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Would a child from a latin rite parish who has not gone through their first communion in their church, be able to receive communion in a Eastern Catholic Church if they participated in their Divine Liturgy?

JW,

This has been discussed here previously but I doubt that I could string together the right set of words to successfully search out any of the threads. I believe that most of us (since I said that, it will turn out to not be the case - guaranteed) would say that the parents of the Latin child in this instance should observe the discipline of their ritual Church and not present the child to receive the Mystery.

You are likely to be offered a different opinion if the child and parents are regular participants in the Divine Liturgy, but have not yet formally requested transfer of canonical enrollment - even though the Canons state that regular attendance at and participation in the liturgy of another Church sui iuris does not make one a member of that Church.

Many years,

Neil

JW55:

Christ is in our midst!!

To echo my brother, Irish Melkite, I would recommend you not presetn your child for the Holy Mysteries because there is a great deal of misunderstanding to be dealt with when you inform your Latin priest that he has received.

In my own case, my son attended a Latin Mass with me about a year before he would receive his First Communion in our parish. But we were in another parish that evening. The priest asked me to be the lector and I said I couldn't since I had my son with my and didn't want to leave him alone in the congregation. Well, the priest put him into an alb and told one of the other servers to just keep him at his side for Mass. All well and good until my son presented himself for Communion and was given Our Lord. I should say he'd wanted to make his First Communion early and had begged to do it, but was told he'd ahve to wait to do it with his class. Well, you'd think I'd profaned the Holy Spirit--the uproar that came aobut when he proudly told everyone that he'd received His Lord that evening and made his First Holy Communion. My wife and her family were up in arms, and so were the powers that be at our parish--even though it was a kind of liberal-leaning place.

And it isn't something that one ought to do in such a secret fashion that one could be accused of being ashamed of one's action. Christ is the One we ought to be proud of receiving and doing so openly.

Bob

IMHO, it would be just as IMPROPER for a Latin Catholic child to receive First Communion in the Eastern Church as it is for a child of and Eastern Catholic father to be baptized in the Latin Church.

Vatican II teaches and Canon Law confirms that the two Churches are equal and to be respected.

There has been too much disrespect (mostly toward Eastern Churches) by individual pastors and bishops.
Fr Deacon Paul

Thanks for the information and quick responses. Would it then be correct in assuming, that if this child had already received first communion in the Latin Church, they would also be able to receive communion on a visit to an Eastern Catholic church, (the same as a visiting adult)?

Yes.

JW,

Absolutely! You would want to prepare the child to anticipate the difference between the receiving the Mystery under the form of leavened bread versus the unleavened bread to which he or she is accustomed, that the former will have been intincted in wine, and - depending on the Church - may be administered by a spoon.

Many years,

Neil