Vatican cautions against Eastern-rite priests in Latin-rite dioceses
December 17, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The Dicastery for Eastern Churches has cautioned bishops against routinely authorizing priests to celebrate the liturgy in a rite that is not their own.
The cautionary note from the Vatican is apparently aimed at Latin-rite dioceses in the West that have used priests of the Eastern Catholic churches to fill openings created by a shortage of Latin-rite priests. “This practice, which distorts the identification of the priest with the rite of his Church, is strongly to be discouraged,” the Vatican said.
The Dicastery for Eastern Churches reminded bishops that a priest is authorized to celebrate the liturgy only in the rite for which he was ordained, unless he has obtained a special faculty from the Vatican. This biritual faculty, the Vatican statement notes, is issued only “when there are real and manifest needs.”
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