BEST QUOTES FROM THE WORLD SYNOD OF BISHOPS ON THE EUCHARIST
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Priest Shortage Threatens Life of the Church
On Opening Ordination to Married Men
Eucharist and the Divorced and Remarried
Eucharist and Non Catholics
On Engaging the Post Modern World
On Justice and Ecology
Final Proposition on Justice
Theolgical Concerns
On the Real Presence
The “Breadness” of the Eucharistic Bread.
Inculturation
On Adoration and Preaching
In Praise of Priests
On the Lay Faithful
PRIEST SHORTAGE THREATENS LIFE OF THE CHURCH
CARDINAL CLÁUDIO HUMMES, O.F.M.., Archbishop of São Paulo (BRAZIL)
According to the statistics of the Brazilian Government and the Church's research in Brazil, the number of Brazilians who declare themselves Catholics has diminished rapidly,...
...In 1991 Catholic Brazilians were nearly 83%, today and according to new studies, they are barely 67%. We wonder with anxiety: till when Brazil will be a Catholic country?...
... in Brazil there are two Protestant pastors for each Catholic priest, and the majority from the Pentecostal churches... the same is true for almost all of Latin America and here too we wonder: till when Latin America will be a Catholic continent?
BISHOP LUCIO ANDRICE MUANDULA OF XAI-XAI, MOZAMBIQUE. "On the basis of the supposition that the Eucharist is the 'source and summit of the life and mission of the Church,' and considering the fact that current statistics confirm the great shortage of priests in the world, I feel we must ask to what point an ecclesial community deprived of the Sacrament of the Eucharist can achieve the dynamism of life that enables it to transform itself into a missionary community, one capable of joyfully accomplishing the missionary project with which the Lord Jesus Himself entrusted us? ....
BISHOP ANTHONY SABLAN APURON, O.F.M.. CAP., Archbishop of Agaña, President of the Episcopal Conference (GUAM) ...In the Pacific, the scarcity of priests and the aggressiveness of the evangelistic sects are challenging the very survival of the Catholic faith...
BISHOP MANFRED SCHEUER, BISHOP OF INNSBRUCK (AUSTRIA)...Parish Communities, in which the Eucharist is celebrated only rarely or never, are separated 'de facto' from the sacramental office. ...How can we carry out our duty of proclaiming the Word and celebrating the sacraments with regard to the people of God? Considering the shortage of priests in many countries, this problem also concerns the testimony, the way of living the priestly service and the possibility of following the rules which this service imposes...
BISHOP LUIS ANTONIO G. TAGLE, from the PHILIPPINES told a personal story at the opening press conference: "Let me make a confession here. And I know our canon lawyers will get mad,...The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest I said nine Masses and that is regular in the Philippines.”
Tagle noted that even with full seminaries, there are many communities without access to the Mass. In his intervention, Tagle suggested:
1) The synod could initiate a serene study of the shortage of priests. As we look at the world for threats to the gift of vocation, we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift
2) To address the confusion of roles in the Church and the Eucharist it is not enough to recall LG 10 on the essential difference between the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the baptized. LG 10 also says that they are ordered to each other. In mutuality and communion we will rediscover the gift of the priesthood and Eucharist.
ON OPENING ORDINATION TO MARRIED MEN
BISHOP ARNOLD OROWAE, COADJUTOR OF WABAG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. “...The issue here is not having more vocations, but justice and equality for all the children of God, having the right to make the Eucharist the center of their lives by celebrating and receiving it as often as they can. ... Should the Church allow for mature Christian men who are strong in faith, very committed, and have the respect of the people, to be easily trained to preside at the Eucharistic celebration, which will make it easy for the people to participate in the Eucharist, so that the importance and centrality of the Eucharist becomes true for the people?”
