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Hello, I have a question and I'm hoping someone here can help me find an answer... I asked on another forum too but I thought this is a bigger Byzantine forum.

I'm an Eastern Catholic and for a long time I thought of transferring rites to Latin rite because my spirituality is Latin and I don't have a parish of my rite. My Bishop is the local Latin Bishop though. The situation became very complicated for me with essentially trying to be two things at once. I had intended to be Roman Catholic when I converyed and I wasn't really a practicing Orthodox. Now I attend a Latin rite church.

Last year, I spoke to my priest and expressed my difficulty with all this, and I think I maybe asked if I could transfer rites... In any case I wanted to. After a while, my priest said he was thinking about it and he thought it could help me to investigating transferring with the diocese. I agreed and wanted to as well.

I submitted an application and talked to the vice chancellor and they wanted a letter from my priest. In the end the Bishop decided that Rome is not likely to accept the application. So I accepted it as God's will for me to be Eastern.

Yet now I have two difficulties that have basically taken away my peace...

1. I came across a statement from a Pope's encyclical/document saying that any missionary who induces an Eastern to switch rites is ipsi facto suspended a divinis, etc... I thought this probably refers only to missionaries and trying to change a persons will. My priest is not a missionary and I already wanted to transfer. I wanted to be Latin.

I asked about this on another forum just to learn but I don't want to think something against my priest or judge him! I wanted to learn so I don't think that way. But there I learned of other canons placing a penalty on anyone who tries to induce someone to transfer, etc... Now I'm really confused. I still DONT want to think anything bad about my priest. And he is my confessor who gives me the Sacraments! I don't want to judge his position or actions especially as he was trying to help me , - I respect the canon but I don't know how to interpret it. If someone is fearful they could start doubting if their Sacraments have been valid, and thinking all sorts of things about their priest! I don't want this. And I did receive grace through the Sacraments...

2. The document also states that if someone practices as a Latin parish because they don't have clergy of their own rite, if ever this changes, they must go back to their rite... Now I don't know what would happen if there was a Russian Catholic parish, if it were around here, I'd be interested... And if I didn't get the transfer then it wasn't God's will, I guess I should stay Eastern. But am I supposed to just give up my Latin parish, which is my spirituality, and has always been as a Catholic? I'm ok with staying Eastern, integrating Eastern spirituality, going to a Russian Catholic parish if it ever happens here, - but what do I do with my Latin spirituality? I also love my parish which does the Tridentine Mass. Im not asking here what God wills cause that's something to pray about, but what is the Church's expectation?

I would really appreciate any help especially with the first question , so I don't get into some sort of crisis of faith... thank you!

Hi Little Flower!

My recommendation would be to find a way to forget about the Church you are canonically enrolled in and just go where you are called. You are perfectly free canonically to attend any Catholic parish you want. If you find a home there, make it your home by registering as a parishioner. Worship there, get involved in the activities there. And don't worry about anything else (it is not spiritually profitable to do so and over-worrying can be spiritually harmful). I'm surprised your pastor or confessor has not already told you this.

To respond more specifically to your first question, yes, that rule applies only to missionaries. There was a time when Latins actively sought to convert Eastern Christians - both Catholic and Orthodox - to the Latin Church (that is, to change their mode of worship and theology from Eastern to Western). This is now prohibited. Your priest is likely hesitant to encourage you to change to the Latin Church because someday there may be a parish of your Russian Church and you may wish to join it. This is logical since you don't need to change to the Latin Church in order to join a RC Parish (and even spend your whole life there).

For your second question, I don't know the specific document you are referring to, but, if you find a spiritual home in any Catholic Church (Eastern or Western), you are certainly canonically free to stay there all your life. If they open up a Russian Greek Catholic Parish in your neighborhood you are not obligated to attend it. Generally speaking, if you (at that time) formally ask for a "Change of Ritual Church" enrollment, your pastor is obligated to remind you that you are Greek Catholic and should pray over your decision and consider worshiping in a Greek Catholic parish, but beyond that he has no obligation in the matter. If you don't ask for a "Change of Ritual Church" enrollment, he has no obligation to seek you out to direct you.

