“How indeed can we proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation without at the same time being committed to working for reconciliation between Christians?” These penetrating words of our late Holy Father John Paul II get to the heart of his message in the encyclical letter, Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism.
Building Bridges with Other Christians
It is also apparent that Pope Benedict XVI desires unity not only within the Church, but among our separated brothers and sisters in various denominations as well. Such ecumenical hopefulness can be traced back at least to 1966 when then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger published The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood in which he explores the unity of all baptized Christians, especially Catholics, under the Fatherhood of God. It was Cardinal Ratzinger as well who was instrumental in the writing of the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the World Lutheran Federation. This document was a great milestone in dialoguing with our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Christ. Most recently, in his first papal address mentioned above, the Holy Father went on to state that he “is fully determined to cultivate every initiative that might seem appropriate to promote contacts and understanding with representatives of the diverse churches and ecclesial communities.”
As with the tensions within the Catholic Church, we must refuse the temptation to polarize ourselves from other Christians through such modes as promoting false caricatures of our separated brethren. When we look into our hearts, we can probably think of a time when we at least thought, if not spoke, of other Christians as just a bunch of “Bible thumpers.” Love and truth must pervade the whole ecumenical movement if it is to succeed. Pope John Paul II made it clear that “ecumenism, the movement promoting Christian unity, is not just some sort of ‘appendix’ which is added to the Church’s traditional activity. Rather, ecumenism is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does.”
So how is this done? In Ut Unum Sint, Pope John Paul II offered several key principles that will lead to true ecumenism. First of all, nothing can be accomplished without the conversion of our own hearts. Secondly, we must approach others with sincere humility and charity. We must understand that what we have been given in the Church is a complete gift to us and we must simply have a desire to share that gift with others. The Holy Father finally encouraged engaging in prayer and dialogue with separated brothers and sisters of other churches. Prayer will unite our hearts to desire the will of God alone and dialogue is key to breaking down misconceptions and building relationships of trust.
When authentic Christian unity happens it is a beautiful thing. I recall in my last job as a campus minister at the University of Nebraska the joy of praying weekly with campus ministers of other denominations who were co-laborers in the vineyard on campus. From this experience, relationships of trust were built. Each of us also gained a heart to see the success of the others’ ministry. Looking back, I think everyone else was shocked just to see an on-fire Catholic who wanted to pray with them that students come to know Christ.
Orthodox, Not “Conservative” or “Liberal”
The title of this encyclical letter translates from Latin as “That They Might Be One.” These, of course, are words from the final prayer of Christ to His Father before His death (cf. Jn 17:20-26). This is Christ’s final request — that Christians be unified. How the Heart of Jesus must grieve at the disunity of Christians today! It is nothing less than a scandal to the secular world that Christians live in such discord. Yet, with Christ there always remains hope.
Before delving into the issue of ecumenism between Catholics and those of other denominations, the problem of disunity within the Catholic Church must be addressed. With the recent election of Pope Benedict XVI to the papacy, a buzzword heard in the secular media is that this pope is very “conservative.” While many of Benedict XVI’s views may line up with conservative political ideologies, it would be inaccurate to simply assign him or a sector of the Church as simply “conservative,” “moderate,” or “liberal.” As Fr. Richard John Neuhaus recently said in commenting on such labels, those in the Church must love liberally while at the same time conserving the traditions of the Church. Catholics cannot be characterized in these limited ways. What we should be striving for is to be orthodox Catholics, that is, those following the teaching authority of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church without compromise. Polarization within the Church is a clear attack by the evil one. If we are focused on bickering over doctrine that has already been established by the Magisterium, then we simply will not be seeking out the lost and bringing them this truth. Just think of what your family or sports team can accomplish when it is of one heart and mind rather than divided.
It is clear that unity among believers is also on the heart and mind of Pope Benedict XVI. In the first message of his pontificate the Holy Father proclaimed that a primary commitment of his papacy would be “to work without sparing energies for the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all the followers of Christ. This is his ambition, this is his imperative duty.” A key way this is already being implemented by his Holiness within the Catholic Church is with the appointment of Archbishop William Levada to take up the Holy Father’s former role as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada seems to have gained both friends and enemies on all sides of the political spectrum during his time as Archbishop of San Francisco. In a recent New York Times article Fr. Joseph Fessio, editor of San Francisco-based Ignatius Press, commented that Levada is “someone suspected by the liberals as being too conservative, and suspected by the conservatives as being too liberal.” Yet Fessio assured the press of the archbishop’s orthodoxy when stating: “I can’t imagine that Pope Benedict XVI would have appointed someone to succeed him at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who is not in line with his own policies.” Pope Benedict XVI is sending a signal to the world that our primary theological concern should be orthodoxy, and such adherence to the Magisterium is what will ultimately lead to fuller unity.
Another spiritual leader in the Church who refuses to be pinned down on the political spectrum is Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City. In his insightful book The Reform of Renewal, he explains that he too has been called everything from a “traditionalist” to a “leftist” at one time or another. In his book, he calls everyone on the carpet. Fr. Groeschel explains that authentic renewal cannot happen within the Catholic Church until each of its members first looks inside their own heart to see if Christ is indeed Lord: “The fact is that ideology, no matter how sincerely embraced and existentially correct, is no substitute for real personal conversion.” So regardless of whether you prefer to attend the Latin Mass; you are called to be a public advocate for the poor; you pray rosaries outside abortion clinics; or if you are a theologian wanting to push out into uncharted territory in order to develop age-old doctrine; you are first called to conversion of heart.
An Ongoing Project
Besides the Joint Declaration on Justification, several other movements are afoot attempting to dialogue and build bridges. Eleven years ago prominent leaders from the evangelical and Catholic world wrote the document Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium. In it, these leaders explain that we simply do not agree on everything at this time, but we must begin dialogue to discover where we do agree. The document cites a need to rally together against the forces of cultural relativism that are closing in on the Christian world. The full document can be found on the website of First Things, a Christian periodical committed to affecting public policy by working across denominational lines.
The Orthodox Church has also recently expressed a need to unify with Catholics against cultural relativism. Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Austria’s Russian Orthodox Church indicated such a desire after Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments on battling the “dictatorship of relativism.” Also of note is recent dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans regarding doctrines about the Blessed Virgin Mary. The document is entitled Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ. In it, both groups have come to historic agreements on various Marian doctrines.
Yet, with all of the dialogue that has been encouraged by our recent popes, they have always warned against what is called a false syncretism. This occurs when groups gloss over significant doctrinal differences in order to achieve unity. Authentic unity can only come from agreement on the full truth. Ultimately, what must take place for full unity to occur is the gathering of all under the shepherd appointed by Christ to maintain unity. It is then that we can share in the Eucharistic banquet that unites us as members of the one body of Christ. Until that day arrives, we must learn to heed the words of St. Paul: “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor 13:11).
© Copyright 2005 Catholic Exchange
Justin Frato is the Director of Faith Formation, Church of St. Mary, New Ulm, MN.
