please summarize the key points in the following text: the first chapter defines what is meant by sharing the Eucharist and places the question within the larger framework of the Church's teaching on Ecumenism. There is a short history of the issue from the 1917 Code, through the conciliar and post-conciliar documents, to the 1993 Ecumenical Directory and Ut unum sint. Practical problems are raised, such as when baptized non-Catholics belong to a family with Catholic members, or when baptized non-Catholics attend a Catholic Eucharist for familial, social or official reasons, and the even thornier question of Catholics attending a non-Catholic celebration of the Eucharist for similar reasons. The issues of ministry, means and ends of unity, the theological values at stake, Church membership, the ecclesial and personal realities that the reception of the Eucharist involve, and a number of other important matters are discussed with clarity and sensitivity. The views of the Orthodox and Protestant Churches are also outlined.

The second chapter describes five risks or reasons for caution in Eucharistie sharing. These would include failure to agree about core Eucharistie doctrine (real presence, sacrifice, etc.), expressing a nonexistent unity (e.g., different kinds of unity, the notion of life in communion, etc.), the failure to maintain apostolic succession and the related matters of validity, and so on. The A. carefully explains the issues involved in each of the five risks and why these must be treated seriously, not only by the Catholic minister of the sacrament but also by the non-Catholic seeking to receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church.

A number of issues I had not considered before bear careful assessment. He neither exaggerates nor minimizes the risks. In the third chapter, the A. presents six challenges or reasons for more open Eucharistie sharing. He begins with the fact we share baptism and recognize our equality in Christ, then underlines once again the responsibility to meet the serious needs of other Christians in cases of necessity (including making a special case for interchurch families). The A. meditates forcefully on our need to be genuinely hospitable at the Eucharist in order to be in continuity with Jesus and the biblical descriptions of his meal sharing, thus avoiding further hurts and injuries. He also provokes a fascinating discussion on Paul's admonition in I Cor 11:29 to discern the Body of Christ. It always includes, according to the A., two elements: "Christ present in the elements of bread of wine and Christ present in the baptized men and women assembled" at the celebration. This in turn challenges us to share a more open Communion.

The final short chapter deals with some related issues, such as the problems of blessing non-communicants and ecclesial disobedience to the current norms. He concludes with a forceful plea to be true to our calling and to grow in a closer relationship with one another, recognizing the Eucharist as the source of authentic growth, understanding Communion as a gift from God and promoting communion by stages.

Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and dialogue and a short bibliography for further reading. It is the A's contention that post-conciliar legislation has tended to be more limiting of communicatio in sacris than the conciliar text which, he says, was concerned to permit it, within the limits of careful discernment. His book is, therefore, an argument for a more generous approach to Eucharistie sharing by the Church, while not moving to indiscriminate reception of Holy Communion by those he characterizes as "church hoppers." These last, with little or no commitment to a particular community's values and beliefs, and with no response to the legitimate expectations of the community, exemplify a kind of individualism which does not respect the communitarian dimension of the Eucharist.

The book will be of great interest to those who teach the Church's law and the theology of sacraments, as well as to those involved in ecumenical endeavours and those who minister to interchurch families. The style and content are clearly accessible not only to professionals but also to anyone interested in the topic and willing to engage the various issues at stake. Indeed, there are concrete examples and a teaching method which is engaging, pastorally sensitive, and invites further reflection and investigation.