The Church's will is that you worship in the Catholic parish you have found to be a home to you.

John

Hello Little Flower,

The administrator's advice is very good. If I were you, I would follow his advice. My own problem was the exact opposite of your problem. After many years it was resolved but with many difficulties and tribulations. I do understand completely what you are going through.
Focus on your current spiritual home. Living your faith in the RC is great and if it nourishes your spirituality , then you have found your way.

Thank you for the replies! I don't know why I've been struggling with this...I worry about being disobedient because the Church encourages Eastern Catholics to follow Eastern Catholicism as much as possible and attend Eastern liturgies, and I'm trying to follow the fasts etc (even if not obligated for me, just voluntarily) but going to the Latin parish. It was suggested to me to go to the Ukrainian parish and since I don't I often worry if I'm disobedient somehow. Its kind of concerning that this worry doesn't seem to get resolved. If I was encouraged to attend the Ukrainian parish what should I do with that? My issue is that the spirituality at my parish helps me and its hard to get involved in a parish that is very ethnic but a different ethnicity and language you don't know. Even if its similar to yours. I've been there and liked the Liturgy but I don't picture it being my main parish? Not because of any problems there.. The Latin parish is just a big part of my life and I'm in the choir that sings on Sundays.

Little Flower,

I encourage you to speak to your confessor, pastor, or spiritual director.

That said, you are not in any way disobedient because you are an Eastern Catholic who chooses to worship in a Roman Catholic parish. Stop worrying about being disobedient. When you worry obsessively and needlessly you undermine your own spiritual life.

Grow where you are planted. The Church's will is that you worship in the Catholic parish you have found to be a home to you. Immerse yourself in the life of the parish you belong to and are happy at. Forget about everything else.

John

Dear I found it interesting when my husband and I finally found the church of our love, our life. Jesus took him from PNC, through the RC, to the Ruthenian Byzantines. Myself, Southern Baptist to the Ruthenians together. We love it!

God has a sence of humor, no other way to say it. We are from Steubenville, we were at St Joseph's BC in Toronto, we were in the Church there for eight years. Then the Good God moved us through a postal transfer in '86, to the only Byzantine Church in Alabama, St George Melkite . We tried going to Epiphany in Rosewell GA at least twice a month. That's a two hour plus drive from Birmingham. So we finally settled in St George.

People had always asked my husband if he didn't want to be a deacon. He had written a letter to the Ruthenian Archdiocese in Pittsburgh in '88. They kept his letter ten years. He was in that first class of deacons!

Ordained to the Diaconate, Archbishop Basil said to him, you will serve where you are planted. So until his reposed in 2011, he was a Ruthenian Deacon serving in a Melkite Parish, and loving it.

So be at peace! God makes a lot of straight lines, by drawing circles.

Off-topic but, Rose, I was very gratified to see that Deacon Stan's name is now commemorated in the necrology printed in the eparchial calendar of those clergy of blessed memory who served the Melkite Eparchy of Newton. May his memory be eternal!

Many years,

Neil

Not much to add--only to second the wise words of the Administrator. Scrupulosity of any kind can destroy your relationship with Christ! There is no prohibition whatsoever on any Catholic attending any Catholic liturgy at any time. I have many friends who are still officially Latin but have found a home in various Eastern Catholic communities. Of course, they respect the traditions of the communities they have joined, and are careful not to be obnoxious Latin interlopers (crusaders? oy vey). Similarly, I know many Byzantine Catholics who attend Latin liturgies due to a variety of reasons. As far as the Catholic church is concerned, there is no issue with this whatsoever.

I've developed a fondness for the Mass as celebrated within the Ordinariate . . .

Alex