By Faith News Note;
Although they’ve been doing it nearly 40 years, Catholic priests can no longer celebrate Mass at the ecumenical Lutheran-Catholic Spirit of Grace church in Beaverton, Ore., according to a dictate just before Christmas by U.S. Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland. The archbishop sent a letter to Robyn Hartwig, Lutheran pastor of perhaps the nation’s only Lutheran-Catholic congregation, saying Catholics need to be participating in sacraments such as the Eucharist at their local Catholic parishes instead, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Three previous archbishops countenanced the celebration of Mass at Spirit of Grace, which was formed in 1986 by the Lutheran Oregon Synod and the Archdiocese of Portland as a mission of the then-Franciscan St. Anthony Parish. Members of Spirit of Grace expressed heartache and devastation at the abrupt decision.
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