www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Pope's intention-West learn more about the Eastern Churches

I just read the Holy Father's intentions for November include having the West learn more about and understand the Eastern Churches. It was posted on www.spiritdaily.com. [spiritdaily.com.] Bravo!

we will see, what happens. They dont even teach about the Eastern Rites in RCIA. So i dont know how the popes going to try to get the west to learn about the east.

In Christ+
daniel

Well, Daniel, there is no particular reason why RCIA classes should teach about the Eastern rites, because that's not their intention or their purpose.

Their *primary* purpose is to prepare adults to enter (or more often these days, re-enter) the Church and receive the Sacraments, via the Latin Rite. That's time-consuming enough right there.

Uh,well nevermind.

Just as a point of interest, the Latin church around the corner from my Melkite parish brings the catechumens to a Divine Liturgy every year. Sometimes the RCIA does, indeed, let people know that the Church is bigger than the Latin Church.

Edward, deacon and sinner

Dear FrDeaconEd,

Way cool! You are fortunate to have a Latin and Greek church in proximity to each other.

Both parishes are blessed.

Paul

Slava Isusu Christu!

In some RCIA programs, they don't even teach about Western Rites, even the Latin rite itself. My ex-girlfriend's RCIA program taught her very little she didn't know about theological things and focused on alot of "touchy-feely" pop-theology. It's a main reason why she's not Catholic...yet.

My present girlfriend was just confirmed earlier this year after a long estrangement from the Church and her RCIA class taught some rather suspect things, totally downplaying the role of the Theotokos and the saints, among others.

In Christ,
mikey.

Hi, I'm an inquirer in the Byzantine Catholic
Church from an Episcopal and RC background.
Do you think sometimes the RCIA curriculum in some churches has been done so long, one way, that
its just incidental that they don't talk about Eastern Catholicism? I have a lot of brethern who are now deacons in Byzantine Catholic churches,
who started in the RC. The most ignorant I find,
"are", because they "are"...they don't want to know more, for whatever reason. I'm speaking from my own perspective of course. Secco

I can attest first hand the the RCIA Program is a waste of time. I know that the goal is not to introduce certain things, but they hardly introduce things that they should be teaching.
You can go up to almost any RC and ask them about the Holy Eucharist or Purgtaroy and they wont know what it is at all. Its a shame that they dont teach a little about the Eastern Rites, if we ever want to regain our communion with the Orthodox Churches. The Roman Church neededs to get over their Eliteist attituded, and start teaching about the equality of all the churches. Which should start at the local level of RCIA.

In Christ +
Daniel

Dear Daniel,

Forgive my woeful ignorance, what exactly is the RCIA and who must undergo it?

Alex

RCIA

Roman Catholic Initation of Adults
all converts to Roman Catholicism most go
through RCIA to "Learn" about church doctrines :rolleyes: and prepare to recieve
the RC Sacraments. Its like the Catechumen Formation for Roman Catholics.

In Christ+
daniel

I feel its a failure myself because i know of RCIA teachers who are my age 18, but dont know any thing about the church and who support a Female Clergy, Homosextuality, and Contraception issues, basically every thing that the Catholic Magisterium teaches against, and people wonder were all these LIBRAL Catholics come from.

In Christ+
Daniel

:rolleyes: Byzantine Ascetic, I would not be surprised, I think a lot in some parishes is overlooked due to the "health" of those parishes.
RCIA itself...can be a good experience. Some parishes don't have the numbers of participants and don't pay attention to who "serves"...Some are just happy to have volunteers. It's not "right", but it is happenning and that could take up a whole other thread for discussion.
I was glad for RCIA...I could go and share my own faith experience with others. It helped my maturity in many ways. Secco

Slava Isusu Christu!

Daniel (and Alex),

Actually, RCIA stands for "Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults". You are right, though, in saying that all converts to Catholicism must generally go through the program. However, it can be taught by one priest to one convert or in a class environment.

In Christ,
mikey.

Daniel,

One of the great logical fallicies is to issue a general statement based upon a specific. The fact that you, personally, know some "teachers" (they aren't called that in the RCIA, BTW) who do not know Church teaching suggests that there is a parish where the process is not being followed correctly. When the RCIA is properly used it is precisely the same process that was used in the Early Church for people becoming Christian. Head knowledege, which one can get from a book, is no where near as good as actually living that knowledge. This is the purpose of the process used in the RCIA. That's when we suggest that people coming to an Eastern Church attend for several years before they make a decision to change ritual Churches. They need to get the feel of the Church, to learn the ebb and flow of the liturgy, and so much more.

To condem this process with so little information seems to be the height of hubris.

Edward, deacon and sinner