Clarification on Canon Law and parish shopping

[Brendan]

Not if they attend a personal parish, which could encompass members of an ethnic group from many geographical parishes.

Ethnic is only one of the reasons that a personal parish is errected. It can also include language or rite, or really any reason that the bishop feels is appropriate.

 

[Lancer]

Quote:
Can. 518 As a general rule, a parish is to be territorial, that is, it is to embrace all Christ’s faithful of a given territory. Where it is useful however, personal parishes are to be established, determined by reason of the rite, language or nationality of the faithful of a certain territory, or on some other basis.

It is the Bishop…that directs what is to be done in his diocese. The operative words…"…as a general rule…"…clearly leaves it to his good pastoral/shepherd and teacher roles…to make the definitive rule. He knows what the Universal Church desires…now it is up to him to see if any circumstances would compel him to make a new rule or partially modify the current canon rule…which he has the authority to do.

Recommend… check with the Chancery and see what is the Bishop’s policy.

In either case…a perspective comment – go into the military…get sent into the combat theater(s)…war zones…and you will be extremely lucky to get to Mass once a month…too great a shortage of priest-chaplains and too hard for them to move around the area of operations without a lot of logistical and protection coordination…if we had more priest chaplains…they could all be more forward based with their units and more available. The ones who have served… especially those in the Guard and Reserves who get pulled for long periods to serve and multiple times…have done an incredible spiritual and heroic job…they, the priest chaplains especially, simply work themselves to near-exhaustion…its hard to get them to really take care of themselves. Their bishops or Secretary General of their Order and their parishes can be justifiably proud for letting them serve given the shortages they face in their diocese and/or missions. Other denomination chaplains are not to be forgotten/slighted for they have also been heroic…but their numbers are so much greater that they can really share the “spiritual work load”…and the deployment cycles can be spread over a greater time.

Also…communal celebration of reconciliation with general confession and general absolution…is the norm/necessity. In my opinion…our USCCB really failed our Catholic men and women in uniform…sent into harms way for the past ten years of combat operations…and no real extraordinary effort to “shore up” the Military Archdiocese during while engaged in two wars…let alone so few brother priests carrying most all the load without substantive reinforcements.

So, that said…“wrestling” over parish territorial or personal parish choice issues…seems a bit luxurious…not to be rude…but it just does.

Chaplains in the Military
Serving Catholics in the Military, on Land, in the Air, and at Sea

Imagine your job is to provide spiritual and emotional support and guidance to a parish of thousands of mostly young men and women. Imagine most of the people in your parish move away every three years and that new people move in. Imagine that you too, must move and start learning the ropes of a new place, and that you are the only priest in the area.

That constant change is part of the every day life and work of Catholic chaplains in the military. Unlike a priest in a civilian parish, chaplains in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard must work with a constantly changing group of people. It is a personal ministry of presence, caring for the needs of Catholic military personnel and their families.
A Parish that Stretches Across the World
The work of chaplains is not confined to the chapel. They go wherever their people are—in a tent in the desert, on the deck of an aircraft carrier, in the barracks on base, on a fire-fighting line, in the VA hospital, in the halls of the Pentagon.

Because military service requires extraordinary sacrifices of those who serve and their families, chaplains strive to make themselves available and present, day or night, to offer guidance, education, and direction on Church doctrine or simply to listen. Through their words and actions, they provide a place where those in the military can take comfort in and draw strength from the sacraments and reflect on the responsibilities and challenges they have taken on to protect their fellow Americans.

A Flexible, Creative Ministry
The 1.5 million Catholics served by chaplains are a diverse group: 5th generation soldiers, new citizens, young people from cities and farms, veterans, people in positions of command, young mothers and fathers. Chaplains often speak about the exciting, creative nature of their ministry. They seek ways to reach out and connect with the different people they serve on a personal level, an opportunity they note is hard to come by in a civilian parish.

The days are long. It can be lonely. Yet if you talk to most any of the priest-chaplains in the military, they will tell you they would not trade this ministry for any other. The rewards are great. The support of people in the military is there. They are open to spiritual growth and willing to work hard for it. As the people in our military do the difficult work of protecting our freedom, Catholic chaplains walk beside them, providing the spiritual and emotional strength they need.

http://www.milarch.org/atf/cf/{1AF42501-01D5-4EF8-BA48-4450AC27EF98}/chaplains-in-the-military.jpg
milarch.org/site/c.dwJXKgOUJiIaG/b.6571371/k.5224/Catholic_military_chaplains_and_their_ministry.htm

Pax Christi

 

[MarkThompson]

I didn’t even know Latin was our official language. I was confused for the longest time why we called ourselves Latin rite Catholics.

The Latin Church (or Latin Rite) is not – you may be surprised to hear – named after the Latin language, any more than the Greek Catholic Church is named after the Greek language. Rather, the Church and the language are both independently named after Latium, the ancient name for the region of central Italy inhabited by the Latins, where Rome is located. The Latin Church was simply the church that arose in central Italy, and the Latin Rite is simply its rite.

 

[Baelor]

Not saying it’s invalid, but it is true that it has dubious beginnings.

Said beginnings are not in the purview of the thread. Please stick to my OP.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Do you offer the EF at your parish? They have a right to the EF, and if you aren’t supplying it at the parish where you want them, they are free to go elsewhere.

Have to be careful when using the word “right”. The laity do not have a “right” to Mass in the EF. They have a right to the Mass, not the preference to the form of the Mass.

If they had a right to it then it would only take one individual to want Mass in the EF and the parish would have to supply it. Also if there was a right to it then every priest would have to celebrate the Mass in the EF no matter what they wanted to do.

Either way, they ditched and went to a TLM. As Catholics we have the right to the EF Mass, as Summorum Pontificum points out. If their territorial parish wasn’t providIng it, they found one somewhere else. Heck, I used to drive two hours one way to attend the EF Mass.

Summorum Pontificum does not point this out.

It speaks of a “stable group” requesting it should be accommodated.