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THE UT UNUM SINT
THAT THEY MAY BE ONE
(May 25, 1995)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
EXHORTATION
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INTRODUCTION
UT UNUM SINT! The call for Christian
unity made by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council with such impassioned commitment is
finding an ever greater echo in the hearts of believers, especially as the Year 2000
approaches, a year which Christians will celebrate as a sacred Jubilee, the commemoration
of the Incarnation of the Son of God, who became man in order to save humanity.
The courageous witness of so many martyrs of
our century, including members of Churches and Ecclesial Communities not in full communion
with the Catholic Church, gives new vigor to the Council's call and reminds us of our duty
to listen to and put into practice its exhortation. These brothers and sisters of ours,
united in the selfless offering of their lives for the Kingdom of God, are the most
powerful proof that every factor of division can be transcended and overcome in the total
gift of self for the sake of the Gospel.
Christ calls all his disciples to
unity. My earnest desire is to renew this call today, to propose it once more with
determination, repeating what I said at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday 1994, at the
end of the meditation on the Via Cruces prepared by my Venerable Brother
Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. There I stated that believers in
Christ, united in following in the footsteps of the martyrs, cannot remain divided. If
they wish truly and effectively to oppose the world's tendency to reduce to powerlessness
the Mystery of Redemption, they must profess together the same truth about the
Cross.[1] The Cross! An anti- Christian outlook seeks to minimize the Cross, to empty
it of its meaning, and to deny that in it man has the source of his new life. It claims
that the Cross is unable to provide either vision or hope. Man, it says, is nothing but an
earthly being, who must live as if God did not exist.
2. No one is unaware of the challenge which
all this poses to believers. They cannot fail to meet this challenge. Indeed, how could
they refuse to do everything possible, with God's help, to break down the walls of
division and distrust, to overcome obstacles and prejudices which thwart the proclamation
of the Gospel of salvation in the Cross of Jesus, the one Redeemer of man, of every
individual?
I thank the Lord that he has led us to make
progress along the path of unity and communion between Christians, a path difficult but so
full of joy. Interconfessional dialogues at the theological level have produced positive
and tangible results: this encourages us to move forward.
Nevertheless, besides the doctrinal
differences needing to be resolved, Christians cannot underestimate the burden of
long-standing misgivings inherited from the past, and of mutual
misunderstandings and prejudices. Complacency, indifference and insufficient knowledge of
one another often make this situation worse. Consequently, the commitment to ecumenism
must be based upon the conversion of hearts and upon prayer, which will also lead to the
necessary purification of past memories. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, the
Lord's disciples, inspired by love, by the power of the truth and by a sincere desire for
mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, are called to re-examine together their painful
past and the hurt which that past regrettably continues to provoke even today. All
together, they are invited by the ever fresh power of the Gospel to acknowledge with
sincere and total objectivity the mistakes made and the contingent factors at work at the
origins of their deplorable divisions. What is needed is a calm, clear-sighted and
truthful vision of things, a vision enlivened by divine mercy and capable of freeing
people's minds and of inspiring in everyone a renewed willingness, precisely with a view
to proclaiming the Gospel to the men and women of every people and nation.
3. At the Second Vatican Council, the
Catholic Church committed herself irrevocably to following the path of the
ecumenical venture, thus heeding the Spirit of the Lord, who teaches people to interpret
carefully the "signs of the times". The experiences of these years have made the
Church even more profoundly aware of her identity and her mission in history. The Catholic
Church acknowledges and confesses the weaknesses of her members, conscious that
their sins are so many betrayals of and obstacles to the accomplishment of the Savior's
plan. Because she feels herself constantly called to be renewed in the spirit of the
Gospel, she does not cease to do penance. At the same time, she acknowledges and exalts
still more the power of the Lord, who fills her with the gift of holiness, leads
her forward, and conforms her to his Passion and Resurrection.
Taught by the events of her history, the
Church is committed to freeing herself from every purely human support, in order to live
in depth the Gospel law of the Beatitudes. Conscious that the truth does not impose itself
except "by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once
quietly and with power",[2] she seeks nothing for herself but the freedom to proclaim
the Gospel. Indeed, her authority is exercised in the service of truth and charity.
I myself intend to promote every
suitable initiative aimed at making the witness of the entire Catholic community
understood in its full purity and consistency, especially considering the engagement which
awaits the Church at the threshold of the new Millennium. That will be an exceptional
occasion, in view of which she asks the Lord to increase the unity of all Christians until
they reach full communion.[3] The present Encyclical Letter is meant as a contribution to
this most noble goal. Essentially pastoral in character, it seeks to encourage the efforts
of all who work for the cause of unity.
4. This is a specific duty of the Bishop of
Rome as the Successor of the Apostle Peter. I carry out this duty with the profound
conviction that I am obeying the Lord, and with a clear sense of my own human frailty.
Indeed, if Christ himself gave Peter this special mission in the Church and exhorted him
to strengthen his brethren, he also made clear to him his human weakness and his special
need of conversion: "And when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren"
(Lk 22:32). It is precisely in Peter's human weakness that it becomes fully clear
that the Pope, in order to carry out this special ministry in the Church, depends totally
on the Lord's grace and prayer: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not
fail" (Lk 22:32). The conversion of Peter and that of his Successors is
upheld by the very prayer of the Redeemer, and the Church constantly makes this petition
her own. In our ecumenical age, marked by the Second Vatican Council, the mission of the
Bishop of Rome is particularly directed to recalling the need for full communion among
Christ's disciples.
The Bishop of Rome himself must fervently
make his own Christ's prayer for that conversion which is indispensable for
"Peter" to be able to serve his brethren. I earnestly invite the faithful of the
Catholic Church and all Christians to share in this prayer. May all join me in praying for
this conversion!
We know that during her earthly pilgrimage
the Church has suffered and will continue to suffer opposition and persecution. But the
hope which sustains her is unshakable, just as the joy which flows from this hope is
indestructible. In effect, the firm and enduring rock upon which she is founded is Jesus
Christ, her Lord.
CHAPTER I -- THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH'S COMMITMENT TO ECUMENISM
God's plan and communion
5. Together with all Christ's disciples, the
Catholic Church bases upon God's plan her ecumenical commitment to gather all Christians
into unity. Indeed, "the Church is not a reality closed in on herself. Rather, she is
permanently open to missionary and ecumenical endeavor, for she is sent to the world to
announce and witness, to make present and spread the mystery of communion which is
essential to her, and to gather all people and all things into Christ, so as to be for all
an 'inseparable sacrament of unity"'.[4]
Already in the Old Testament, the Prophet
Ezekiel, referring to the situation of God's People at that time, and using the simple
sign of two broken sticks which are first divided and then joined together, expressed the
divine will to "gather from all sides" the members of his scattered people.
"I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I
the Lord sanctify Israel" (cf. 37:16-28). The Gospel of John, for its part,
considering the situation of the People of God at the time it was written, sees in Jesus'
death the reason for the unity of God's children: "Jesus would die for the nation,
and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered
abroad" (11:51-52). Indeed, as the Letter to the Ephesians explains, Jesus
"broke down the dividing wall of hostility ... through the Cross, thereby bringing
the hostility to an end"; in place of what was divided he brought about unity (cf.
2:14- 16).
