34 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION has sparked debate, resulting in a concrete proposal by the German Bishops’ Conference in February 2018. The fierce discussion in Germany itself as well as worldwide in reaction to the proposal expressively illustrates the status quaestionis of the debate on Eucharistic hospitality. Therefore, I will discuss it rather extensively in this section. The proposal itself, published in June 2018 under the title Mit Christus gehen – Der Einheit auf der Spur: Konfessionsverbindende Ehen und gemeinsame Teilnahme an der Eucharistie,80 exemplifies how the phenomenon is treated in canon law as an individual pastoral matter rather than an issue of genuine ecumenical significance. In this section and the next, however, I will argue that the question of Eucharistic hospitality should indeed be considered as the latter issue as well. This thesis is also the point of departure for investigating the phenomenon in the current study. The majority of the German bishops voted in favor of implementing a pastoral guideline, adopting a wider interpretation of current regulations with regard to Eucharistic hospitality towards non-Catholic spouses in mixed marriages. A minority of the bishops, however, disagreed to the point of requesting intervention by the Holy See. After a special consultation with representatives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF), the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity (PCPCU), and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (PCLT), the German bishops were asked to “seek ‘a possibly unanimous arrangement’.”81 Apparently, this was not the end of the Holy See’s internal discussion resulting in a change of course. A few weeks later, CDF prefect Archbishop Ladaria wrote to the bishops that, taking into account new considerations, “the Holy Father therefore reached the conclusion that the document is not ready for publication.”82 The topic was not closed, however, as Vatican dicasteries were reported to continue studying the topic. Pope Francis endorsed the content of the proposal during an in-flight 80 Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, “Mit Christus gehen - Der Einheit auf der Spur: Konfessionsverbindede Ehen und gemeinsame Teilnahme an der Eucharistie,” 2018, https://www.dbk.de/fileadmin/redaktion/diverse_downloads/dossiers_2018/08Orientierungshilfe-Kommunion.pdf. 81 Vatican press release on the meeting, quoting CDF Prefect Luis Cardinal Ladaria on behalf of Pope Francis: Vatican News, “Pope to German Bishops: Find Possibly Unanimous Arrangement,” May 4, 2018, https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-05/germanbishops-pope-francis-communion-meeting-rome-ladaria.html. 82 The letter (dated May 25, 2018) of then Archbishop (now Cardinal) Luis Ladaria was published in full in Italian media: Sandro Magister, “Francis Blocks the Document by the German Bishops in Favor of Intercommunion. The Complete Text of the Letter,” June 4, 2018, http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/06/04/francis-blocks-the-documentby-the-german-bishops-in-favor-of-intercommunion-the-compleTC-text-of-the-letter/.
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