Catholic clerics of the Holy Land can commune Christians of the Orthodox and other Eastern Churches – this provision is contained in the document “Ecumenical Pastoral Directives”, issued in Arabic by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land, writes the news agency Fides.
According to the document, Catholic priests can also teach the faithful of the Orthodox and Eastern Churches of the sacraments of confession and blessing of oil.
The rule applies in the territory of the Holy Land (Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus) in Catholic churches of the Latin, Maronite, Melkite, Chaldean, Syrian, Armenian and Coptic rites.