Many Mansions: East and West in the Roman Catholic Communion

Abstract

This chapter looks at what is commonly called the Roman Catholic Church. It gives an overview of the 19 Eastern Catholic Churches currently within the Roman Catholic communion of Churches, along with their sometimes troubled place and role within this communion. Ecclesiology, church structure and functioning are the chapter’s salient points. It is written for those interested in examining and addressing issues in the internal and external functioning of religious bodies. It is also written for those with little or no knowledge of the Eastern Catholic Churches. It addresses some of the differences within the universal (“catholic”) Church in an effort to remind religious educators that religious thought and practices can differ even within an apparently “monolithic” religious body like the Roman Catholic Church; that differences need not mean separation, but they cannot be ignored.