www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Latin diocese discriminatory

A friend who works for the diocese has received discipline for interacting with our EC parish. The interaction is part of her job, which she does at other parishes. I find this hypocritical as the diocese solicits our monetary donations and members as volunteers throughout the diocese. I do not like the anti-eastern climate in the local Latin diocese.

Is this generally how EC parishes are treated in other diocese?

Everything you mentioned is so vague as to not be answerable. What interaction is she having? What policy does the Latin diocese have? Whats your friends job?

More importantly, is the EC parish under the Latin ordinary?

Yeah, I agree not enough details. I have experience little discrimination with my local Latin diocese.

Her job has already been threatened, that is why the vagueness. It is an office/ministry of the diocese. She supports parishes with information, resources, presentations in regards to that ministry. She had been asked and now disciplined (may lose her job there) for doing her job at our parish. The policy of the diocese or local ordinary? What does this mean?


NO. But I have been told repeatedly when I ask, that we are to freely interact with the Latin diocese for volunteer opportunities, events, etc. Yet when I do, I get questioned about my faith as though I am not Catholic. The local Catholics are mostly unawares of EC.

Well, what the job is might be necessary to understand why she is told not to do it at EC parishes - is she promoting Latin devotions? Does she invite folks to RCIA? Is she teaching specifically Latin things? Volunteering for a soup kitchen is one thing, promotion of Latin practices in an EC parish is forbidden, except to invite as a guest or just to make aware - even then, if the EC bishop doesn't like that, he can say no thanks. It's very difficult to determine based on the little you've stated - what location are you in?

Something akin to volunteering at a soup kitchen. No Latinizing. She is aware of East/West stuff. Our EC priest encourages us to get involved in the local Catholic activities. Many of us have volunteered in secular or Christian/Protestant areas, too.

It's just sad to see Catholics going out of their way to marginalize fellow Catholics. Our parish is a little oasis. It's now feeling even smaller.

Christ is in our midst!!

While I sympathize with someone losing a job or being disciplined for supposedly doing it, I have to make a couple points--maybe from the vantage point of age and similar experience.

One of the things one needs to do is to find out the parameters of one's job--authority and latitude. Sometimes one is caught in the politics of the situation--and there is a certain amount of politics in every situation involving more than one person, even the Church.

There is still a great deal of "us" and "them" involved in the Church, despite a half century of official ecumenical activity. That it has not filtered into relations with the Eastern Catholic Churches is sad--even downright wrong--but it is what it is. Do you remember the report of one of Rome's new "ecumenical" officers traveling to Russia and remarking that the DL music just wasn't on the same level as Gregorian chant? I asked on this board where they continue to find people like this man. At that rate, there will never be any communion. How does a man go into another one's home and criticize his way of doing things? And if this is the way we treat our own, how do others outside the Communion see this type of treatment? Would you want to join up if they treat people like you so badly?

Back to your friend. This may be a learning thing if she can hang on. She might ask where she erred, what should be her MO in the future, and then tread lightly from this point on. This event may or may not put a target on her back so that's something she might want to explore by a bit of delicate questioning.

Bob