may not become members of the Ordinariate “for purely subjective motives or personal preference.”

This modification is meant to allow those who, for example, were baptized Catholic but then as children or whatever moved into an Anglican Church and are now in an Ordinariate community. Rome doesn't want the Ordinariate to be swamped with us cradle Catholics....and despite my love for and intense interest in the thing, I'd have to agree.

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