Statement by the North American Orthodox – Catholic Theological Consultation re restrictions on ministry of married Eastern Catholic priests in North America
Friday, June 6, 2014The North American Orthodox – Catholic Theological Consultation which met earlier this week in New Hampshire has released a statement. This year marks the 85th anniversary of the promulgation of the Decree Cum data fuerit by the Sacred Congregation for Oriental Churches, which imposed restrictions on the ministry of married Greek-Ruthenian Catholic priests in the USA. Similar restrictions eventually were considered to apply throughout North America on priests belonging to any Eastern Catholic Church. For its part, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) several decades ago went on public record as confirming that the Catholic Bishops of Canada have no objection in principle to married Eastern Catholic priests exercising their ministry within Canada, in accordance with the discipline and practice of their respective sui iuris Church.
The CCCB participates in the North American Orthodox – Catholic Theological Consultation. Its current delegates are Father Peter Galadza, a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada who is also Kule Family Professor of Liturgy at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, and Father Damian MacPherson, S.A., Director of Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs for the Archdiocese of Toronto. The accompanying Catholic Bishop on the Dialogue and its Co-Chair is the Most Reverend Joseph W. Tobin, Archbishop of Indianapolis.