6. The unity of all divided humanity is the
will of God. For this reason he sent his Son, so that by dying and rising for us he might
bestow on us the Spirit of love. On the eve of his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus himself
prayed to the Father for his disciples and for all those who believe in him, that they
might be one, a living communion. This is the basis not only of the duty, but also
of the responsibility before God and his plan, which falls to those who through Baptism
become members of the Body of Christ, a Body in which the fullness of reconciliation and
communion must be made present. How is it possible to remain divided, if we have been
"buried" through Baptism in the Lord's death, in the very act by which God,
through the death of his Son, has broken down the walls of division? Division "openly
contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts
damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News to every creature".[5]
The way of ecumenism: the way of the
Church
7. "The Lord of the Ages wisely and
patiently follows out the plan of his grace on behalf of us sinners. In recent times he
has begun to bestow more generously upon divided Christians remorse over their divisions
and a longing for unity. Everywhere, large numbers have felt the impulse of this grace,
and among our separated brethren also there increases from day to day a movement,
fostered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for the restoration of unity among all
Christians. Taking part in this movement, which is called ecumenical, are those who
invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. They join in not merely as
individuals but also as members of the corporate groups in which they have heard the
Gospel, and which each regards as his Church and, indeed, God's. And yet almost everyone,
though in different ways, longs that there may be one visible Church of God, a
Church truly universal and sent forth to the whole world that the world may be converted
to the Gospel and so be saved, to the glory of God".[6]
8. This statement of the Decree Unitatis
Redintegratio is to be read in the context of the complete teaching of the Second
Vatican Council. The Council expresses the Church's decision to take up the ecumenical
task of working for Christian unity and to propose it with conviction and vigour:
"This sacred Synod exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the
times and to participate actively in the work of ecumenism".[7]
In indicating the Catholic principles of
ecumenism, the Decree Unitatis Redintegratio recalls above all the teaching on the
Church set forth in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium in its chapter on the
People of God.[8] At the same time, it takes into account everything affirmed in the
Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae.[9]
The Catholic Church embraces with hope the
commitment to ecumenism as a duty of the Christian conscience enlightened by faith and
guided by love. Here too we can apply the words of Saint Paul to the first Christians of
Rome: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit"; thus
our "hope does not disappoint us" (Rom 5:5). This is the hope of
Christian unity, which has its divine source in the Trinitarian unity of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit.
9. Jesus himself, at the hour of his
Passion, prayed "that they may all be one" (Jn 17:21). This unity, which
the Lord has bestowed on his Church and in which he wishes to embrace all people, is not
something added on, but stands at the very heart of Christ's mission. Nor is it some
secondary attribute of the community of his disciples. Rather, it belongs to the very
essence of this community. God wills the Church, because he wills unity, and unity is an
expression of the whole depth of his agape.
In effect, this unity bestowed by the Holy
Spirit does not merely consist in the gathering of people as a collection of individuals.
It is a unity constituted by the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments and
hierarchical communion.[10] The faithful are one because, in the Spirit, they are
in communion with the Son and, in him, share in his communion with the
Father: "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus
Christ" (1 Jn 1:3). For the Catholic Church, then, the communion of
Christians is none other than the manifestation in them of the grace by which God makes
them sharers in his own communion, which is his eternal life. Christ's words
"that they may be one" are thus his prayer to the Father that the Father's plan
may be fully accomplished, in such a way that everyone may clearly see "what is the
plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things" (Eph 3:9).
To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to
desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father's
plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ's prayer: "Ut unum
sint".
10. In the present situation of the lack of
unity among Christians and of the confident quest for full communion, the Catholic
faithful are conscious of being deeply challenged by the Lord of the Church. The Second
Vatican Council strengthened their commitment with a clear ecclesiological vision, open to
all the ecclesial values present among other Christians. The Catholic faithful face the
ecumenical question in a spirit of faith.
The Council states that the Church of Christ
"subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the Successor of Peter and by
the Bishops in communion with him", and at the same time acknowledges that "many
elements of sanctification and of truth can be found outside her visible structure. These
elements, however, as gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, possess an inner
dynamism towards Catholic unity".[11]
"It follows that these separated
Churches and Communities, though we believe that they suffer from defects, have by no
means been deprived of significance and value in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit
of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their
efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic
Church".[12]
11. The Catholic Church thus affirms that
during the two thousand years of her history she has been preserved in unity, with all the
means with which God wishes to endow his Church, and this despite the often grave crises
which have shaken her, the infidelity of some of her ministers, and the faults into which
her members daily fall. The Catholic Church knows that, by virtue of the strength which
comes to her from the Spirit, the weaknesses, mediocrity, sins and at times the betrayals
of some of her children cannot destroy what God has bestowed on her as part of his plan of
grace. Moreover, "the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Mt
16:18). Even so, the Catholic Church does not forget that many among her members cause
God's plan to be discernible only with difficulty. Speaking of the lack of unity among
Christians, the Decree on Ecumenism does not ignore the fact that "people of both
sides were to blame",[13] and acknowledges that responsibility cannot be attributed
only to the "other side". By God's grace, however, neither what belongs to the
structure of the Church of Christ nor that communion which still exists with the other
Churches and Ecclesial Communities has been destroyed.
Indeed, the elements of sanctification and
truth present in the other Christian Communities, in a degree which varies from one to the
other, constitute the objective basis of the communion, albeit imperfect, which exists
between them and the Catholic Church.
To the extent that these elements are found
in other Christian Communities, the one Church of Christ is effectively present in them.
For this reason the Second Vatican Council speaks of a certain, though imperfect
communion. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium stresses that the Catholic Church
"recognizes that in many ways she is linked"[14] with these Communities by a
true union in the Holy Spirit.
12. The same Dogmatic Constitution listed at
length "the elements of sanctification and truth" which in various ways are
present and operative beyond the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church: "For
there are many who honor Sacred Scripture, taking it as a norm of belief and of action,
and who show a true religious zeal. They lovingly believe in God the Father Almighty and
in Christ, Son of God and Savior. They are consecrated by Baptism, through which they are
united with Christ. They also recognize and receive other sacraments within their own
Churches or Ecclesial Communities. Many of them rejoice in the episcopate, celebrate the
Holy Eucharist, and cultivate devotion towards the Virgin Mother of God. They also share
with us in prayer and other spiritual benefits. Likewise, we can say that in some real way
they are joined with us in the Holy Spirit, for to them also he gives his gifts and
graces, and is thereby operative among them with his sanctifying power. Some indeed he has
strengthened to the extent of the shedding of their blood. In all of Christ's disciples
the Spirit arouses the desire to be peacefully united, in the manner determined by Christ,
as one flock under one shepherd".[15]
The Council's Decree on Ecumenism, referring
to the Orthodox Churches, went so far as to declare that "through the celebration of
the Eucharist of the Lord in each of these Churches, the Church of God is built up and
grows in stature"[16] Truth demands that all this be recognized.
13. The same Document carefully draws out
the doctrinal implications of this situation. Speaking of the members of these
Communities, it declares: "All those justified by faith through Baptism are
incorporated into Christ. They therefore have a right to be honored by the title of
Christian, and are properly regarded as brothers and sisters in the Lord by the sons and
daughters of the Catholic Church".[17]
With reference to the many positive elements
present in the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, the Decree adds: "All of
these, which come from Christ and lead back to him, belong by right to the one Church of
Christ. The separated brethren also carry out many of the sacred actions of the Christian
religion. Undoubtedly, in many ways that vary according to the condition of each Church or
Community, these actions can truly engender a life of grace, and can be rightly described
as capable of providing access to the community of salvation".[18]
These are extremely important texts for
ecumenism. It is not that beyond the boundaries of the Catholic community there is an
ecclesial vacuum. Many elements of great value (eximia), which in the Catholic
Church are part of the fullness of the means of salvation and of the gifts of grace which
make up the Church, are also found in the other Christian Communities.
14. All these elements bear within
themselves a tendency towards unity, having their fullness in that unity. It is not a
matter of adding together all the riches scattered throughout the various Christian
Communities in order to arrive at a Church which God has in mind for the future. In
accordance with the great Tradition, attested to by the Fathers of the East and of the
West, the Catholic Church believes that in the Pentecost Event God has already
manifested the Church in her eschatological reality, which he had prepared "from the
time of Abel, the just one".[19] This reality is something already given.
Consequently we are even now in the last times. The elements of this already-given Church
exist, found in their fullness in the Catholic Church and, without this fullness, in the
other Communities,[20] where certain features of the Christian mystery have at times been
more effectively emphasized. Ecumenism is directed precisely to making the partial
communion existing between Christians grow towards full communion in truth and charity.