BISHOP DENIS GEORGE BROWNE OF HAMILTON IN NEW ZEALAND. "It is important for us as a Church to remember that small communities of Catholic people have as much right to participate in the Eucharist as their brothers and sisters in large busy parishes. We, as Church, need to be continually open to finding ways in which the Eucharist can become easily available to all of our faithful people. 'Sir,' they said, 'give us that bread always.' We need to be sensitive to the questions that the faithful often ask us, for example: 'Why does it seem to be possible for former married priests of the Anglican Communion to be ordained and function as Catholic priests while former Catholic priests who have been dispensed from their vow of celibacy are unable to function in any pastoral way?'
EUCHARIST AND THE DIVORCED AND REMARRIED
ARCHBISHOP JOHN ATCHERLEY DEW OF WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. "Our Church would be enriched if we were able to invite dedicated Catholics, currently excluded from the Eucharist, to return to the Lord's table. There are those whose first marriages ended in sadness; they have never abandoned the Church, but are currently excluded from the Eucharist. There are Catholics married to people baptized in other Christian faiths. We acknowledge them to be baptized in Christ in the sacrament of marriage, but not in the reception of the Eucharist. This Synod must be pastoral in approach; we must look for ways to include those who are hungering for the Bread of Life. The scandal of those hungering for Eucharistic food needs to be addressed, just as the scandal of physical hunger needs to be addressed."
EUCHARIST AND NON CATHOLICS
CARDINAL WALTER KASPER, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity (VATICAN CITY)
...Vatican Council II talks about two principles: the unity if the Church and participation in the means of grace, asserting that the unity of the Church, on the most part, forbids the access of a non-Catholic to the Eucharist, but participation in the means of grace perhaps recommends the admission of a non-Catholic to the Eucharist (Unitatis redintegratio, 8; cf. Ecumenical Directory, 129).
For that reason Pope John Paul II wrote, which was to him a “reason for joy” that the Catholic ministers in certain particular cases could administer the Sacraments of the Eucharist, of Penance and of Extreme Unction to the sick to other Christians (Encyclical “Ut unum sint”, 46; Encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”, 46).
These formulations - “recommend”, “reason for joy” - mean that this is not merely a concession or exception, but a possibility positively founded on the Christian concept of the human person, that is on the uniqueness of every person and the uniqueness of every situation of salvation.
The human person is never a case of general principle. Canon Law respects this uniqueness of every person and, on the basis of and within the limitations of universal law, in certain particular and determinate cases - where the possibility of scandal is remote - gives way not to private conscience but to a canonic act of admission by the competent Bishop; or to express this in a better way, gives room to spiritual discernment, to prudential judgment and the pastoral wisdom of the Bishop (cf. CIC can 844).
As for the criteria for such prudential decisions, we have a development since the publication of the two Codes of Canon Law. The criteria as listed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (num. 1398-1401) and in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 293) concerning the ecclesial communities, are four: a grave necessity, spontaneous request (of their own will), required disposition and manifestation of the Catholic faith regarding the Sacrament.
Personally, I am convinced that with these criteria the truly pastoral problems may be resolved in a positive way.
Because these questions in many countries are of great pastoral importance, I wish to recommend they be included in the final text or in the propositions.
BISHOP CZESLAW KOZON, Bishop of København (Copenhagen, DENMARK) From an ecumenical point of view, despite a generally positive atmosphere, the Catholic Church perceives a reinforced incomprehension concerning the question of intercommunion. The Catholic point of view on this is considered backward by other Christians, and this opinion unfortunately is shared also by some Catholics.
We would also like to recall the painful situation of the many divorced and remarried Catholics who cannot take part in Communion.
Despite these challenges and problems, the Eucharist in the North is celebrated as a feast of faith, which unites communities and that is a strong element constituting the Church.
BISHOP GABRIEL PIROIRD, Bishop of Constantine (ALGERIA) “...- Our giving thanks to God joins that of our Muslim friends who also praise God for his work of creation and mercy. We could spiritually incorporate their prayers in our Eucharists.
