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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
Is it ever acceptable for a Roman Catholic layperson to assist as an acolyte at an Anglican Catholic Mass if the particular Anglican priest has fully valid Apostolic Succession?
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PaulfromIowa
Guest
What is an “Anglican Catholic Mass”? If you mean an Ordinariate Mass in communion with the Catholic Church, there would be no problem. If you mean a Protestant Anglican service, that would not be Catholic. Also, how could one know if an Anglican priest had fully valid Apostolic Succession? Note that bishops are in Apostolic Succession, not priests.
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
Anglican Catholicism is neither the Anglican Ordinariate, nor Protestant. It is Catholic in the same sense that the Orthodox are Catholic, but Western in tradition and not in full communion with the Pope.
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Kei
Guest
Sounds like they are committing sacrilege, avoid it.
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PaulfromIowa
Guest
This is a breakaway group from the Anglican/Episcopal Church?
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
There are some who have broken away, but the particular parishes I’m speaking of are still part of the Anglican/Episcopal Church, but just short of full communion with Rome in terms of theology (like the Orthodox Church).
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Rau
Guest
Is the particular person unwelcome or unfulfilled in his own parish?
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
This particular person attends these parishes in addition to his own so as to provide the opportunity for his family to receive the Eucharist, which they cannot receive elsewhere (spouse is not interested in becoming Roman).
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Rau
Guest
So his family are of the other (Anglican) denomination. I assume ”family” is not his children. So far so good. But why does he involve himself as acolyte, rather than merely sit with his family in the congregation. Does he intend to imply an equivalence between the Anglican and Catholic services?
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
Family includes children. He’s a recent (a year ago) convert to the Catholic Church and they’ve all attended the Anglican Catholic church for a few years, but since his spouse is not willing to convert to the Roman Catholic Church, he views these particular parishes as a kind of Western Orthodoxy.
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
No one in the parish perceives his participation as a claim of equivalence
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Rau
Guest
His actions - participating as acolyte - seem odd to me.
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Augustinian
Guest
I don’t know, but I don’t know why not. There is joint Roman Catholic/Episcopalian parish in Virginia Beach, you know
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OldCAFMember
Guest
And they hold separate services (one Anglican, the other Catholic) for a reason.Athanasius_Mary:
I don’t know, but I don’t know why not. There is joint Roman Catholic/Episcopalian parish in Virginia Beach, you know
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FrDavid96
Guest
No. There isn’t one.
There was an attempt at one by a previous bishop. It was illicit and the attempt no longer exists.
There are 2 parishes, one Catholic one Anglican which closely cooperate. But the two are not a single parish—no such thing can exist under Catholic canon law.
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Athanasius_Mary
Guest
That all said, is the Catholic party committing mortal sin in this scenario?
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thistle
Guest
It is not forbidden for a Catholic to attend a non-Catholic Christian Church. Attending baptism, weddings and funerals is permitted.
It is not permitted to “worship” at such a church. It is not permitted to receive or have anything to do with their Communion as such an act would cause scandal by affirming that their Communion is true which contradicts Catholic doctrine.
Doesn’t an acolyte assist in such way in their Communion? I would see that as a scandal (my opinion).
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paperwight
Guest
It surely depends on what one means by ‘worship’. We can worship on a bus or a beach or out on a walk, so I don’t see why we can’t acknowledge God’s glory and ask His help in a non-Catholic church, even during a service.Athanasius_Mary:
It is not forbidden for a Catholic to attend a non-Catholic Christian Church. Attending baptism, weddings and funerals is permitted.
It is not permitted to “worship” at such a church.
Don’t get me wrong - I understand the scandal aspect of receiving Communion, but not allowed to worship? Do you have a source for this?
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Rau
Guest
I favour this view. But participating as acolyte on the altar? That seems questionable.
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FrDavid96
Guest
A few issues need to be addressed:
- It’s not up to individual persons to determine if someone claiming to be a priest has valid ordination. The Catholic Church decides this. If he was ordained as an Anglican, then he was not validly ordained.
- Even if he were validly ordained (maybe he was originally a Catholic priest), it does not matter. The criteria for the Catholic Church is that we look at the community, not the individual person when answering your primary question. We are allowed to participate to a greater or lesser degree depending on the status of the community. If the community is a true Church with valid Orders and Sacraments, we are permitted a bit more. If it is an ecclesial community (no Orders), we are permitted less joint participation. Since the community is Anglican, it is an ecclesial community and those rules apply.
- The Church does not specifically address the question of being an acolyte with a direct “yes or no.” Instead, the Church provides some general rules and guidelines.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...993_principles-and-norms-on-ecumenism_en.html
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