Renewal and conversion
15. Passing from principles, from the
obligations of the Christian conscience, to the actual practice of the ecumenical journey
towards unity, the Second Vatican Council emphasizes above all the need for interior
conversion. The messianic proclamation that "the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of
God is at hand", and the subsequent call to "repent, and believe in the
Gospel" (Mk 1:15) with which Jesus begins his mission, indicate the essential
element of every new beginning: the fundamental need for evangelization at every stage of
the Church's journey of salvation. This is true in a special way of the process begun by
the Second Vatican Council, when it indicated as a dimension of renewal the ecumenical
task of uniting divided Christians. "There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name
without a change of heart".[21]
The Council calls for personal conversion as
well as for communal conversion. The desire of every Christian Community for unity goes
hand in hand with its fidelity to the Gospel. In the case of individuals who live their
Christian vocation, the Council speaks of interior conversion, of a renewal of mind.[22]
Each one therefore ought to be more
radically converted to the Gospel and, without ever losing sight of God's plan, change his
or her way of looking at things. Thanks to ecumenism, our contemplation of "the
mighty works of God" (mirabilia Dei) has been enriched by new horizons, for
which the Triune God calls us to give thanks: the knowledge that the Spirit is at work in
other Christian Communities, the discovery of examples of holiness, the experience of the
immense riches present in the communion of saints, and contact with unexpected dimensions
of Christian commitment. In a corresponding way, there is an increased sense of the need
for repentance: an awareness of certain exclusions which seriously harm fraternal charity,
of certain refusals to forgive, of a certain pride, of an unevangelical insistence on
condemning the "other side", of a disdain born of an unhealthy presumption.
Thus, the entire life of Christians is marked by a concern for ecumenism; and they are
called to let themselves be shaped, as it were, by that concern.
16. In the teaching of the Second Vatican
Council there is a clear connection between renewal, conversion and reform. The Council
states that "Christ summons the Church, as she goes her pilgrim way, to that
continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is an institution of
human beings here on earth. Therefore, if the influence of events or of the times has led
to deficiencies ... these should be appropriately rectified at the proper
moment".[23] No Christian Community can exempt itself from this call.
By engaging in frank dialogue, Communities
help one another to look at themselves together in the light of the Apostolic Tradition.
This leads them to ask themselves whether they truly express in an adequate way all that
the Holy Spirit has transmitted through the Apostles.[24] With regard to the Catholic
Church, I have frequently recalled these obligations and perspectives, as for example on
the anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus'[25] or in commemorating the eleven
hundred years since the evangelizing activity of Saints Cyril and Methodius.[26] More
recently, the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism,
issued with my approval by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has
applied them to the pastoral sphere.[27]
17. With regard to other Christians, the
principal documents of the Commission on Faith and Order[28] and the statements of
numerous bilateral dialogues have already provided Christian Communities with useful tools
for discerning what is necessary to the ecumenical movement and to the conversion which it
must inspire. These studies are important from two points of view: they demonstrate the
remarkable progress already made, and they are a source of hope inasmuch as they represent
a sure foundation for further study.
The increase of fellowship in a reform which
is continuous and carried out in the light of the Apostolic Tradition is certainly, in the
present circumstances of Christians, one of the distinctive and most important aspects of
ecumenism. Moreover, it is an essential guarantee for its future. The faithful of the
Catholic Church cannot forget that the ecumenical thrust of the Second Vatican Council is
one consequence of all that the Church at that time committed herself to doing in order to
re-examine herself in the light of the Gospel and the great Tradition. My Predecessor,
Pope John XXIII, understood this clearly: in calling the Council, he refused to separate
renewal from ecumenical openness.[29] At the conclusion of the Council, Pope Paul VI
solemnly sealed the Council's commitment to ecumenism, renewing the dialogue of charity
with the Churches in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople, and joining the
Patriarch in the concrete and profoundly significant gesture which "condemned to
oblivion" and "removed from memory and from the midst of the Church" the
excommunications of the past. It is worth recalling that the establishment of a special
body for ecumenical matters coincided with the launching of preparations for the Second
Vatican Council[30] and that through this body the opinions and judgments of the other
Christian Communities played a part in the great debates about Revelation, the Church, the
nature of ecumenism and religious freedom.
The fundamental importance of
doctrine
18. Taking up an idea expressed by Pope John
XXIII at the opening of the Council,[31] the Decree on Ecumenism mentions the way of
formulating doctrine as one of the elements of a continuing reform.[32] Here it is not a
question of altering the deposit of faith, changing the meaning of dogmas, eliminating
essential words from them, accommodating truth to the preferences of a particular age, or
suppressing certain articles of the Creed under the false pretext that they are no
longer understood today. The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of
all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is
in contradiction with God who is Truth. In the Body of Christ, "the way, and the
truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6), who could consider legitimate a
reconciliation brought about at the expense of the truth? The Council's Declaration on
Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae attributes to human dignity the quest for
truth, "especially in what concerns God and his Church",[33] and adherence to
truth's demands. A "being together" which betrayed the truth would thus be
opposed both to the nature of God who offers his communion and to the need for truth found
in the depths of every human heart.
19. Even so, doctrine needs to be presented
in a way that makes it understandable to those for whom God himself intends it. In my
Encyclical Epistle Slavorum Apostoli, I recalled that this was the very reason why
Saints Cyril and Methodius labored to translate the ideas of the Bible and the concepts of
Greek theology in the context of very different historical experiences and ways of
thinking. They wanted the one word of God to be "made accessible in each
civilization's own forms of expression".[34] They recognized that they could not
therefore "impose on the peoples assigned to their preaching either the undeniable
superiority of the Greek language and Byzantine culture, or the customs and way of life of
the more advanced society in which they had grown up".[35] Thus they put into
practice that "perfect communion in love which preserves the Church from all forms of
particularism, ethnic exclusivism or racial prejudice, and from any nationalistic
arrogance".[36] In the same spirit, I did not hesitate to say to the Aboriginal
Peoples of Australia: "You do not have to be divided into two parts ... Jesus calls
you to accept his words and his values into your own culture".[37] Because by its
nature the content of faith is meant for all humanity, it must be translated into all
cultures. Indeed, the element which determines communion in truth is the meaning of
truth. The expression of truth can take different forms. The renewal of these forms of
expression becomes necessary for the sake of transmitting to the people of today the
Gospel message in its unchanging meaning.[38]
"This renewal therefore has notable
ecumenical significance".[39] And not only renewal in which the faith is expressed,
but also of the very life of faith. It might therefore be asked: who is responsible for
doing this? To this question the Council replies clearly: "Concern for restoring
unity pertains to the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike. It extends to everyone,
according to the ability of each, whether it be exercised in daily Christian living or in
theological and historical studies".[40]
20. All this is extremely important and of
fundamental significance for ecumenical activity. Thus it is absolutely dear 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; it must be like the fruit borne by a healthy and flourishing tree which
grows to its full stature.
This is what Pope John XIII believed about
the unity of the Church and how he saw full Christian unity. With regard to other
Christians, to the great Christian family, he observed: "What unites us is much
greater than what divides us". The Second Vatican Council for its part exhorts
"all Christ's faithful to remember that the more purely they strive to live according
to the Gospel, the more they are fostering and even practicing Christian unity. For they
can achieve depth and ease in strengthening mutual brotherhood to the degree that they
enjoy profound communion with the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit".[41]
The primacy of prayer
21. "This change of heart and
holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians,
should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and can rightly be called
'spiritual ecumenism'."[42]
We proceed along the road leading to the
conversion of hearts guided by love which is directed to God and, at the same time, to all
our brothers and sisters, including those not in full communion with us. Love gives rise
to the desire for unity, even in those who have never been aware of the need for it. Love
builds communion between individuals and between Communities. If we love one another, we
strive to deepen our communion and make it perfect. Love is given to God as the
perfect source of communion-the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit-that we may draw from
that source the strength to build communion between individuals and Communities, or to
re-establish it between Christians still divided. Love is the great undercurrent which
gives life and adds vigour to the movement towards unity.
This love finds its most complete
expression in common prayer. When brothers and sisters who are not in perfect
communion with one another come together to pray, the Second Vatican Council defines their
prayer as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement. This prayer is "a very
effective means of petitioning for the grace of unity", "a genuine
expression of the ties which even now bind Catholics to their separated
brethren".[43] Even when prayer is not specifically offered for Christian unity,
but for other intentions such as peace, it actually becomes an expression and confirmation
of unity. The common prayer of Christians is an invitation to Christ himself to visit the
community of those who call upon him: "Where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20).
