Perspectief 2016-34

2016-34 Eucharistic hospitality 53 Com ment coincide with denominational demarcation lines, as we have seen that “even the offices of the Roman Curia employed different words” 9 . Present challenges With the progress made in the ecumenical movement, the issue seems ever more urgent today, as Cardinal Walter Kasper acknowledges: “the closer we come to one another, the more painful is the perception that we are not yet in full communion. We are hurt by what still separates us and hinders us from joining around the table of the Lord” 10 . Still, the Catholic Church in general regards sharing the Eucharist without being in full visible communion impossible. 11 Sharing the Eucharist during ecumenical encounters is carefully avoided, as was demonstrated again recently during the start of the joint commemoration of the Reformation. 12 On the other hand, when occasional Eucharistic hospitality is offered, controversy is likely to be stirred. This was for example the case with the founder of the Taizé community, Brother Roger, who received communion from the hands of then Cardinal Ratzinger during the funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II in 2005. 13 9 Myriam Wijlens, Sharing the Eucharist; A Theological Evaluation of the Post Conciliar Legislation (Lanham, New York, Boston: University Press of America, 2006), p. XVII. 10 Walter Kasper, ‘Present Situation and Future of the Ecumenical Movement.’ Prolusio for the PCPCU on 17 November 2001 (Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011 117_kasper-prolusio_en.htm l , accessed 25 November 2016). 11 Codex Iuris Canonici , c. 844. 12 Bishop William Kenney, participant in the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, indicated that he hoped Pope Francis to loosen the restrictions on Eucharistic hospitality, see Austen Ivereigh, “Pope in Sweden could break ground on intercommunion, bishop says” (Cruxnow.com: 21 October 2016) consulted at https://cruxnow.com/interviews/2016/10/21/pope-sweden-break-ground-inter-communion-bishop- says/, 11 November 2016 13 In many (Catholic) media, the question was raised whether Brother Roger had officially converted to Catholicism, an assumption that was denied both by Taizé and Catholic representatives as Cardinal Walter Kasper. Cf. the reaction of Brother Roger’s successor Brother Alois in 2006: Taizé, ‘Something That Was Without Precedent’ (Taizé website : http://www.taize.fr/en_article6739.html, 12 April 2008, accessed 21 October 2016), and for the remarks of Cardinal Kasper: ‘Interview With Cardinal Kasper Three Years After the Death of Brother Roger; The Monk, Symbol of Spiritual Ecumenism’, l’Osservatore Romano (weekly