We are amazed to see sometimes our Muslim friends “linked with the Paschal Mystery” (Cf. GS no. 22, 5). When we come to inscribe our life in the offering of Christ, we also, in some way, do so with the lives of our friends.
- In the measure that they cannot participate frequently in the Eucharistic celebration, some give more time to Eucharistic Adoration; they discover the density of a real presence that gives strength to their daily lives.
- Invisibly our Eucharistic celebrations gather a still absent people, one of those who are searching for God in the righteousness of their hearts. For a particular Church, the way of living the Eucharist cannot be separated from its concrete history with the people she was given to by the Lord
Fathers of the Synod.
ON ENGAGING THE POST MODERN WORLD
CARDINAL GODFRIED DANNEELS, ARCHBISHOP OF MALINES-BRUXELLES, BELGIUM. "This Eucharistic Synod has two objectives. In the first place, we wish to reflect upon and deepen our knowledge of the richness of the mystery of the Eucharist. ... The second objective is to work so that all this richness may take root in a postmodern culture which, ... at first view, is unfavorable to such a seed. And yet our culture is full of paradoxes. ... It is difficult for modern man to perceive the invisible, yet there exists real interest in what lies beyond the horizon, beyond the realm of the senses, beyond the rational, beyond efficiency and productivity. Modern man is, above all, a man of action, yet the same man also conceals within a great thirst for gratitude, for giving; he does not like rites because of their repetitiveness and monotony, yet he is always inventing his own rites. Christian eschatology appears to be forgotten, even deceptive, yet never has there been so much thirst for a better world, nor so much need for hope. ... Modern man wants to move, and our liturgies have frequently become very active, even activist. But we forget that many of our contemporaries have a real need for silence. Not always have we well understood the meaning of 'actuosa participatio,' which also implies silence in the face of the mystery. All these elements of our culture carry within themselves the seeds for an evangelization of that culture.”
ON JUSTICE AND ECOLOGY
ARCHBISHOP PEDRO RICARDO BARRETO JIMENO S.J.., OF HUANCAYO, PERU.... 'the ecological crisis is not only a scientific and technical problem, it is also, and principally, an ethical and moral one.' The Church is convinced 'that the technology that contaminates can also decontaminate; that the production that accumulates can also distribute fairly, so long as an ethic prevails of respect for the life and dignity of man, and for the rights of human generations, both present and future.' ... As 'fruit of the earth,' bread and wine represent the creation with which our Creator entrusted to us. For this reason, the Eucharist has a direct relationship with the life and hope of humanity and must be a constant concern of the Church. ... Faith in the Risen Christ makes the Eucharist 'a project of solidarity,' to share wealth with the poorest and to experience Eucharistic spirituality in the Church
BISHOP LUCIUS IWERJURU UGORJI OF UMUAHIA, NIGERIA "If the Eucharist leads to fraternal union in the Body of Christ, then the ever-growing gap between a society of well-being and the millions of poor who undeservedly live in hunger and misery is today a cause of great scandal...If Christians share the broken bread on the altar of the Lord, they must also be prepared to commit themselves to a better and more just world for all. They must be prepared … to share bread with a broken world, Such sharing must involve a break with political and economic models that provide security for those who are well off, while constricting millions of people to the darkest misery and to gratuitous suffering. ... Among other things, this sharing means living simply so that others can simply live." (According to United Nations statistics, Nigeria is one of the 40 most impoverished nations in the world, despite vast wealth from natural resources).