22. When Christians pray together, the goal
of unity seems closer. The long history of Christians marked by many divisions seems to
converge once more because it tends towards that Source of its unity which is Jesus
Christ. He "is the same yesterday, today and forever!" (Heb 13:8). In
the fellowship of prayer Christ is truly present; he prays "in us", "with
us" and "for us". It is he who leads our prayer in the Spirit-Consoler whom
he promised and then bestowed on his Church in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, when he
established her in her original unity.
Along the ecumenical path to unity, pride of
place certainly belongs to common prayer, the prayerful union of those who gather together
around Christ himself. If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united
in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little
divides them in comparison to what unites them. If they meet more often and more regularly
before Christ in prayer, they will be able to gain the courage to face all the painful
human reality of their divisions, and they will find themselves together once more in that
community of the Church which Christ constantly builds up in the Holy Spirit, in spite of
all weaknesses and human limitations.
23. Finally, fellowship in prayer leads
people to look at the Church and Christianity in a new way. It must not be forgotten
in fact that the Lord prayed to the Father that his disciples might be one, so that their
unity might bear witness to his mission and the world would believe that the Father had
sent him (cf. Jn 17:21). It can be said that the ecumenical movement in a certain
sense was born out of the negative experience of each one of those who, in proclaiming the
one Gospel, appealed to his own Church or Ecclesial Community. This was a contradiction
which could not escape those who listened to the message of salvation and found in this
fact an obstacle to acceptance of the Gospel. Regrettably, this grave obstacle has not
been overcome. It is true that we are not yet in full communion. And yet, despite our
divisions, we are on the way towards full unity, that unity which marked the Apostolic
Church at its birth and which we sincerely seek. Our common prayer, inspired by faith, is
proof of this. In that prayer, we gather together in the name of Christ who is One. He is
our unity.
"Ecumenical" prayer is at the
service of the Christian mission and its credibility. It must thus be especially
present in the life of the Church and in every activity aimed at fostering Christian
unity. It is as if we constantly need to go back and meet in the Upper Room of Holy
Thursday, even though our presence together in that place will not be perfect until the
obstacles to full ecclesial communion are overcome and all Christians can gather together
in the common celebration of the Eucharist.[44]
24. It is a source of joy to see that the
many ecumenical meetings almost always include and indeed culminate in prayer. The
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated in January or, in some countries,
around Pentecost, has become a widespread and well established tradition. But there are
also many other occasions during the year when Christians are led to pray together. In
this context, I wish to mention the special experience of the Pope's pilgrimages to
the various Churches in the different continents and countries of the present-day
oikoumene. I am very conscious that it was the Second Vatican Council which led
the Pope to exercise his apostolic ministry in this particular way. Even more can be said.
The Council made these visits of the Pope a specific responsibility in carrying out the
role of the Bishop of Rome at the service of communion.[45] My visits have almost always
included an ecumenical meeting and common prayer with our brothers and sisters who
seek unity in Christ and in his Church. With profound emotion I remember praying
together with the Primate of the Anglican Communion at Canterbury Cathedral (29 May 1982);
in that magnificent edifice, I saw "an eloquent witness both to our long years of
common inheritance and to the sad years of division that followed".[46] Nor can I
forget the meetings held in the Scandinavian and Nordic Countries (1-10 June 1989), in
North and South America and in Africa, and at the headquarters of the World Council of
Churches (12 June 1984), the organization committed to calling its member Churches and
Ecclesial Communities "to the goal of visible unity in one faith and in one
Eucharistic fellowship expressed in worship and in common life in Christ".[47] And
how could I ever forget taking part in the Eucharistic Liturgy in the Church of Saint
George at the Ecumenical Patriarchate (30 November 1979), and the service held in Saint
Peter's Basilica during the visit to Rome of my Venerable Brother, Patriarch Dimitrios I
(6 December 1987)? On that occasion, at the Altar of the Confession, we recited together
the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed according to its original Greek text. It is hard to
describe in a few words the unique nature of each of these occasions of prayer. Given the
differing ways in which each of these meetings was conditioned by past events, each had
its own special eloquence. They have all become part of the Church's memory as she is
guided by the Paraclete to seek the full unity of all believers in Christ.
25. It is not just the Pope who has become a
pilgrim. In recent years, many distinguished leaders of other Churches and Ecclesial
Communities have visited me in Rome, and I have been able to join them in prayer, both in
public and in private. I have already mentioned the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch
Dimitrios I. I would now like to recall the prayer meeting, also held in Saint Peter's
Basilica, at which I joined the Lutheran Archbishops, the Primates of Sweden and Finland,
for the celebration of Vespers on the occasion of the Sixth Centenary of the Canonization
of Saint Birgitta (5 October 1991). This is just one example, because awareness of the
duty to pray for unity has become an integral part of the Church's life. There is no
important or significant event which does not benefit from Christians coming together and
praying. It is impossible for me to give a complete list of such meetings, even though
each one deserves to be mentioned. Truly the Lord has taken us by the hand and is guiding
us. These exchanges and these prayers have already written pages and pages of our
"Book of unity", a "Book" which we must constantly return to and
re-read so as to draw from it new inspiration and hope.
26. Prayer, the community at prayer, enables
us always to discover anew the evangelical truth of the words: "You have one
Father" (Mt 23:9), the Father- Abba-invoked by Christ himself,
the Only-begotten and Consubstantial Son. And again: "You have one teacher, and
you are all brethren" (Mt 23:8). "Ecumenical" prayer discloses
this fundamental dimension of brotherhood in Christ, who died to gather together the
children of God who were scattered, so that in becoming "sons and daughters in the
Son" (cf. Eph 1:5) we might show forth more fully both the mysterious reality
of God's fatherhood and the truth about the human nature shared by each and every
individual.
"Ecumenical" prayer, as the prayer
of brothers and sisters, expresses all this. Precisely because they are separated from one
another, they meet in Christ with all the more hope, entrusting to him the future of
their unity and their communion. Here too we can appropriately apply the teaching of
the Council: "The Lord Jesus, when he prayed to the Father 'that all may be one
... as we are one' (Jn 17:21-22), opened up vistas closed to human reason For
he implied a certain likeness between the union of the Divine Persons, and the union of
God's children in truth and charity".[48]
The change of heart which is the essential
condition for every authentic search for unity flows from prayer and its realization is
guided by prayer: "For it is from newness of attitudes, from self-denial and
unstinted love, that yearnings for unity take their rise and grow towards maturity. We
should therefore pray to the divine Spirit for the grace to be genuinely
self-denying, humble, gentle in the service of others, and to have an attitude of
brotherly generosity towards them".[49]
27. Praying for unity is not a matter
reserved only to those who actually experience the lack of unity among Christians. In the
deep personal dialogue which each of us must carry on with the Lord in prayer, concern for
unity cannot be absent. Only in this way, in fact, will that concern fully become part of
the reality of our life and of the commitments we have taken on in the Church. It was in
order to reaffirm this duty that I set before the faithful of the Catholic Church a model
which I consider exemplary, the model of a Trappistine Sister, Blessed Marta Gabriella
of Unity, whom I beatified on 25 January 1983.[50] Sister Maria Gabriella, called by
her vocation to be apart from the world, devoted her life to meditation and prayer
centered on chapter seventeen of Saint John's Gospel, and offered her life for Christian
unity. This is truly the cornerstone of all prayer: the total and unconditional offering
of one's life to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. The example of Sister
Maria Gabriella is instructive; it helps us to understand that there are no special times,
situations or places of prayer for unity. Christ's prayer to the Father is offered as a
model for everyone, always and everywhere.
Ecumenical dialogue
28. If prayer is the "soul" of
ecumenical renewal and of the yearning for unity, it is the basis and support for
everything the Council defines as "dialogue". This definition is
certainly not unrelated to today's personalist way of thinking. The capacity for
"dialogue" is rooted in the nature of the person and his dignity. As seen by
philosophy, this approach is linked to the Christian truth concerning man as expressed by
the Council: man is in fact "the only creature on earth which God willed for
itself"; thus he cannot "fully find himself except through a sincere gift of
himself".[51] Dialogue is an indispensable step along the path towards human
self-realization, the self-realization both of each individual and of
every human community. Although the concept of "dialogue" might appear to
give priority to the cognitive dimension (dia-logos), all dialogue implies a
global, existential dimension. It involves the human subject in his or her entirety;
dialogue between communities involves in a particular way the subjectivity of each.
