Not winging it, spent the last 30 years alternating attendance at Eastern Liturgies, and after three years of Traditional Monastic formation, decided that the ancient Antiochian traditions were the closest thing to traditional monasticism still in existence. :)

This is basic stuff, going to communion in a state of mortal sin is sacrilege. I think the Eastern clergy have been for centuries too busy keeping their wives happy to have time to think about such "trivial things" such as sacrilege,  the age of reason,  marriage for life..... The Eastern religions are a just a cultural thing.

It's basic stuff for someone who has been taught to regurgitate the Baltimore Catechism, but not so basic if you never went to any kind of Catechism.  Eastern thinking tends to be more abstract, and they don't appear to be very good at clearly defining concepts the way we do in the West due to the scholastic theological movement.  They never really had a scholastic period where the emphasis was on being precise in your terms and definitions.

None of this stuff is obvious if you haven't been catechised properly.

You are making excuses for them, their faith is just a cultural thing, no different today than any South American.

You are making excuses for them, their faith is just a cultural thing, no different today than any South American.

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Last Tradhican wrote: You are making excuses for them, their faith is just a cultural thing, no different today than any South American.

Your entire posting is one continuous straw man, my quick comments below. You should ask questions before you make such leaps. 

What an arrogant, judgmental blowhard you are.  I doubt you even know any Eastern Catholics.  Of course you'll find some "cultural" Catholics in any cross-section, but this is by no means limited to the Eastern Rite.  Even in the Roman Rite, you'll find many whose faith is mostly cultural:  Irish, Hungarians, Polish, etc. (that extension should be obvious in my saying that they are no different than any South American today.)  This is by no means unique to the Eastern Rites (I never said it was unique to them, again, it should be obvious that I extended it to the Spanish, Irish, Hungarians, Polish, Italians.... ).  Yet in all these groups there are also many who take their faith seriously (If there weren't, there would be no Catholics left in the world) .  There's nothing to prevent the faith from being both religious AND cultural (another strawman).  In fact, that's IDEAL, that our society and culture should be thoroughly imbued with the faith (is that supposed to be some kind of .  And it's the same in the Eastern Rites; there are good, bad, and lukewarm in every group, even among Traditional Catholics.  You on the other hand never allow anyone to have any excuse (strawman).  Be very careful, since when you die you're going to be judged with the same judgment that you yourself applied towards others, and I'd be very afraid to be in your shoes at your judgment.  So, while knowing next to nothing about them, you presume to dismiss all those in the Eastern "religions" as cultural Catholics.

I only responded because I respect the writer, He should think or ask questions before undertaking to waste both our times

Overall, I like the Catholic Eastern Rites, but I've seen a fair bit of "sloppiness" that needs to be corrected.  Also, Eastern Catholics rarely go to Confession, so much so that one Ukrainian priest preaches about and promotes Confession nearly every week ... to no avail. There's a prayer everyone recites before Communion that is kind of an Act of Contrition, and I have this feeling that most people think it renders them worthy to receive even if they're not in a state of grace.