Greetings to all,
Does a petition to change Church sui iuris has to go, all the time , to Rome for approval? Or can it be dealt with at the Eparchy- Diocesain level?

From what I can understand, it can be dealt with at the local level.

Regards
Francois

Francois,

Several years ago my wife and I were planning a petition to switch sui juris churches, from the Ruthenian to the Roman. We wrote lettters to both our Ruthenian bishop and the Roman bishop whose diocese we resided in.

After the process began we moved away from that area, and decided not to pursue the matter.

Ultimately something has to go to Rome, but that may be near the end of the process. So I really didn't answer your question, but I hope the example helps.

Peace,
James

Canon 32 of the CCEO states:


Canon 112 §1.1 of the Code of Canon Law states:

dear Francois:

if you are not yet Catholic, better to discern clearly which Catholic Church you wish to join before entering into Communion.

it is MUCH easier to wait and pick the Catholic church you really wish to join, than go through the process of asking permission to switch churches within the Catholic Communion.

it's worth the little delay to make a good decision.

plus there's no guarantee that the application for transfer will be granted. I know cases where the application has been denied.

At the moment, the permission of the Apostolic See may be presumed in a transfer from Latin to Eastern... But that could change at any point.

All,
Thanks for your answer. On one hand, some say that it needs to go to Rome while others are saying that the permission of the Apostolic See is presume. So there a little bit confusion in my mind about this.
Could it be possible that Eparchies are not interpreting the Canon law the same way i.e. one Eparchy will presume the permission of Apostolic See while another will say no to the request and sit on it for years.

Francois

Dear Herbigny,
I understand your point of view. I'm RC. It would be much easier for me if I'd come from the Protestant world... unfortunately it is not the case......
Francois

Francois, it absolutely does NOT have to go to Rome for a layman. If you are Latin wishing to transfer particular ritual Churches, you simply write to the bishop you wish to be received under copying the Latin chancery. As the canon states, the permission of Rome is implied. Generally it is a straightforward process. It was not always this way; before the CCEO everything had to go through the Pro-Nuncio.

My goodness, that sounds like it was rather top-heavy and bureaucratic.

If I may contribute my two cents. My wife and applied for change of rite from RC to UGCC in 1977. Fr. Paul Guthrie, of blessed memory, was the pastor of the St. Micheal's UGCC in Rossford, Ohio. We started the process with a letter of petition to the Holy Father requesting the change of Rite. The rationale we listed was to allow for a more complete worship and devotional experience in the UGCC versus the RC church. At the time we were not particularly avid RCs. We were contacted by the diocese of Toledo and the priest who spoke to me asked where we were registered as parishioners. Since we had not joined any church in the Toledo area, he indicated that there was no problem. The priest approved the transfer. We heard nothing concerning our request for several months. One Sunday out of the blue, Fr. Paul indicated we needed to signn the rescript forms to complete the transfer. It was a rather painless process that took several months to complete.

It is a move we have never regretted. To me personally there is no more beautiful form of worship than the Divine Liturgy. I do very much lament the fact that we live in an area where long drives are necessary to attend liturgy. We will relocate eventually, high on the list of requirements will be the availability of a UGCC, Reuthenian or Orthodox parish to settle into. Best of luck on your quest.

Diak,
Thanks very much for this post!! Actually, My RC Bishop signed the paperwork and it is the UGCC Chancellor that stopped the process and denied my request, stating that according to Canon 32 it is not request for me to change rites and further more than ONLY the Apostolic See grants change of rite....
Now as it stands: I'm in a canonical limbo, void right?
Even if I have all the minor rites of the RC, I don't fall in the category of "ordained" minister according to the 1983 RC Canon Law.
This is really puzzling me....
Francois

Cbpotel,
Thanks for your comment. I too felt drawn into the Byzantine Rite. I'm only regretting the administrative dark cloud that is seemingly hanging over my petition.
All this said, I can thank God because a UGC priest is helping me out in this journey.
Francois

dear Francois:

this is a VERY unusual situation! Usually it is the Latin bishop that stops the transfer. Does your parish priest have any insights on this matter?

Is the chancellor's response the real reason or is it an excuse to refuse you entry into the UGCC?

What does your pastor have to say about it?

As far as bureaucratic, there are two chanceries involved now instead of only the Pro-Nuncio, so that may be somewhat debatable. A greater concern is the Latin Pro-Nuncio making decisions in a vacuum from any Greek Catholic hierarchs. When mine was done many (many) moons ago, my UGCC bishop only knew when the rescript from the Pro-Nuncio showed up at my parish priest's rectory.

Hi Francois, there are Eastern Catholic bishops in the Canadian Catholic Bishops Conference. One would suggest that an agreement would have been made between the bishops for Catholics from one rite to another. As these Eparchies are outside their Patriarchal territories, they are subject immediately to the Holy Father so it is no issue dealing between bishops. In fact, some are quite systematic where they allow you to fill forms. I got my transfer in 2 weeks.