This truth about dialogue, so profoundly
expressed by Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical Ecclesiam Suam,[52] was also taken up
by the Council in its teaching and ecumenical activity. Dialogue is not simply an exchange
of ideas. In some way it is always an "exchange of gifts".[53]
29. For this reason, the Council's Decree on
Ecumenism also emphasizes the importance of "every effort to eliminate words,
judgments, and actions which do not respond to the condition of separated brethren with
truth and fairness and so make mutual relations between them more difficult".[54] The
Decree approaches the question from the standpoint of the Catholic Church and refers to
the criteria which she must apply in relation to other Christians. In all this, however,
reciprocity is required. To follow these criteria is a commitment of each of the parties
which desire to enter into dialogue and it is a precondition for starting such dialogue.
It is necessary to pass from antagonism and conflict to a situation where each party
recognizes the other as a partner. When undertaking dialogue, each side must
presuppose in the other a desire for reconciliation, for unity in truth. For
this to happen, any display of mutual opposition must disappear. Only thus will dialogue
help to overcome division and lead us closer to unity.
30. It can be said, with a sense of lively
gratitude to the Spirit of Truth, that the Second Vatican Council was a blessed time,
during which the bases for the Catholic Church's participation in ecumenical dialogue were
laid. At the same time, the presence of many observers from various Churches and Ecclesial
Communities, their deep involvement in the events of the Council, the many meetings and
the common prayer which the Council made possible, also helped bring about the
conditions for dialogue with one another. During the Council, the representatives of
other Churches and Ecclesial Communities experienced the readiness of the worldwide
Catholic Episcopate, and in particular of the Apostolic See, to engage in dialogue.
Local structures of dialogue
31. The Church's commitment to ecumenical
dialogue, as it has clearly appeared since the Council, far from being the responsibility
of the Apostolic See alone, is also the duty of individual local or particular Churches.
Special commissions for fostering the ecumenical spirit and ecumenical activity have been
set up by the Bishops' Conferences and the Synods of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Suitable structures similar to these are operating in individual Dioceses. These
initiatives are a sign of the widespread practical commitment of the Catholic Church to
apply the Council's guidelines on ecumenism: this is an essential aspect of the ecumenical
movement.[55] Dialogue has not only been undertaken; it has become an outright
necessity, one of the Church's priorities. As a result, the "methods" of
dialogue have been improved, which in turn has helped the spirit of dialogue to grow. In
this context mention has to be made in the first place of "dialogue between competent
experts from different Churches and Communities. In their meetings, which are organized in
a religious spirit, each explains the teaching of his Communion in greater depth and
brings out dearly its distinctive features".[56] Moreover, it is useful for all the
faithful to be familiar with the method which makes dialogue possible.
32. As the Council's Declaration on
Religious Freedom affirms: "Truth is to be sought after in a manner proper to the
dignity of the human person and his social nature. The inquiry is to be free, carried on
with the aid of teaching or instruction, communication, and dialogue. In the course of
these, people explain to one another the truth they have discovered, or think they have
discovered, in order thus to assist one another in the quest for truth. Moreover, as the
truth is discovered, it is by a personal assent that individuals are to adhere to
it"[57]
Ecumenical dialogue is of essential
importance. "Through such dialogue everyone gains a truer knowledge and more just
appreciation of the teaching and religious life of both Communions. In addition, these
Communions cooperate more closely in whatever projects a Christian conscience
demands for the common good. They also come together for common prayer, where that is
permitted. Finally, all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will for the
Church and, wherever necessary, undertake with vigour the tasks of renewal and
reform".[58]
Dialogue as an examination of
conscience
33. In the Council's thinking, ecumenical
dialogue is marked by a common quest for truth, particularly concerning the Church. In
effect, truth forms consciences and directs efforts to promote unity. At the same time, it
demands that the consciences and actions of Christians, as brethren divided from one
another, should be inspired by and submissive to Christ's prayer for unity. There is a
close relationship between prayer and dialogue. Deeper and more conscious prayer makes
dialogue more fruitful. If on the one hand, dialogue depends on prayer, so, in another
sense, prayer also becomes the ever more mature fruit of dialogue.
34. Thanks to ecumenical dialogue we can
speak of a greater maturity in our common prayer for one another. This is possible
inasmuch as dialogue also serves as an examination of conscience. In this context,
how can we fail to recall the words of the First Letter of John? "If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is
faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
(1:8-9). John even goes so far as to state: "If we say that we have not sinned, we
make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1:10). Such a radical exhortation to
acknowledge our condition as sinners ought also to mark the spirit which we bring to
ecumenical dialogue. If such dialogue does not become an examination of conscience, a kind
of "dialogue of consciences", can we count on the assurance which the First
Letter of John gives us? "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you
may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but
also for the sins of the whole world" (2:1-2). All the sins of the world were
gathered up in the saving sacrifice of Christ, including the sins committed against the
Church's unity: the sins of Christians, those of the pastors no less than those of the lay
faithful. Even after the many sins which have contributed to our historical divisions,
Christian unity is possible, provided that we are humbly conscious of having
sinned against unity and are convinced of our need for conversion. Not only personal sins
must be forgiven and left behind, but also social sins, which is to say the sinful
"structures" themselves which have contributed and can still contribute to
division and to the reinforcing of division.
35. Here once again the Council proves
helpful. It can be said that the entire Decree on Ecumenism is permeated by the spirit of
conversion.[59] In the Document, ecumenical dialogue takes on a specific characteristic;
it becomes a "dialogue of conversion", and thus, in the words of Pope
Paul VI, an authentic "dialogue of salvation".[60] Dialogue cannot take place
merely on a horizontal level, being restricted to meetings, exchanges of points of view or
even the sharing of gifts proper to each Community. It has also a primarily vertical
thrust, directed towards the One who, as the Redeemer of the world and the Lord of
history, is himself our Reconciliation. This vertical aspect of dialogue lies in our
acknowledgment, jointly and to each other, that we are men and women who have sinned. It
is precisely this acknowledgment which creates in brothers and sisters living in
Communities not in full communion with one another that interior space where Christ, the
source of the Church's unity, can effectively act, with all the power of his Spirit, the
Paraclete.
Dialogue as a means of resolving
disagreements
36. Dialogue is also a natural instrument
for comparing differing points of view and, above all, for examining those disagreements
which hinder full communion between Christians. The Decree on Ecumenism dwells in the
first place on a description of the attitudes under which doctrinal discussions should
take place: "Catholic theologians engaged in ecumenical dialogue, while standing fast
by the teaching of the Church and searching together with separated brothers and sisters
into the divine mysteries, should act with love for truth, with charity, and with
humility".[61]
Love for the truth is the deepest dimension
of any authentic quest for full communion between Christians. Without this love it would
be impossible to face the objective theological, cultural, psychological and social
difficulties which appear when disagreements are examined. This dimension, which is
interior and personal, must be inseparably accompanied by a spirit of charity and
humility. There must be charity towards one's partner in dialogue, and humility with
regard to the truth which comes to light and which might require a review of assertions
and attitudes.
With regard to the study of areas of
disagreement, the Council requires that the whole body of doctrine be clearly presented.
At the same time, it asks that the manner and method of expounding the Catholic faith
should not be a hindrance to dialogue with our brothers and sisters.[62] Certainly it is
possible to profess one's faith and to explain its teaching in a way that is correct, fair
and understandable, and which at the same time takes into account both the way of thinking
and the actual historical experiences of the other party.
Full communion of course will have to come
about through the acceptance of the whole truth into which the Holy Spirit guides Christ's
disciples. Hence all forms of reductionism or facile "agreement" must be
absolutely avoided. Serious questions must be resolved, for if not, they will reappear at
another time, either in the same terms or in a different guise.
