CHAPTER 2: A PRACTICAL THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 91 echoes those of Cardinal Kasper, who, identifying the current ecumenical situation as an intermediate stage, urges us to ask similar questions in the ecumenical context: “Where are we? What has been achieved? What has still to be done? Where can we, and where should we, move ahead?”230 The theological implications formulated in part three contribute to these questions. By investigating the actual practice of Eucharistic hospitality empirically and reflecting on the theological discourse from that perspective, this study aims to help church officials discern whether this form of ecumenical spirituality indeed should be enabled and encouraged in order to promote Christian unity. To this end, my study aims to empower the voice of operant theology visà-vis the other voices in the debate by engaging in the strand of practical theology that operationalizes empirical research methods for addressing systematic theological questions. This study thus employs several methods from the humanities as outlined in section 2.3 (ethnographic research and indepth interviews with biographic focus) to answer the main research question as formulated in the Introduction. Given the developments in the debate on this controversial issue in the last few years, this study offers a relevant and innovative perspective on the question of Eucharistic hospitality in ecumenical contexts. 230 Kasper, Harvesting the Fruits : Aspects of Christian Faith in Ecumenical Dialogue, 3.
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