Sir, - Fr Enda McDonagh's article in the current issue of The Furrow, which you report fully (January 11th), states that One Bread One Body is strong "not just in its (widely unwelcome) negative regulations on Eucharistic sharing but in its (widely welcomed) positive teaching on the Eucharist itself."
In One Bread One Body the Catholic Church's teaching on the Eucharist and its norms regarding eucharistic sharing are inter-linked. The norms flow from the teaching. Outside that context they are meaningless.
The Catholic bishops' of Ireland and Britain state in One Bread One Body: "Our first purpose in presenting this document is to reaffirm and to share with others our Catholic faith in the mystery of the Eucharist...Our second purpose, on the foundation of the Church's doctrinal principles and current discipline, is to establish the norms to govern sharing of these sacraments between Catholics and other Christians. The fundamental principles of our Catholic faith remain ever the same. Norms, however, can be developed and changed over time, on the basis of the Church's deepening understanding of that faith.
In establishing these norms, we are responding to the recommendation in the Directory on the Applications of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, published in 1993 by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity" (par 8).
One Bread One Body is, therefore, a teaching document on the eucharistic belief and present discipline of the Catholic Church. It recognises a growing agreement with other Christian communities about many aspects of the mystery of the Eucharist, and the bishops are "glad to make use of the results of these dialogues in this document". They look forward to continuing dialogue and express the hope that the document "will provide an opportunity for joint reflection, discussion and prayer" (par 5).
In this context, One Bread One Body asks for responses from other churches and some churches have already suggested that they should prepare similar documents outlining their own position regarding the Eucharist. This is very encouraging. Any such documents would be most welcome contributions to the dialogue. - Yours, etc., Jim Cantwell,
Director, Catholic Press and Information Office, Irish Bishops' Conference,
Rev Tom Connelly, Media Relations Officer, Scottish Bishops' Conference,
Rev Kieran Conry,
Director, Catholic Media Office, Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Catholic Press and Information Office, Dublin.