37. The Decree Unitatis
Redintegratio also indicates a criterion to be followed when Catholics are presenting
or comparing doctrines: "They should remember that in Catholic teaching there exists
an order or 'hierarchy' of truths, since they vary in their relationship to the foundation
of the Christian faith. Thus the way will be opened for this kind of fraternal rivalry to
incite all to a deeper realization and a clearer expression of the unfathomable riches of
Christ".[63]
38. In dialogue, one inevitably comes up
against the problem of the different formulations whereby doctrine is expressed in the
various Churches and Ecclesial Communities. This has more than one consequence for the
work of ecumenism.
In the first place, with regard to doctrinal
formulations which differ from those normally in use in the community to which one
belongs, it is certainly right to determine whether the words involved say the same thing.
This has been ascertained in the case for example of the recent common declarations signed
by my Predecessors or by myself with the Patriarchs of Churches with which for centuries
there have been disputes about Christology. As far as the formulation of revealed truths
is concerned, the Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae states: "Even though the
truths which the Church intends to teach through her dogmatic formulas are distinct from
the changeable conceptions of a given epoch and can be expressed without them,
nevertheless it can sometimes happen that these truths may be enunciated by the Sacred
Magisterium in terms that bear traces of such conceptions. In view of this, it must be
stated that the dogmatic formulas of the Church's Magisterium were from the very
beginning suitable for communicating revealed truth, and that as they are they remain for
ever suitable for communicating this truth to those who interpret them
correctly".[64] In this regard, ecumenical dialogue, which prompts the parties
involved to question each other, to understand each other and to explain their positions
to each other, makes surprising discoveries possible. Intolerant polemics and
controversies have made incompatible assertions out of what was really the result of two
different ways of looking at the same reality. Nowadays we need to find the formula which,
by capturing the reality in its entirety, will enable us to move beyond partial readings
and eliminate false interpretations.
One of the advantages of ecumenism is that
it helps Christian Communities to discover the unfathomable riches of the truth. Here too,
everything that the Spirit brings about in "others" can serve for the building
up of all Communities[65] and in a certain sense instruct them in the mystery of Christ.
Authentic ecumenism is a gift at the service of truth.
39. Finally, dialogue puts before the
participants real and genuine disagreements in matters of faith. Above all, these
disagreements should be faced in a sincere spirit of fraternal charity, of respect for the
demands of one's own conscience and of the conscience of the other party, with profound
humility and love for the truth. The examination of such disagreements has two essential
points of reference: Sacred Scripture and the great Tradition of the Church. Catholics
have the help of the Church's living Magisterium.
Practical cooperation
40. Relations between Christians are not
aimed merely at mutual knowledge, common prayer and dialogue. They presuppose and from now
on call for every possible form of practical cooperation at all levels: pastoral, cultural
and social, as well as that of witnessing to the Gospel message.[66]
"Cooperation among all Christians
vividly expresses that bond which already unites them, and it sets in clearer relief the
features of Christ the Servant".[67] This cooperation based on our common faith is
not only filled with fraternal communion, but is a manifestation of Christ himself.
Moreover, ecumenical cooperation is a true
school of ecumenism, a dynamic road to unity. Unity of action leads to the full unity of
faith: "Through such cooperation, all believers in Christ are able to learn easily
how they can understand each other better and esteem each other more, and how the road to
the unity of Christians may be made smooth".[68]
In the eyes of the world, cooperation among
Christians becomes a form of common Christian witness and a means of evangelization which
benefits all involved.
CHAPTER II -- THE
FRUITS OF DIALOGUE
Brotherhood rediscovered
41. What has been said above about
ecumenical dialogue since the end of the Council inspires us to give thanks to the Spirit
of Truth promised by Christ the Lord to the Apostles and the Church (cf. Jn
14:26). It is the first time in history that efforts on behalf of Christian unity have
taken on such great proportions and have become so extensive. This is truly an immense
gift of God, one which deserves all our gratitude. From the fullness of Christ we receive
"grace upon grace" (Jn 1:16). An appreciation of how much God has
already given is the condition which disposes us to receive those gifts still
indispensable for bringing to completion the ecumenical work of unity.
An overall view of the last thirty years
enables us better to appreciate many of the fruits of this common conversion to the Gospel
which the Spirit of God has brought about by means of the ecumenical movement.
42. It happens for example that, in the
spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, Christians of one confession no longer consider other
Christians as enemies or strangers but see them as brothers and sisters. Again, the very
expression separated brethren tends to be replaced today by expressions which more
readily evoke the deep communion -linked to the baptismal character-which the Spirit
fosters in spite of historical and canonical divisions. Today we speak of "other
Christians", "others who have received Baptism", and "Christians of
other Communities". The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on
Ecumenism refers to the Communities to which these Christians belong as "Churches
and Ecclesial Communities that are not in full communion with the Catholic
Church".[69] This broadening of vocabulary is indicative of a significant change in
attitudes. There is an increased awareness that we all belong to Christ. I have personally
been able many times to observe this during the ecumenical celebrations which are an
important part of my Apostolic Visits to various parts of the world, and also in the
meetings and ecumenical celebrations which have taken place in Rome. The "universal
brotherhood" of Christians has become a firm ecumenical conviction. Consigning to
oblivion the excommunications of the past, Communities which were once rivals are now in
many cases helping one another: places of worship are sometimes lent out; scholarships are
offered for the training of ministers in the Communities most lacking in resources;
approaches are made to civil authorities on behalf of other Christians who are unjustly
persecuted; and the slander to which certain groups are subjected is shown to be
unfounded.
In a word, Christians have been converted to
a fraternal charity which embraces all Christ's disciples. If it happens that, as a result
of violent political disturbances, a certain aggressiveness or a spirit of vengeance
appears, the leaders of the parties in question generally work to make the "New
Law" of the spirit of charity prevail. Unfortunately, this spirit has not been able
to transform every situation where brutal conflict rages. In such circumstances those
committed to ecumenism are often required to make choices which are truly heroic.
It needs be reaffirmed in this regard that
acknowledging our brotherhood is not the consequence of a large-hearted philanthropy or a
vague family spirit. It is rooted in recognition of the oneness of Baptism and the
subsequent duty to glorify God in his work. The Directory for the Application of
Principles and Norms on Ecumenism expresses the hope that Baptisms will be mutually
and officially recognized.[70] This is something much more than an act of ecumenical
courtesy; it constitutes a basic ecclesiological statement.
It is fitting to recall that the fundamental
role of Baptism in building up the Church has been clearly brought out thanks also to
multilateral dialogues.[71]
Solidarity in the service of
humanity
43. It happens more and more often that the
leaders of Christian Communities join together in taking a stand in the name of Christ on
important problems concerning man's calling and on freedom, justice, peace, and the future
of the world. In this way they "communicate" in one of the tasks which
constitutes the mission of Christians: that of reminding society of God's will in a
realistic manner, warning the authorities and their fellow-citizens against taking steps
which would lead to the trampling of human rights. It is clear, as experience shows, that
in some circumstances the united voice of Christians has more impact than any one isolated
voice.
Nor are the leaders of Communities the only
ones joined in the work for unity. Many Christians from all Communities, by reason of
their faith, are jointly involved in bold projects aimed at changing the world by
inculcating respect for the rights and needs of everyone, especially the poor, the lowly
and the defenceless. In my Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, I was
pleased to note this cooperation, stressing that the Catholic Church cannot fail to take
part in these efforts.[72] In effect, Christians who once acted independently are now
engaged together in the service of this cause, so that God's mercy may triumph.
This way of thinking and acting is already
that of the Gospel. Hence, reaffirming what I wrote in my first Encyclical Letter
Redemptor Hominis, I have had occasion "to insist on this point and to
encourage every effort made in this direction, at all levels where we meet our other
brother Christians"[73] I have thanked God "for what he has already accomplished
in the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities and through them", as well as through
the Catholic Church.[74] Today I see with satisfaction that the already vast network of
ecumenical cooperation is constantly growing. Thanks also to the influence of the World
Council of Churches, much is being accomplished in this field.
