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SYNOD-PRESENCE Oct-19-2005 (790 words) xxxi
Synod concerned that Catholics misunderstand real presence of Christ
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A major concern of the October Synod of Bishops was that many Catholics do not seem to understand how Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.
Yet after nearly three weeks of discussion, the bishops did not find an easy way to explain this fundamental concept of the faith.
Instead, they spent considerable time debating the theological fine points of the church's teaching on the real presence of Christ. That led to discussions of such complex topics as transubstantiation versus transignification, or "sacramental presence" as distinct from other forms of Christ's presence in the world.
Some participants, like German Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne, worried that the real presence is largely seen as symbolic. He cited the influence of a secular society that does not easily accept transcendent realities and said Catholics need to be taught that Christ is "truly, really and substantially contained in holy Communion."
Several bishops wanted the synod to clarify the "moment of transubstantiation," in view of liturgical differences in Latin and Eastern Catholic church communities.
Others said the church should clarify to the faithful that the consecration of the bread and wine in the Eucharist brings a change in substance, but not a change in physical matter. They called for a new way of teaching transubstantiation.
Some emphasized the personal transformation that takes place in the Eucharist as the best way to understand that Christ is truly present.
One thing that emerged clearly from the synod debate was that this is not a simple topic. Some bishops said it presented a critical pastoral challenge.
"The mystery of the Eucharist is not being presented well to the faithful, which means there must be some difficulty in communicating it. There must be something wrong with our catechesis," Bishop Peter Kang U-il of Cheju, South Korea, said in an interview with Catholic News Service.
"The catechism that has developed on this in the Western culture is too rational and too philosophical. We can't ask too much of the simple people, who have no theological formation," he said.
Bishop Kang said there was a tendency in the church to theologize too much about the content of the Eucharist. The church should "just present it as it is and not try to explain it according to the theological elaborations. Just let them meditate it."
He said he would describe the Eucharist to Catholics as "the expression of God's love."
"Jesus wanted to give everything to us, even his life. I think the Eucharist is the expression of this love, nothing else," he said.
Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome, told the synod that at the recent World Youth Day celebrations in Germany he had trouble explaining the real presence to young people because they understood "only the visible."
In Africa there are different problems, including the need for the church to distinguish between the real presence of the Eucharist and the worship of idols in animist religions.
Nigerian Bishop Joseph Bagobiri of Kafanchan called on the synod to develop a "theology of presence" so that the faithful are not confused and know that Christ is present sacramentally but not physically in the Eucharist.
The problem, he said, is that in trying to teach about the real presence the church must confront "the delicate line of demarcation between that which is real and that which is only a representation of the reality."
A child put it in simpler language Oct. 15 when he asked Pope Benedict XVI: "My catechism teacher told me that Jesus was present in the Eucharist. But how can that be? I can't see him."
The pope replied that many things are real but cannot be seen -- like the mind, the spirit and even electricity. People know these things exist because they see their effects, and the same is true of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, he said.
The pope could have given a more complex answer. In 2001, he wrote a book on the Eucharist titled, "God Is Near Us," in which he said the presence of Christ in the Eucharist "is more real than the things we have to do with every day."
In his book, he said it was too bad that people today live and think only in terms of function. The change that occurs in the Eucharist is a change of substance, not a change of function, he said.
The significance of the Eucharist is that, as a sacrament of faith, it takes people out of "functionality" and reaches "the basis of reality," he said.
"This is the yardstick, the heart of things; here we encounter the reality against which we need to learn to measure every other reality," he said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
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