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Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 8/8/2008


Question
QUESTION: Dear Fr. Timothy Johnson,
I would like to thank Daphne for her question on the Russian Orthodox Church and have a similar question regarding the Church of England. I am engaged to a Roman Catholic but am an Anglican. Anglicans recognise Roman Catholic sacraments and, as such, have no problem in offering communion to Roman Catholics. But is this reciprocated? As an Anglican, could I receive communion from a Roman Catholic priest?
All good wishes,
Jack


ANSWER: Hi, Jack:
Thanks for the question.
No.  The situation with the Anglicans is not the same as with the Eastern Orthodox Churches.  The Anglicans are not an Apostolic Church, but rather counted among the denominations of the ecclesial communities of the Protestant Reformation that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church.  If you wish to receive the Holy Eucharist from a Roman Catholic Priest, you would first need to be received into the Roman Catholic Church fully and formally.

Fr. Timothy Johnson

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Father Timothy,
Thank you for your reply. A follow-up on marriage: as a non-Roman Catholic, presumably I can marry a Catholic in a Catholic Church? I guess this is the case since I can think of several mixed couples, for example Tony Blair was an Anglican at the time of his marriage to a Roman Catholic.
All good wishes,
Jack

Answer
Yes, Jack, that is correct.

Provided that both the Roman Catholic and the Anglican are free to marry, and they undertake everything lawful and necessary with the state and the Catholic Church, they may marry in the Catholic Church, meaning in terms of the sacramentality of the marriage, they are married by the authority of the Catholic Church.  This does not of necessity imply a Roman Catholic liturgical ceremony, provided that the necessary dispensation from Canonical Form is lawfully obtained from the legitimate Catholic Authority (e.g. the Local Ordinary, Catholic Bishop) for some other public form of marriage.
It can seem complex I am certain; but what usually works out is simply for the Catholic intending to marry that the circumstances of the proposed marital union be brought to the Priest or authorized indivdual who will work with the couple on the required marriage preparation.

Fr. Timothy Johnson

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Fr. Timothy Johnson

Expertise

A Traditional Catholic Priest, validly and licitly ordained, incardinated legally and canonically in the Diocese of Fargo, and in good-standing with my Local Ordinary (Bishop) on active assignment at a rural Tri-Parish. I can provide honest and balanced answers to questions on topics pertaining to Traditional Roman Catholicism of the Latin Church (Councils of Trent and Vatican II)and a lot about the Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Scripture, Church History, the use of the Latin language, the tradition of Sacred Music, and current events in the Catholic Church from a traditional, historical and balanced perspective.

Experience

I have been ordained a Roman Catholic Priest since June 2001.

Organizations
Knights of Columbus; Church Music Association of America (CMAA)

Education/Credentials
Ordained Priest, 02 JUN 2001; Ordained Deacon, 27 JAN 2001; MA - Dogmatic/Systematic Theology; MDiv - Professional Degree from Seminary; 2-Years formation with Canons Regular of Premontre including studies and experience in Sacred Liturgy, Chant, Latin, Sacraments, Spirituality. BA - Scholastic/Thomistic Philosophy; BA - Liberal Arts; AA - General Studies.

Past/Present Clients
I serve 3-small, rural Parish Communities in Easter North Dakota
I converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1981, at the age of 15. Over the years I have done work as an organist, cantor, and choir director for the Latin Rite (English & Latin) Mass (Liturgy of the Eucharist), and even for the Hours of the Divine Office. I have worked as a cantor for a Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church. Presently my pastoral and administrative duties as a Catholic Priest do not allow me as much time as I used to have to devote to Sacred Music; but for my weekend Masses and Solemnities within my Tri-Parish, I offer High Sung Mass in English. Weekday Mass is typically Low Mass (recited Mass) in English, though on occasion I will offer the "Tridentine Mass" in Latin, which I usually offer on my "Day Off", as well. And now, in light of the "Motu Proprio" by his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI placing the extraordinary usage of the Roman Rite back into the mainstream of the Catholic Church, I have been offering a regularly scheduled SUN, 2:00 PM Tridentine Latin Mass with a community of the faithful that has a stable existence.

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