BISHOP BERHANEYESUS DEMEREW SOURAPHIEL, C.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, President of the Episcopal Conference, President of the Ethiopian Episcopal Conference (ETHIOPIA “ The countries of the Horn of Africa - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia - are in constant hunger for the fruits of the Eucharist: justice, peace, and love which only Our Lord Jesus Christ can give. Because they are considered not important by the powerful countries of this world, they are in a constant state of instability, war, drought, and famine. The tension that continues to exist between Eritrea and Ethiopia because of their border conflict seems to be unresolvable by the international community. Let us take also Somalia - it is a country with no central government for the last fourteen years! There are only four religious Sisters in the whole country of Somalia who keep the only Tabernacle of the Lord hidden in Mogadishu. Somalia has become an open and free port for the importation of small arms into the Horn of Africa and Central Africa
It is only through the Eucharist, the Paschal Mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that true reconciliation and peace can be built and sustained.
FINAL SYNOD PROPOSITION ON JUSTICE "Christ's sacrifice is a mystery of liberation that calls out to us. It is in the commitment to transform unjust structures and to re-establish the dignity of man, created in the likeness and image of God, that the Eucharist assumes in life the significance it has in celebration. This dynamic movement opens up to the world: it questions the process of globalization which not infrequently increases the gap between rich countries and poor countries, it denounces the political and economic forces that dilapidate the earth's resources, it reiterates the grave requirements of distributive justice in the face of inequalities that cry out to heaven, it encourages Christians to commit themselves and to work in political life and social activity. ... Those who share in the Eucharist must commit themselves to creating peace in our world, which is marked by violence, war and, especially today, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation. The conditions for building true peace are the restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness." (Proposition 48)
THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS
ON THE REAL PRESENCE
BISHOP CLEMENT FECTEAU OF SAINTE-ANNE-DE-LA-POCATIERE, CANADA. "Paragraph 38 of the 'Instrumentum laboris' again exhorts this assembly to affirm that 'the Lord's enduring, substantial presence in the Sacrament is not a mere type or metaphor.' On this subject, we have reason to ask for an 'explanation of the theology of consecration' to facilitate ecumenical dialogue and to facilitate the understanding of Catholics themselves. ... It often happens that the Eucharist is considered as something static when in reality it is dynamic. The Eucharist is not just the person of Christ; He is not merely present, but is in the constant and permanent act of sacrifice, even in the form of a memorial. It is to be hoped that the specialists may suggest a new language for this subject."
THE “BREADNESS” OF THE EUCHARISTIC BREAD
ARCHBISHOP ANTHONY SABLAN APURON O.F.M.. Cap., OF AGANA, GUAM. “... Today, the Church needs to make clearly visible the signs of the Eucharist: maybe the Church needs to restore the 'breadness' of the bread which becomes the Body of Christ to be eaten by all, and wine drunk by all which becomes the Blood of Christ. These signs fully and powerfully represent the reality that they signify and not just approximate them. “
INCULTURATION
ARCHBISHOP JOHN OLORUNFEMI ONAIYEKAN OF ABUJA, NIGERIA,President of the Episcopal Conference, President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences for Africa and Madagascar (S.E.C.A.M.) (NIGERIA) “We may not have much to offer in terms of the glorious architecture of European cathedrals or the fabulous paintings of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. But what we have, we are happy to give: our songs and lyrics, our drumming and rhythmic body movements, all to the glory of God.
“We do well to acknowledge and extol the valuable heritage of the eucharistic traditions of the different ancient rites of both the East and the West. I believe these are themselves products of an inculturation that took place many centuries ago under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit has not gone to sleep. "The process of inculturation still remains active today in Church communities".---
CARDINAL STEPHEN FUMIO HAMAO, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of the Migrants and Itinerant People (VATICAN CITY) “The Catholic Church is not only “spread throughout the five continents”, but it is also in movement among them and the sacrament of the Eucharist is offered to them as the center of unification, a meeting point, a qualified dimension of acceptance of diversities in unity.
Men and women in movement, with their own ways, which are rooted in culture, tradition in their own ritual, in the use of the local language, in popular devotion, find in the celebration of the Eucharist the reference point of their life, often fragmented and upset: and Jesus Christ incarnate, dead and risen, “In His entirety substantially present in the reality of his Body and of his Blood”.
