Dear Michael:

Thank you for your very thoughtful question. I did move your question from the Liturgy Forum to this one since what you are asking is not really about Liturgy, it is about membership or visiting different Rites in the Church.

You may certainly visit other Rites. There is much we can learn in the Roman Rite from the Eastern Rite Catholics. We are all one Church and thus as brethren we can share our respective spiritualities and learn from one another. Indeed, we can be deeply enriched in our own spirituality by this sharing.

But, the reason for different Rites is because in the universal Church, the Catholic Church, there are many cultures. The different Rites reflect various cultures within the broader umbrella of the Catholic Church.

If you grew up in the Roman Rite, then the Western Culture is inculcated within you. It is never truly possible to remove that from our soul. To borrow the cliché: "You can take the boy out of the Roman Rite, but you can never take the Roman Rite out of the boy."

I have had Byzantine Rite people tell me that the Roman Rite people who permanently come to their parish often cause problems because they expect things to be done the way they want (usually from a Tridentine style liturgy).  The Tridentine liturgy belongs to the Roman Rite not the Byzantine Rite.

There can be a clash of culture if a Roman Rite Catholic tries to remain with the Eastern Rite. This doesn't have to be so, but it is often the case.

But, it is possible for a Roman Rite Catholic to formally transfer to one of the Eastern Rites. This is possible only by one of three ways according to Canon Law 112.1:

1) secure permission of the Holy See and the consent of both Latin and Eastern Bishops;

2) marry an Eastern Rite Catholic; or

3) a child born into a mixed Rite family may, by the the time he is 14 years old, choose which Rite he wishes to remain.

Canon Law 112.2 states that even if a Latin Rite person attends an Eastern Rite Church on a long term basis, they remain a Latin Rite Catholic.

A Latin Rite Catholic attending a Eastern Rite Church may receive most of the Sacraments (numbers refer to canon law): Baptism (cc. 861.2), Confirmation (cc. 882, 887), Eucharist (cc. 923, 1248.1), Reconciliation (c. 991), and Anointing (cc. 1003.2, 1004.1).

Thus the bottomline: The Church encourages us to attend the Rite to which we are enrolled. We may visit another Catholic Rite Church (even on a long term basis), but we remain Latin Rite Catholics unless formally transferred according to Canon 112.1.

I would encourage you to visit Eastern Rite parishes and Eastern Rite Monasteries. It is a wonderful experience to add the color of the Eastern spiritualities to the tapestry of our own cultural faith as Roman Catholics.

We can certainly borrow from the Eastern Catholics in our personal devotions and be enriched by it. While I am a Roman Catholic consecrated brother, much of my charism is borrowed from the Eastern Catholics.

If you look around you will find monasteries in the Roman Rite who are contemplative and have some flavor of the Eastern Monks.

Should you, however, wish to transfer to one of the Eastern Rites you will need to contact your Roman bishop and he should be able to direct you into what is needed to make a formal transfer.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary