Tentative Steps Exploring a New Path: The Roman Catholic Church and Eucharistic Hospitality with Ecumenical Intent

Abstract

Abstract According to Heinrich Fries and Karl Rahner (1983), Eucharistic communion and church fellowship are interdependent realities. In the context of divided Christianity, how can churches start to restore them simultaneously? This paper explores how two ecumenical monastic communities attempt to navigate their way out, hoping that their experiences might indicate a future path. In these communities, the Roman Catholic Church extends eucharistic hospitality to their non-Catholic members in a unique effort to promote and accommodate their ecumenical significance. Based on my ethnographic research in the communities, this paper describes the practice of eucharistic hospitality in these particular contexts and the implications for reimagining the place of the Eucharist in the ecumenical process.