Many Maronites have been assimilated into Western Catholicism as there were no Maronite parishes or priests available.

The East-West Schism of 1054 formally separated the Christian church into two parts: Western Catholicism in Western Europe and Eastern Orthodoxy in the east.

But it is hard to see how democratic reforms can arrest the crisis in Western Catholicism.

Within Christianity, especially in Eastern Christianity and formerly in Western Roman Catholicism, the term cleric refers to any individual who has received the clerical tonsure, including deacons, priests, and bishops.

He states that "If, hypothetically, Western Catholicism were to review the issue of celibacy, I think it would do so for cultural reasons (as in the East), not so much as a universal option."

It was in response to movements within Europe considered apostate or heretical to Western Catholicism, in particular the Cathars and the Waldensians in southern France and northern Italy.

The East-West Schism, or Great Schism, separated the Church into Western (Latin) and Easter ca (Greek) branches, i.e., Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Named for the 16th-century Council of Trent, which inspired its uniform use throughout Western Catholicism, the Tridentine Mass is said in Latin by a priest facing an altar, with his back to the congregation.

At many points in his letter, the Archbishop stressed that "priesthood is essential" and he expressed appreciation for the tradition of a celibate priesthood" that has long been the norm in Western Catholicism.

This contributed to cultural and theological differences between Eastern and Western Christianity eventually leading to the Great Schism that divided Western Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy from 1054 onwards.