Maronites are (Roman) Catholic?

[BVMFatima]

I have been in a discussion with two seperate Maronite Catholic priests who claim that they are Roman Catholic, just of the Maronite Rite. I found this to be very strange since I thought only Latin Catholics were Roman Catholic.

I have also seen Maronite Parishes that say " Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church ".
Is it because of Latinization they adopted this term? I was always told Eastern Catholics reject the term Roman Catholic

Can anybody please explain why they may adopt the Latin Rite term?

God Bless,
BVMFatima

 

[Denho]

I have been in a discussion with two seperate Maronite Catholic priests who claim that they are Roman Catholic, just of the Maronite Rite. I found this to be very strange since I thought only Latin Catholics were Roman Catholic.

I have also seen Maronite Parishes that say " Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church ".
Is it because of Latinization they adopted this term? I was always told Eastern Catholics reject the term Roman Catholic

Can anybody please explain why they may adopt the Latin Rite term?

God Bless,
BVMFatima

Oy veh.
Don’t even get me started… let’s just say that you should take any conversation about Maronite identity with 99.99999999978% of Maronite clergy with a metric ton of salt.

 

[MorEphrem]

Doesn’t the Roman catechism explicitly say not to refer to particular churches as “rites” to begin with? To my understanding, a rite would denote simply a religious ceremony (e.g. the rite of baptism). Following from that, no; “Maronite” is as much as a rite of the Roman Church as “Melkite,” etc.

 

[dzheremi]

Maronites are an Arabized Syriac people of Latinized liturgical imprisonment. But depending on who you ask, any one of these adjectives might be emphasized more than others. Some are really into the Syriac identity, but the stereotype of being “more Roman than the Pope” also has its happy exponents, too…unfortunately, to many.

(An aside: I once asked a Syriac Orthodox friend of mine from Iraq what other Syriac people thought of the Maronites, because I’m always curious about how the various denominations get on, and she said something like “The Lebanese Catholics act like they want to be French…” I’m sure that’s an overgeneralization, but given their long history of interaction with the Latins and later the French specifically, I could see how the influx of French ideas about Catholicism might have had an impact on their identity…similar things happened to the Copts in Egypt, resulting in some really awful art and a change in how they pronounce their liturgical language, so there might be more to it than a dismissive remark.)

 

[Aramis]

I have been in a discussion with two seperate Maronite Catholic priests who claim that they are Roman Catholic, just of the Maronite Rite. I found this to be very strange since I thought only Latin Catholics were Roman Catholic.

I have also seen Maronite Parishes that say " Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church ".
Is it because of Latinization they adopted this term? I was always told Eastern Catholics reject the term Roman Catholic

Can anybody please explain why they may adopt the Latin Rite term?

God Bless,
BVMFatima

That turn of phrase was deemed improper by the Vatican II council fathers. It was the typically wording for many EC’s prior to V II…

 

[Vico]

I have been in a discussion with two seperate Maronite Catholic priests who claim that they are Roman Catholic, just of the Maronite Rite. I found this to be very strange since I thought only Latin Catholics were Roman Catholic.

I have also seen Maronite Parishes that say " Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church ".
Is it because of Latinization they adopted this term? I was always told Eastern Catholics reject the term Roman Catholic

Can anybody please explain why they may adopt the Latin Rite term?

God Bless,
BVMFatima

If you look at all 23 Catholic ritual churches and combine all the liturgical rites from all their traditions into one list, you will then have a list of all the rites of the Catholic Church, which some people refer to entire as the Roman Catholic Church, especially in ecumenical relations. You can then speak of at least as many rites as there are ritual churches, but actually more since the Latin Church, at least, has Roman Rite, Ambrosian Rite, Mozarabic Rite, etc. There are a few ways to analyze the Church and it’s way of living the faith.

http://forums.catholic-questions.org/picture.php?albumid=601&pictureid=9279

 

[Aramis]

Doesn’t the Roman catechism explicitly say not to refer to particular churches as “rites” to begin with? To my understanding, a rite would denote simply a religious ceremony (e.g. the rite of baptism). Following from that, no; “Maronite” is as much as a rite of the Roman Church as “Melkite,” etc.

that catechism is a direct outgrowth of Vatican II.

 

[BVMFatima]

Thank you all for your responses. It made me really think on why Maronites would identify themselves " Roman Catholic ".

