Ut Unum Sint
The recent passing of Brother Roger Schutz, founder of the ecumenical Christian
Taize community, has rekindled interest in a the funeral of another Christian
figure -- John Paul II. Schutz, a Swiss Protestant had had a great supporter in John Paul, and was among the
honored at the very front of the congregation. As a non-Catholic, Schutz is
ostensibly ineligible to receive the Eucharist at a Catholic mass, as the Code
of Canon Law states in Canon 844:
§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan
bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic
ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not
having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister
of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that
they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly
disposed.
But then, at the distribution of the sacrament, something unexpected happened
-- the chief celebrant, Joseph Ratzinger, walked to Brother Roger's wheel chair
and communed him.
At the time, rumours had been circulating that perhaps Schutz had converted to
Catholicism, which his recent Catholic funeral would seem to confirm *. There
was no firm response from Taize one way or another, though. Some felt the
event was a tacit admission of that conversion, others a gracious act of
ecumenical outreach. The kind of "concrete gesture" Ratzinger spoke of in his
first address as Pope Benedict XVI. It was quickly overshadowed by the
conclave that followed and the associated media blitz.
Which brings us to this week's funeral for Brother Roger. The service was a
Catholic funeral mass, which was apparently Schutz's wish, celebrated by
Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Chrisitan
Unity; that is, the ecumenical arm of the Catholic Church. But then, again,
came the distribution of the sacrament. And, again, with it... something
extraordinary. Something none of the religious press seemed to pick up on at
first, which I first read about in the New York Times. I was taken with their
wording:
Brother Roger Schutz pursued many ecumenical dreams in his long life, but in
death one of them came true: At a Eucharistic service celebrated Tuesday by a
Roman Catholic cardinal for Brother Roger, a Swiss Protestant, communion wafers
were given to the faithful indiscriminately, regardless of denomination.
It seems so appropriate, that these two seemingly miraculous events within the
Catholic Church would take place -- could only take place -- within the context
of Christianity's central mystery, Christ's miraculous sacrifice, the
Eucharist. As Bishop Stephen Blaire, chair of the USCCB's Committee for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, recently said at the Evangelica Lutheran
Church in America's Churchwide Assembly, "Not only is communion in our Catholic
theology a sign of achieving of full communion, but it is also a means of
arriving at communion." Perhaps despite our best efforts to the contrary.
But now, from the Catholic News Agency, the official news source of the United
State Conference of Catholic Bishops, comes this blurb beneath a photo of
Ratzinger communing Schutz:
Brother Roger Schutz, a minister of the Swiss Reformed Church and founder of
the Taize community, receives Communion from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at Pope
John Paul II's funeral in St. Peter's Square April 8. Vatican officials said
that Brother Roger's reception of Communion was not foreseen and was the result
of him being seated in a group receiving Communion from Cardinal Ratzinger.
(CNS/Reuters)
My (predictable) reaction to follow tomorrow after some sleep. And maybe more pie.
* Canon 1183 §3. In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funerals
can be granted to baptized persons who are enrolled in a non-Catholic Church
or ecclesial community unless their intention is evidently to the contrary
and provided that their own minister is not available.
Taize community, has rekindled interest in a the funeral of another Christian
figure -- John Paul II. Schutz, a Swiss Protestant had had a great supporter in John Paul, and was among the
honored at the very front of the congregation. As a non-Catholic, Schutz is
ostensibly ineligible to receive the Eucharist at a Catholic mass, as the Code
of Canon Law states in Canon 844:
§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan
bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic
ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not
having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister
of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that
they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly
disposed.
But then, at the distribution of the sacrament, something unexpected happened
-- the chief celebrant, Joseph Ratzinger, walked to Brother Roger's wheel chair
and communed him.
At the time, rumours had been circulating that perhaps Schutz had converted to
Catholicism, which his recent Catholic funeral would seem to confirm *. There
was no firm response from Taize one way or another, though. Some felt the
event was a tacit admission of that conversion, others a gracious act of
ecumenical outreach. The kind of "concrete gesture" Ratzinger spoke of in his
first address as Pope Benedict XVI. It was quickly overshadowed by the
conclave that followed and the associated media blitz.
Which brings us to this week's funeral for Brother Roger. The service was a
Catholic funeral mass, which was apparently Schutz's wish, celebrated by
Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Chrisitan
Unity; that is, the ecumenical arm of the Catholic Church. But then, again,
came the distribution of the sacrament. And, again, with it... something
extraordinary. Something none of the religious press seemed to pick up on at
first, which I first read about in the New York Times. I was taken with their
wording:
Brother Roger Schutz pursued many ecumenical dreams in his long life, but in
death one of them came true: At a Eucharistic service celebrated Tuesday by a
Roman Catholic cardinal for Brother Roger, a Swiss Protestant, communion wafers
were given to the faithful indiscriminately, regardless of denomination.
It seems so appropriate, that these two seemingly miraculous events within the
Catholic Church would take place -- could only take place -- within the context
of Christianity's central mystery, Christ's miraculous sacrifice, the
Eucharist. As Bishop Stephen Blaire, chair of the USCCB's Committee for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, recently said at the Evangelica Lutheran
Church in America's Churchwide Assembly, "Not only is communion in our Catholic
theology a sign of achieving of full communion, but it is also a means of
arriving at communion." Perhaps despite our best efforts to the contrary.
But now, from the Catholic News Agency, the official news source of the United
State Conference of Catholic Bishops, comes this blurb beneath a photo of
Ratzinger communing Schutz:
Brother Roger Schutz, a minister of the Swiss Reformed Church and founder of
the Taize community, receives Communion from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at Pope
John Paul II's funeral in St. Peter's Square April 8. Vatican officials said
that Brother Roger's reception of Communion was not foreseen and was the result
of him being seated in a group receiving Communion from Cardinal Ratzinger.
(CNS/Reuters)
My (predictable) reaction to follow tomorrow after some sleep. And maybe more pie.
* Canon 1183 §3. In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funerals
can be granted to baptized persons who are enrolled in a non-Catholic Church
or ecclesial community unless their intention is evidently to the contrary
and provided that their own minister is not available.