Approaching one another through the Word
of God and through divine worship
44. Significant progress in ecumenical
cooperation has also been made in another area, that of the Word of God. I am thinking
above all of the importance for the different language groups of ecumenical translations
of the Bible. Following the promulgation by the Second Vatican Council of the Constitution
Dei Verbum, the Catholic Church could not fail to welcome this development.[75]
These translations, prepared by experts, generally offer a solid basis for the prayer and
pastoral activity of all Christ's followers. Anyone who recalls how heavily debates about
Scripture influenced divisions, especially in the West, can appreciate the significant
step forward which these common translations represent.
45. Corresponding to the liturgical renewal
carried out by the Catholic Church, certain other Ecclesial Communities have made efforts
to renew their worship. Some, on the basis of a recommendation expressed at the ecumenical
level,[76] have abandoned the custom of celebrating their liturgy of the Lord's Supper
only infrequently and have opted for a celebration each Sunday. Again, when the cycles of
liturgical readings used by the various Christian Communities in the West are compared,
they appear to be essentially the same. Still on the ecumenical level,[77] very special
prominence has been given to the liturgy and liturgical signs (images, icons, vestments,
light, incense, gestures). Moreover, in schools of theology where future ministers are
trained, courses in the history and significance of the liturgy are beginning to be part
of the curriculum in response to a newly discovered need.
These are signs of convergence which regard
various aspects of the sacramental life. Certainly, due to disagreements in matters of
faith, it is not yet possible to celebrate together the same Eucharistic Liturgy. And yet
we do have a burning desire to join in celebrating the one Eucharist of the Lord, and this
desire itself is already a common prayer of praise, a single supplication. Together we
speak to the Father and increasingly we do so "with one heart". At times it
seems that we are closer to being able finally to seal this "real although not yet
full" communion. A century ago who could even have imagined such a thing?
46. In this context, it is a source of joy
to note that Catholic ministers are able, in certain particular cases, to administer the
Sacraments of the Eucharist, Penance and Anointing of the Sick to Christians who are not
in full communion with the Catholic Church but who greatly desire to receive these
sacraments, freely request them and manifest the faith which the Catholic Church professes
with regard to these sacraments. Conversely, in specific cases and in particular
circumstances, Catholics too can request these same sacraments from ministers of Churches
in which these sacraments are valid. The conditions for such reciprocal reception have
been laid down in specific norms; for the sake of furthering ecumenism these norms must be
respected.[78]
Appreciating the endowments present
among other Christians
47. Dialogue does not extend exclusively to
matters of doctrine but engages the whole person; it is also a dialogue of love. The
Council has stated: "Catholics must joyfully acknowledge and esteem the truly
Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated
brothers and sisters. It is right and salutary to recognize the riches of Christ and
virtuous works in the lives of others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to
the shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in his works and worthy of
admiration".[79]
48. The relationships which the members of
the Catholic Church have established with other Christians since the Council have enabled
us to discover what God is bringing about in the members of other Churches and Ecclesial
Communities. This direct contact, at a variety of levels, with pastors and with the
members of these Communities has made us aware of the witness which other Christians bear
to God and to Christ. A vast new field has thus opened up for the whole ecumenical
experience, which at the same time is the great challenge of our time. Is not the
twentieth century a time of great witness, which extends "even to the shedding of
blood"? And does not this witness also involve the various Churches and Ecclesial
Communities which take their name from Christ, Crucified and Risen?
Such a joint witness of holiness, as
fidelity to the one Lord, has an ecumenical potential extraordinarily rich in grace. The
Second Vatican Council made it clear that elements present among other Christians can
contribute to the edification of Catholics: "Nor should we forget that whatever is
wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our separated brothers and
sisters can contribute to our own edification. Whatever is truly Christian never conflicts
with the genuine interests of the faith; indeed, it can always result in a more ample
realization of the very mystery of Christ and the Church".[80] Ecumenical dialogue,
as a true dialogue of salvation, will certainly encourage this process, which has already
begun well, to advance towards true and full communion.
The growth of communion
49. A valuable result of the contacts
between Christians and of the theological dialogue in which they engage is the growth of
communion. Both contacts and dialogue have made Christians aware of the elements of faith
which they have in common. This has served to consolidate further their commitment to full
unity. In all of this, the Second Vatican Council remains a powerful source of incentive
and orientation.
The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium links its teaching on the Catholic Church to an acknowledgment of the saving
elements found in other Churches and Ecclesial Communities.[81] It is not a matter of
becoming aware of static elements passively present in those Churches and Communities.
Insofar as they are elements of the Church of Christ, these are by their nature a force
for the re-establishment of unity. Consequently, the quest for Christian unity is not a
matter of choice or expediency, but a duty which springs from the very nature of the
Christian community.
In a similar way, the bilateral theological
dialogues carried on with the major Christian Communities start from a recognition of the
degree of communion already present, in order to go on to discuss specific areas of
disagreement. The Lord has made it possible for Christians in our day to reduce the number
of matters traditionally in dispute.
Dialogue with the Churches of the
East
50. In this regard, it must first be
acknowledged, with particular gratitude to Divine Providence, that our bonds with the
Churches of the East, weakened in the course of the centuries, were strengthened through
the Second Vatican Council. The observers from these Churches present at the Council,
together with representatives of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West,
stated publicly, at that very solemn moment for the Catholic Church, their common
willingness to seek the re-establishment of communion.
The Council, for its part, considered the
Churches of the East with objectivity and deep affection, stressing their ecclesial nature
and the real bonds of communion linking them with the Catholic Church. The Decree on
Ecumenism points out: "Through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each
of these Churches, the Church of God is built up and grows in stature". It adds, as a
consequence, that "although these Churches are separated from us, they possess true
sacraments, above all-by apostolic succession- the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby
they are still joined to us in a very close relationship,"[82]
Speaking of the Churches of the East, the
Council acknowledged their great liturgical and spiritual tradition, the specific nature
of their historical development, the disciplines coming from the earliest times and
approved by the Holy Fathers and Ecumenical Councils, and their own particular way of
expressing their teaching. The Council made this acknowledgment in the conviction that
legitimate diversity is in no way opposed to the Church's unity, but rather enhances her
splendor and contributes greatly to the fulfillment of her mission.
The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council wished
to base dialogue on the communion which already exists, and it draws attention to the
noble reality of the Churches of the East: "Therefore, this Sacred Synod urges all,
but especially those who plan to devote themselves to the work of restoring the full
communion that is desired between the Eastern Churches and the Catholic Church, to give
due consideration to these special aspects of the origin and growth of the Churches of the
East, and to the character of the relations which obtained between them and the Roman See
before the separation, and to form for themselves a correct evaluation of these
facts".[83]
51. The Council's approach has proved
fruitful both for the steady maturing of fraternal relations through the dialogue of
charity, and for doctrinal discussion in the framework of the Joint International
Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox
Church. It has likewise proved most fruitful in relations with the Ancient Churches of
the East.
The process has been slow and arduous, yet a
source of great joy; and it has been inspiring, for it has led to the gradual rediscovery
of brotherhood.
Resuming contacts
52. With regard to the Church of Rome and
the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the process which we have just mentioned
began thanks to the mutual openness demonstrated by Popes John XXIII and Paul VI on the
one hand, and by the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I and his successors on the other.
The resulting change found its historical expression in the ecclesial act whereby
"there was removed from memory and from the midst of the Church"[84] the
remembrance of the excommunications which nine hundred years before, in 1054, had become
the symbol of the schism between Rome and Constantinople. That ecclesial event, so filled
with ecumenical commitment, took place during the last days of the Council, on 7 December
1965. The Council thus ended with a solemn act which was at once a healing of historical
memories, a mutual forgiveness, and a firm commitment to strive for communion.
This gesture had been preceded by the
meeting of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem, in January 1964, during
the Pope's pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At that time Pope Paul was also able to meet
Benedictos, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Later, Pope Paul visited Patriarch
Athenagoras at the Phanar (Istanbul), on 25 July 1967, and in October of the same year the
Patriarch was solemnly received in Rome. These prayer-filled meetings mapped out the path
of rapprochement between the Church of the East and the Church of the West, and of the
re-establishment of the unity they shared in the first millennium.
