How to start an Eastern Catholic mission?

[Harpazo]

Shlomo lkhulkhun,

I have a serious question to ask the wise Eastern Catholic members of CAF. I would like to start one in the town I am at for college, the famed Ave Maria, FL. I feel like they could benefit from an Eastern Catholic presence, Byzantine, Antiochene, Coptic, or otherwise. What process would I have to go through? I heard in the Byzantine tradition readers services are allowed to be held. There are two other Eastern Catholics on campus that would be willing to start something (both Byzantines) and I have a contact from Byzcath who is a Ukrainian Catholic deacon who wants to help out as well.

Would I need to contact a Bishop, tell him the situation and ask him to send a priest once a month or something to that effect? I would love to see a full on Eastern Catholic parish in Ave Maria town. Any comments or suggestions would be great!

Alloho minokhoun,
Andrew

 

[Aramis]

Shlomo lkhulkhun,

I have a serious question to ask the wise Eastern Catholic members of CAF. I would like to start one in the town I am at for college, the famed Ave Maria, FL. I feel like they could benefit from an Eastern Catholic presence, Byzantine, Antiochene, Coptic, or otherwise. What process would I have to go through? I heard in the Byzantine tradition readers services are allowed to be held. There are two other Eastern Catholics on campus that would be willing to start something (both Byzantines) and I have a contact from Byzcath who is a Ukrainian Catholic deacon who wants to help out as well.

Would I need to contact a Bishop, tell him the situation and ask him to send a priest once a month or something to that effect? I would love to see a full on Eastern Catholic parish in Ave Maria town. Any comments or suggestions would be great!

Alloho minokhoun,
Andrew

Contacting the Bishops (Both the local latin and local eastern) would be a good start, if you are intending public use.

THe office, taken in private, is not a matter for concern. The office, as a public devotion, should have permission of the Ordinaries of the place, and if the town lacks an eastern presence, the latin ordinary out of respect.

Almost all of the Reader’s services are part of the Hours.

 

[bpbasilphx]

If you are going to celebrate Byzantine (or Maronite, or other Eastern Church) offices publicly, all you would need would be the appropriate Eastern Bishop’s permission.

I see no reason why the Latin ordinary need be contacted. Would he bother to contact the Byzantine ordinary to start a new Latin Parish in an Eastern Bishop’s see city?

 

[Aramis]

If you are going to celebrate Byzantine (or Maronite, or other Eastern Church) offices publicly, all you would need would be the appropriate Eastern Bishop’s permission.

I see no reason why the Latin ordinary need be contacted. Would he bother to contact the Byzantine ordinary to start a new Latin Parish in an Eastern Bishop’s see city?

Because of two aspects of the Catholic System:
(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

I’ll try and pull the citations for you, but not tonight, Father Bishop.

 

[Diak]

There is nothing stopping your informally gathering for prayer - that is encouraged by the universal Church. An Eastern Bishop has a definite geographical Eparchy or Exarchate and is free to establish new communities within those geographical boundaries without permission of any other hierarchs. If you wish to know what Eastern Catholic bishops are involved in your area, that information can be provided. Our Bishop +Robert has established several new English-language missions along the eastern seaboard recently where there was not one previously, and no prior permission had to be obtained from any Latin hierarchs.

Some permission may be needed if using a Latin facility for the services, but that is for the logistical use of the facilities does not have to do with the canonical erection of the mission community.

If the informal meetings, prayer, etc. promises more definite interest, then you will want to contact the appropriate hierarch for his blessing to formally be recognized. Finding a priest of that particular ritual church to assist you will be most helpful as well.

Our apostolate here started with Compline, Akathists, etc. in the homes of individual families and eventually we were established by the Eparchial bishop formally as an apostolate. The only time I formally contacted the Latin Bishop about our situation was to get his blessing to use one of his closed schools as a chapel for our apostolate (which he graciously gave). I have been asked by several Latin priests to give talks on the Eastern Catholic Churches as part of RCIA, particpate in processions, etc. but we had to obtain no other canonical permission for the establishment of our community other than the appropriate Eastern Catholic hierarch.

 

[Diak]

You might want to contact Fr. Deacon Richard Wilhelm at the Protection of the Mother of God parish in Apopka.

 

[Aramis]

Fr. Bishop:
CCEO canons 193, 199, 202, 203
CIC canons 372, 383, 394

CCEO Canon 202

The eparchial bishops of several Churches sui iuris exercising authority in the same territory are to see that, gathered for consultation in periodic meetings, they foster unity of action and through combined efforts assist in common works for the effective promotion of the good of religion and the effective protection of ecclesiastical discipline.
intratext.com/IXT/ENG1199/_P5M.HTM

CIC Can. 383 §1. In exercising the function of a pastor, a diocesan bishop is to show himself concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to his care, of whatever age, condition, or nationality they are, whether living in the territory or staying there temporarily; he is also to extend an apostolic spirit to those who are not able to make sufficient use of ordinary pastoral care because of the condition of their life and to those who no longer practice their religion.

§2. If he has faithful of a different rite in his diocese, he is to provide for their spiritual needs either through priests or parishes of the same rite or through an episcopal vicar.

§3. He is to act with humanity and charity toward the brothers and sisters who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church and is to foster ecumenism as it is understood by the Church.

§4. He is to consider the non-baptized as committed to him in the Lord, so that there shines on them the charity of Christ whose witness a bishop must be before all people.

