Catholic or not?Timothy Schilling is incorrect ("Intercommunion in·ter·com·mun·ion n. 1. Communion, relationship, or association between persons or groups. 2. The practice by which members of different Christian denominations can receive Communion at one another's Eucharistic services or at Now?" May 6). Brother Roger Schutz of Taize became a Catholic some years ago. In fact, a few years back, he sent a member of the Taize community, a young man from Brooklyn named, appropriately, DeJesus, to be ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. a priest. Incidentally, before that he had sent DeJesus to care for the dying former head of the Jesuits, Pedro Arrupe Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (November 14, 1907 – February 5, 1991) (full name, Pedro de Arrupe y Gondra) was the twenty-eighth Superior General (1965-83) of the Society of Jesus. Japan - Hiroshima Fr. . FRANK C. ARRICALE Bayside bay·side adj. Situated very close to or on the shore of a bay: bayside cottages. , N.Y. THE AUTHOR REPLIES: Several articles on the pope's funeral stated that Brother Roger Schutz is a Protestant. An April 15 UPI UPI abbr. United Press International report called Schutz a "Swiss Protestant pastor" and noted that, at the funeral, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger also distributed Communion to a German Lutheran theologian he knows well. The official media outlet of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands (Katholieknederland) has commented on the remarkable fact that Schutz, a "Protestant," received Communion, as have the Dutch Association for Ecumenism ecumenism Movement toward unity or cooperation among the Christian churches. The first major step in the direction of ecumenism was the International Missionary Conference of 1910, a gathering of Protestants. and the Dutch news-papers. When I went to Rome I asked Brian Johnstone of the Academia Alfonsina if there had been discussion of the matter there. He said there certainly had, and he did not know what to make of the fact that Ratzinger had apparently given Communion to a Protestant. Even if Schutz did at some point secretly become Catholic (which I have no reason to believe), this act seems at least to "sow confusion" or be "cause for scandal," and this from a church leadership that so prizes clarity. I'm all for inviting more of our brothers and sisters to the table. I'm just puzzled by the mixed message that seems to be coming from Rome. If priests in the parishes did this, they would get in trouble. TIMOTHY SCHILLING |
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