God Bless,
BVMFatima

 

[BVMFatima]

That turn of phrase was deemed improper by the Vatican II council fathers. It was the typically wording for many EC’s prior to V II…

Can you please elaborate more on this?

 

[aidanbradypop]

I have been in a discussion with two seperate Maronite Catholic priests who claim that they are Roman Catholic, just of the Maronite Rite. I found this to be very strange since I thought only Latin Catholics were Roman Catholic.

I have also seen Maronite Parishes that say " Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church ".
Is it because of Latinization they adopted this term? I was always told Eastern Catholics reject the term Roman Catholic

Can anybody please explain why they may adopt the Latin Rite term?

God Bless,
BVMFatima/QUOT

A friend of mine has a brother who is a Maronite Priest in VA. The parish there is under a Roman Catholic Diocese and Bishop. It is very confusing. I went to a Maronite Mass once and it felt like I was in a Orthodox Church.

 

[malphono]

A friend of mine has a brother who is a Maronite Priest in VA. The parish there is under a Roman Catholic Diocese and Bishop. It is very confusing.

No. Maronite parishes in Virginia are under the Eparchy of St Maron of Brooklyn.

I went to a Maronite Mass once and it felt like I was in a Orthodox Church.

That is very very strange. In a Maronite church, a Roman Rite Catholic accustomed to the Novus Ordo would generally feel quite comfortable.

Is that the same church referred to above? Either way, it would be interesting to know the name and location of this church.

 

[malphono]

…

Interesting video, but I’m not so sure the guy is Maronite. At 054, you’ll see a SOC priest. That’s not too surprising: whereas Zahle is predominantly Melkite, it does have a rather large SOC community.

 

[aidanbradypop]

No. Maronite parishes in Virginia are under the Eparchy of St Maron of Brooklyn.

That is very very strange. In a Maronite church, a Roman Rite Catholic accustomed to the Novus Ordo would generally feel quite comfortable.

Is that the same church referred to above? Either way, it would be interesting to know the name and location of this church.

My friend, not the brother priest, stated that the parish in PA was under a RC Bishop. I checked both on the Maronite website and they are under a Maronite Bishop. So maybe my friend misunderstood and told me wrong. Thanks for catching that and allowing me to research it.

 

[Zekariya]

The term Roman Catholic Church has been used to represent the whole Catholic Church in the past (ie protestant reformation and such). People today still call the whole Catholic Church “Roman Catholic”. It is possible that these priests are not claiming to be Latin Rite but, rather, claiming to be part of the Catholic Church by using what is now outdated and inaccurate phraseology.

 

[BVMFatima]

So no matter what rite we are all Roman Catholic?

 

[Zekariya]

So no matter what rite we are all Roman Catholic?

That is not what I am saying. People consider our denomination to be called “Roman Catholic”. The Church has referred to herself as Roman Catholic in the past. The Eastern Churches are not “Roman”, however, a priest might refer to the Catholic Church as “Roman Catholic” without meaning to say that the East is Roman.

 

[BVMFatima]

That is not what I am saying. People consider our denomination to be called “Roman Catholic”. The Church has referred to herself as Roman Catholic in the past. The Eastern Churches are not “Roman”, however, a priest might refer to the Catholic Church as “Roman Catholic” without meaning to say that the East is Roman.

Oh okay, because these Maronite priests I am Emailing are now saying that if any Eastern Catholic rejects the term Roman, they are not educated correctly.

 

[Zekariya]

Oh okay, because these Maronite priests I am Emailing are now saying that if any Eastern Catholic rejects the term Roman, they are not educated correctly.

Those priests are incorrect. They are probably ignorant as to how “Roman” is used nowadays. We are not Roman Catholic; we are Catholics who are in communion with Rome.

 

[BVMFatima]

Those priests are incorrect. They are probably ignorant as to how “Roman” is used nowadays. We are not Roman Catholic; we are Catholics who are in communion with Rome.

But the Coptic Orthodox isn’t in communion with Rome, only the Coptic Rite of the CC.

 

[Zekariya]

But the Coptic Orthodox isn’t in communion with Rome, only the Coptic Rite of the CC.

I used to be Coptic Orthodox. I was Antiochian Orthodox and then became Coptic Orthodox and then entered into communion with Rome. I am considered an Eastern/Oriental Catholic. I attend a Melkite parish.