The Eastern Catholic Churches
Yesterday, I posted a link to an article on The New Liturgical Movement with comments on the Liturgy by Fr. Mitch Pacwa. Fr. Pacwa noted that he celebrates the Maronite Divine Liturgy but not the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Missal due to his facility in Aramaic. That brought some questions. I asked my friend, Carolyn, to kindly assist in explaining the Eastern Catholic Churches. Here is her post: Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon