The Catholic priest at the centre of the controversy over a concelebrated Mass with a Church of Ireland rector said yesterday he had not yet been contacted by the Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Seán Brady.
Fr Iggy O'Donovan invited Rev Michael Graham, Church of Ireland rector at St Peter's Church in Drogheda, Co Louth, to concelebrate the Mass in the Augustinian priory in the town last Sunday with him and two other Catholic priests.
After news of the Mass, both the Catholic and Church of Ireland primates expressed concern and sought further information on the circumstances.
Dr Brady said on Tuesday that there was a real danger of causing widespread confusion, raising false hopes and creating situations that were open to misunderstandings and manipulation.
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames, said he shared Archbishop Brady's concern over the implications for ecumenical relationships. He said such occasions, although well-intentioned, could lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations between the churches.
Speaking to The Irish Times last night, Fr O'Donovan said that he was inspired to invite Rev Graham to concelebrate the Mass following comments from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who had spoken about inclusivity.
"It was a special year, the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising and 90th anniversary of the Western Front, which was bigger for Ireland than the Rising," he said.
"The Taoiseach had spoken about inclusivity and I thought it would be a nice thing to do."
He said he was disappointed by some of the negativity that followed the concelebrated Mass and said negative discussion about transubstantiation was "theological hairsplitting" and "pure rubbish".
"The argument that we should not concelebrate with Anglicans until we share all of the same beliefs is the same as telling a patient they cannot have their medicine until they are better," he said.
"I celebrate the Eucharist with Catholics whose theological beliefs differ from mine.
"Transubstantiation is great in its own way but not a definition of the difference between Anglicans and Catholics. Religion is above all else about reconciliation, that should be its defining point."
Fr O'Donovan said he had not yet been contacted by Dr Brady, but got on very well with him personally and could understand his point of view.
He added that if Dr Brady asked him not to repeat the invitation, he would go along with that.
Rev Graham could not be contacted yesterday.
A Church of Ireland spokeswoman said last night that she would not expect any developments for a while.
"In the Church of Ireland this week after Easter, clergy wind-down and head off on leave so many would be away this week," she said.
Need for more clergy to reach for common ground: page 14