Can. 392 §1. Since he must protect the unity of the universal Church, a bishop is bound to promote the common discipline of the whole Church and therefore to urge the observance of all ecclesiastical laws.

§2. He is to exercise vigilance so that abuses do not creep into ecclesiastical discipline, especially regarding the ministry of the word, the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals, the worship of God and the veneration of the saints, and the administration of goods.

Can. 394 §1. A bishop is to foster various forms of the apostolate in the diocese and is to take care that in the entire diocese or in its particular districts, all the works of the apostolate are coordinated under his direction, with due regard for the proper character of each.

§2. He is to insist upon the duty which binds the faithful to exercise the apostolate according to each one’s condition and ability and is to exhort them to participate in and assist the various works of the apostolate according to the needs of place and time.
vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1E.HTM

Tradition also upholds this requirement.

Notification of the Latin ordinary has twofold purpose when corporate worship is instituted:
(1) to let the Latin know that this is not a schismatic group
(2) to enable the Latin Ordinary to provide the required canonical support.

By notifying the Latin ordinary of the place, he can consult with his priests, and help any such mission by informing the Easterns within the Latin diocese of the effort.

Note that, under the extant canons, he’s OBLIGATED to assist those easterns who wish an eastern expression.

 

[bpbasilphx]

(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

**The jurisdiction of Latin bishops is limited ONLY to those persons of the Latin rite and such other persons indicated in Canon law.

The jurisdictions of Eastern bishops is territorial and extends to all persons except for those specifically excluded.

(I’m turning around the usual Latin assumption and showing how it sounds.)**

 

[Diak]

But your two conditions of

(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

of Latin canon law are not bound out in the quotes you provided of Eastern canon law, which is not the Latin Code.

Regarding #1, an Eastern hierarch still retains geographic jurisdiction even in the absence of any parishes, missions, apostolates, or monastic communities in parts of his eparchy/exarchate. That is universally accepted by both Latin and Eastern Catholic canonists and hierarchs.

In many cases, there has been a specific agreement between the Latin and Eastern hierarchs for a marriage tribunal to defer to the Latins canonically, but that is another issue entirely due to the lack of enough Eastern Catholic clergy for a tribunal and not pertinent to the establishment of a mission.

Regarding #2, no Eastern Catholic becomes Latin without a formal transfer of ritual churches (or churches sui iuris if you prefer). Simply attending another Catholic Church does NOT equate to an automatic transfer.

 

[malphono]

(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

**The jurisdiction of Latin bishops is limited ONLY to those persons of the Latin rite and such other persons indicated in Canon law.

The jurisdictions of Eastern bishops is territorial and extends to all persons except for those specifically excluded.

(I’m turning around the usual Latin assumption and showing how it sounds.)**

I really love it … couldn’t have done it better myself!!!

 

[Aramis]

(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

**The jurisdiction of Latin bishops is limited ONLY to those persons of the Latin rite and such other persons indicated in Canon law.

The jurisdictions of Eastern bishops is territorial and extends to all persons except for those specifically excluded.

(I’m turning around the usual Latin assumption and showing how it sounds.)**

In the Ukraine, in The Middle east, that IS how it is supposed to work.

 

[Aramis]

But your two conditions of

of Latin canon law are not bound out in the quotes you provided of Eastern canon law, which is not the Latin Code.

Regarding #1, an Eastern hierarch still retains geographic jurisdiction even in the absence of any parishes, missions, apostolates, or monastic communities in parts of his eparchy/exarchate. That is universally accepted by both Latin and Eastern Catholic canonists and hierarchs.

In many cases, there has been a specific agreement between the Latin and Eastern hierarchs for a marriage tribunal to defer to the Latins canonically, but that is another issue entirely due to the lack of enough Eastern Catholic clergy for a tribunal and not pertinent to the establishment of a mission.

Regarding #2, no Eastern Catholic becomes Latin without a formal transfer of ritual churches (or churches sui iuris if you prefer). Simply attending another Catholic Church does NOT equate to an automatic transfer.

True, but enrollment in the parish does place them in the pastoral care of the ordinary responsible for the parish, even tho’ it does not make them canonically of his rite.

He has an obligation to work with the overlapping eparchies to provide for the easterners in his parishes, per CIC 383 §2. The flip side is CCEO 202… requiring overlaping jurisdictions to work together.

 

[Kielbasi]

I see no reason why the Latin ordinary need be contacted. Would he bother to contact the Byzantine ordinary to start a new Latin Parish in an Eastern Bishop’s see city?

There are large numbers of Rust Belt refugees in Florida and elsewhere, and many of them are undoubtably Byzantines.

Whether or not it would be required under the appropriate canons to do so or not, the local Latin rite churches would seem like a good place to start looking for Greek Catholics who might be interested in organizing a new Greek Catholic mission in a locale where none yet exists.

 

[Apotheoun]

(1) The Latin Ordinary has jurisdiction; the eastern doesn’t until a mission is established. (And vice versa for latin missions in traditionally eastern lands.)
(2) The local easterns are in Latin Parishes and under the care of the Latin Ordinary due to this.

**The jurisdiction of Latin bishops is limited ONLY to those persons of the Latin rite and such other persons indicated in Canon law.

The jurisdictions of Eastern bishops is territorial and extends to all persons except for those specifically excluded.

(I’m turning around the usual Latin assumption and showing how it sounds.)**

It is best not to point this out.