Aiming to rekindle Catholic "amazement" over the Eucharist, as well as to "banish dark clouds of unacceptable doctrine and practice," John Paul II on Holy Thursday devoted the 14th encyclical of his pontificate to the Eucharist and its relationship to the church.
"Eucharist," from a Greek word meaning "giving thanks," is the term Catholics use to refer to the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Mass.
The 78-page document, brief by ...