This is quite harsh. Not just Roman Catholics have the Eucharist at the center of their worship. I understand what you are talking about in the sacrifice of the mass, but you should let these folks have a chance to see what they bring to the table instead of assulting with RC doctrine right from the get.
I was not being harsh but honest. The Catholic approach to the Liturgy is not the same as the Lutheran approach, and I do not see how this type of joint worship does not undermine the Catholic view. Firstly, it’s not like Catholics and Lutherans view Scripture the same way so what happens in the homily? Are controversial aspects just ignored? Are two separate homilies given? And how can a non-ordained Lutheran give the homily when the rubrics of the Mass clearly state than the homily must be given by a bishop, priest, or deacon? Are there two liturgies going on simultaneously? Who reads the Gospel? An ordained Catholic or an non-ordained Lutheran woman pastor? How can a non-ordained minister read the Gospel at a Catholic liturgy? Or is the Gospel read once for the Lutherans and once for the Catholics? What happens if there are readings from the deuterocanonicals? Are the Lutherans just going to be fine with treating them like Scripture? These are just a few of the issues I have. And this is not “assaulting with RC doctrine.” These are honest problems I have with this, and like I said I don’t think it is right to experiment with the Sacred Liturgy, which must be said according to the liturgical norms established by Rome. No priest has the right to waive the norms for the sake of ecumenism, and if true ecumenism is the goal then no priest would ever think of waiving the norms.
But no one has given an argument for why this is the case. They are not sharing communion, which is the one thing the Catholic Church forbids. It seems to me that this is exactly the kind of thing explicitly encouraged by Vatican II, the Catechism, and Pope Benedict, and objections to it are grounded either in an unthinking prejudice against ecumenism or (more reasonably) in an objection to some of the liberal cliches apparently used by the group.
Edwin
I respectfully disagree, Edwin. I do not think Vatican II, the Catechism, or especially Pope Benedict called for the Sacred Liturgy to become an ecumenical worship service with the Eucharist as an addition. The Mass should be a full, unadulterated expression of Catholicism and not a time to get to know the beliefs of our Protestant brothers and sisters. Aside from the issues I raised in the above response to Nella, I just don’t see how this is appropriate. I’m not bashing ecumenism or Protestants, but I don’t think Sacred Liturgy is the right place for such ecumenical activity.
Also I don’t think these particular Lutherans just have “liberal cliches”…it seems to me that there is modernism at work here. I wonder how many Catholics in those pews believe that only men can be ordained to the priesthood, for example. And of course there is the whole issue of pandering to Muslims which doesn’t need elaboration…
This is purely unadulterated hatred for anything outside of the Catholic church. i can’t believe that anyone could be so close minded that they would have to sit silently during a worship service of any kind. No wonder Catholics are the very worst Evangelizers in the Christian world known to God.
No, it isn’t. If a Catholic in good conscience cannot bring himself to participate in the worship services of those outside the Church then he shouldn’t. Now, I don’t completely agree with ComradeAndrei but what he said is not about hatred but about communion, and unfortunately Protestants and Catholics are not in communion with each other and Catholics have a duty not to water that fact down.
Also your last statement is false and not very charitable itself. Perhaps you need a history lesson because Catholics have evangelized more people in our 2000 years than Protestants have. Ever heard of facts? This reminds me of the blatantly false statement you said about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church being the biggest in the “history of mankind.” Before calling others hateful, perhaps you ought to examine your own comments.