For this reason, it is not sufficient to say that the Eucharist is in the center of the Christian community, one also has to say that the Church is the center of the Eucharist!” -
ON ADORATION AND PREACHING
REV. FATHER MARK R. FRANCIS, C.S.V.., Superior General of the Clerics of Saint Viator. Due to a desire to underscore the importance of adoration of Christ in the Eucharistic species, the document seems to place the liturgical celebration itself and the popular expressions of piety toward the Eucharistic elements on the same level of importance. For example, in article 8 we read that "Christ's presence is the sacrament's basic end."
This is an incomplete and impoverished understanding of the "end of the Eucharist. ...Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist-not just to be present-but to have a transforming effect on the believer. .... the worship of the Blessed Sacrament outside of the liturgical context flows from and leads back to the Mass itself. ...."The primary and original reason for reservation of the Eucharist outside Mass is the administration of viaticum; the secondary ends are the giving of communion and the adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ present in the sacrament" (ES 5).
...If the synod is to have a positive effect on the Eucharistic life of the faithful, practical means for training and encouraging priests to better understand the Sacred Scriptures, to prepare homilies that truly proclaim the Good News, and to cultivate an effective celebratory style all need to be emphasized in seminary formation and in ongoing programs of formation for priests and deacons. ... Undoubtedly there are sociological arid other factors that militate against Mass attendance of the Christian faithful. But rather than simply blame our Catholic people's lack of faith and the secularization of society for the small percentage who attend Mass in many countries, we also need to acknowledge with sadness that bad preaching, and poorly prepared and poorly executed Eucharistic celebrations sometimes drive good people away from the Church.
MOST. REV. WILTON DANIEL GREGORY, ARCHBISHOP OF ATLANTA Increasingly, the faithful expect better homilies from celebrants at the Sunday Eucharist. Bishops must lead by our own good example as well as our admonitions to improve the quality of Catholic preaching at the Sunday Eucharist. Ritual precision alone will not bring back those who do not attend Sunday Mass.
IN PRAISE OF PRIESTS
BISHOP ADRIAN LEO DOYLE, Archbishop of Hobart (AUSTRALIA) “After reading the Instrumentum Laboris prepared for this Synod, it occurred to me that there is not a strong recognition of the wonderful contribution of our priests. In some parts of the world today, including my own country of Australia, it continues to be a very challenging vocation, perhaps more so that in the immediate past. I note in the document, par. 56, where gratitude is expressed to the Catechists. I am sure that such gratitude is well deserved, particularly in locations where the Church relies so heavily on the presence and contribution of Catechists.
Could not a similar statement be made to the many thousands of priests who, often in very difficult circumstances, exercise an irreplaceable ministry in celebrating the Eucharist, about which this Synod has given so much consideration, as part of the Year of the Eucharist?
Many older priests often carry heavy responsibilities for longer than their counterparts in society. The very same priests have pastoral responsibility for a greater number of people than they did in the earlier years of their priestly ministry.
Many priests travel long distances to serve disparate communities, while others celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments for very large numbers with little assistance. Many younger priests face a future which they know already will be very challenging, because of the smaller numbers of priests with whom they will sharing the ministry.
ON THE LAY FAITHFUL
ARCHBISHOP STANISLAW RYLKO, PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE LAITY. ....one of the most urgent challenges that the Church must face is that of adequate post-Baptismal Christian initiation, capable of creating Christian communities that live faith deeply. ... The Eucharistic celebration is a privileged place in which to construct the full, mature and coherent Christian identity of the lay faithful. Because it is in the Eucharist that lay Christians fully realize their participation in the triple mission entrusted to them by Christ: priestly, prophetic and royal. ... As the Holy Father recalled in Cologne, the real revolution that changes the world starts with the Eucharist. ... In this way the Eucharist becomes not only the heartbeat of the Church, but also of the world. For this reason true lay spirituality can only be Eucharistic spirituality."
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