Can a RC attend an Eastern Liturgy? QUESTION from Marcia September 4, 2001 Dear Brother-
I am a Roman Catholic; may I attend an Eastern Rite such as Byzentine, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, etc? Is there a list that states which are acceptable?
Also: can I attend regularily, or only when I am not near a Catholic Church?
Also Also: Would it be wrong or ok to join an Eastern Rite? I want to remain faithful to my church and the Pope; I'm just tired of so many Catholic Churches in my area- the PAstors pretty much do what they want; there are so many abuses and in general, a lack of reverence.
Yhank you! Marcia
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on September 10, 2001 Dear Mrs. Marcia:
I am sorry about the abuses you are experiencing by local pastors. Please pray for them. I would suggest thinking carefully about going to another Church. Remember, Jesus is there in the Mass. Should we leave Jesus alone with the abusers? What some people do is continue to go to their parish desipte the absues, offer up the suffering for the conversion of the paster, and then attend another parish from the Eastern Rites or otherwise says Mass appropriately like once a month to be rejuvenated.
In terms of Eastern Catholic Churches, you can visit a Eastern Catholic Church, but you may not join an Eastern Catholic Church without the permission of the Holy See.
You CAN visit Eastern Rite Churches, but it is only a visit and although I suppose one could permanently visit, it would be a violation of the spirit of the law to do so. P.S. To be sure of what we are talking about, the above comments refer to Eastern Catholic Churches -- these are churches in union with the Pope. They are fully part of the Catholic Church. Eastern Orthodox, on the other hand, are not in union with the Pope and we are not to participate in their liturgies except in an emergency.
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