Following the death of Pope Paul VI and the
brief pontificate of Pope John I, when the ministry of Bishop of Rome was entrusted to me,
I considered it one of the first duties of my pontificate to renew personal contact with
the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, who had meanwhile succeeded Patriarch Athenagoras in
the See of Constantinople. During my visit to the Phanar on 29 November 1979, the
Patriarch and I were able to decide to begin theological dialogue between the Catholic
Church and all the Orthodox Churches in canonical communion with the See of
Constantinople. In this regard it would seem important to add that at that time
preparations were already under way for the convocation of a future Council of the
Orthodox Churches. The quest for harmony between them contributes to the life and vitality
of these sister Churches; this is also significant in view of the role they are called to
play in the path towards unity. The Ecumenical Patriarch decided to repay my visit, and in
December 1987 I had the joy of welcoming him to Rome with deep affection and with the
solemnity due to him. It is in this context of ecclesial fraternity that we should mention
the practice, which has now been in place for a number of years, of welcoming a delegation
from the Ecumenical Patriarchate to Rome for the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and
Paul, as well as the custom of sending a delegation of the Holy See to the Phanar for the
solemn celebration of Saint Andrew.
53. Among other things, these regular
contacts permit a direct exchange of information and opinions with a view to fostering
fraternal coordination. Furthermore, taking part together in prayer accustoms us once more
to living side by side and helps us in accepting and putting into practice the Lord's will
for his Church.
On the path which we have traveled since the
Second Vatican Council, at least two particularly telling events of great ecumenical
significance for relations between East and West should be mentioned. The first of these
was the 1984 Jubilee in commemoration of the eleventh centenary of the evangelizing
activity of Saints Cyril and Methodius, an occasion which enabled me to proclaim the two
Holy Apostles of the Slavs, those heralds of faith, co-patrons of Europe. In 1964, during
the Council, Pope Paul VI had already proclaimed Saint Benedict patron of Europe.
Associating the two Brothers from Thessalonica with the great founder of Western
monasticism serves indirectly to highlight that twofold ecclesial and cultural tradition
which has proved so significant for the two thousand years of Christianity which mark the
history of Europe. Consequently it is worth recalling that Saints Cyril and Methodius came
from the background of the Byzantine Church of their day, at a time when the latter was in
communion with Rome. In proclaiming them patrons of Europe, together with Saint Benedict,
it was my intention not only to reaffirm the historical truth about Christianity in
Europe, but also to provide an important topic for the dialogue between East and West
which has raised such high hopes in the period since the Council. As in Saint Benedict, so
in Saints Cyril and Methodius, Europe can rediscover its spiritual roots. Now, as the
second millennium since the Birth of Christ draws to a close, they must be venerated
together, as the patrons of our past and as the Saints to whom the Churches and
nations of Europe entrust their future.
54. The other event which I am pleased to
recall is the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus' (988-1988). The
Catholic Church, and this Apostolic See in particular, desired to take part in the Jubilee
celebrations and also sought to emphasize that the Baptism conferred on Saint Vladimir in
Kiev was a key event in the evangelization of the world. The great Slav nations of Eastern
Europe owe their faith to this event, as do the peoples living beyond the Ural Mountains
and as far as Alaska.
In this perspective an expression which I
have frequently employed finds its deepest meaning: the Church must breathe with her two
lungs! In the first millennium of the history of Christianity, this expression refers
primarily to the relationship between Byzantium and Rome. From the time of the Baptism of
Rus' it comes to have an even wider application: evangelization spread to a much vaster
area, so that it now includes the entire Church. If we then consider that the salvific
event which took place on the banks of the Dnieper goes back to a time when the Church in
the East and the Church in the West were not divided, we understand clearly that the
vision of the full communion to be sought is that of unity in legitimate diversity. This
is what I strongly asserted in my Encyclical Epistle Slavorum Apostoli[85] on
Saints Cyril and Methodius and in my Apostolic Letter Euntes in Mundum[86]
addressed to the faithful of the Catholic Church in commemoration of the Millennium of the
Baptism of Kievan Rus'.
Sister Churches
55. In its historical survey the Council
Decree Unitatis Redintegratio has in mind the unity which, in spite of everything,
was experienced in the first millennium and in a certain sense now serves as a kind of
model. "This most sacred Synod gladly reminds all ... that in the East there flourish
many particular or local Churches; among them the Patriarchal Churches hold first place;
and of these, many glory in taking their origin from the Apostles themselves".[87]
The Church's journey began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and its original expansion
in the oikoumene of that time was centered around Peter and the Eleven (cf.
Acts 2:14). The structures of the Church in the East and in the West evolved in
reference to that Apostolic heritage. Her unity during the first millennium was maintained
within those same structures through the Bishops, Successors of the Apostles, in communion
with the Bishop of Rome. If today at the end of the second millennium we are seeking to
restore full communion, it is to that unity, thus structured, which we must look.
The Decree on Ecumenism highlights a further
distinctive aspect, thanks to which all the particular Churches remained in unity:
"an eager desire to perpetuate in a communion of faith and charity those family ties
which ought to thrive between local Churches, as between sisters".[88]
56. Following the Second Vatican Council,
and in the light of earlier tradition, it has again become usual to refer to the
particular or local Churches gathered around their Bishop as "Sister Churches".
In addition, the lifting of the mutual excommunications, by eliminating a painful
canonical and psychological obstacle, was a very significant step on the way towards full
communion.
The structures of unity which existed before
the separation are a heritage of experience that guides our common path towards the
re-establishment of full communion. Obviously, during the second millennium the Lord has
not ceased to bestow on his Church abundant fruits of grace and growth. Unfortunately,
however, the gradual and mutual estrangement between the Churches of the West and the East
deprived them of the benefits of mutual exchanges and cooperation. With the grace of God a
great effort must be made to re-establish full communion among them, the source of such
good for the Church of Christ. This effort calls for all our good will, humble prayer and
a steadfast cooperation which never yields to discouragement. Saint Paul urges us:
"Bear one another's burdens" (Gal 6:2). How appropriate and relevant for
us is the Apostle's exhortation! The traditional designation of "Sister
Churches" should ever accompany us along this path.
57. In accordance with the hope expressed by
Pope Paul VI, our declared purpose is to re-establish together full unity in legitimate
diversity: "God has granted us to receive in faith what the Apostles saw, understood,
and proclaimed to us. By Baptism 'we are one in Christ Jesus' (Gal 3:28).
In virtue of the apostolic succession, we are united more closely by the priesthood and
the Eucharist. By participating in the gifts of God to his Church we are brought into
communion with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit ... In each local Church this
mystery of divine love is enacted, and surely this is the ground of the traditional and
very beautiful expression 'Sister Churches', which local Churches were fond of applying to
one another (cf. Decree, Unitatis Redintegratio, 14). For centuries we lived this
life of 'Sister Churches', and together held Ecumenical Councils which guarded the deposit
of faith against all corruption. And now, after a long period of division and mutual
misunderstanding, the Lord is enabling us to discover ourselves as 'sister Churches' once
more, in spite of the obstacles which were once raised between us".[89] If today, on
the threshold of the third millennium, we are seeking the re-establishment of full
communion, it is for the accomplishment of this reality that we must work and it is to
this reality that we must refer.
Contact with this glorious tradition is most
fruitful for the Church. As the Council points out: "From their very origins the
Churches of the East have had a treasury from which the Church of the West has amply drawn
for its liturgy, spiritual tradition and jurisprudence".[90]
Part of this "treasury" are also
"the riches of those spiritual traditions to which monasticism gives special
expression. From the glorious days of the Holy Fathers, there flourished in the East that
monastic spirituality which later flowed over into the Western world".[91] As I have
had the occasion to emphasize in my recent Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen, the
Churches of the East have lived with great generosity the commitment shown by monastic
life, "starting with evangelization, the highest service that the Christian can offer
his brother, followed by many other forms of spiritual and material service. Indeed it can
be said that monasticism in antiquity-and at various times in subsequent ages too-has been
the privileged means for the evangelization of peoples".[92]
The Council does not limit itself to
emphasizing the elements of similarity between the Churches in the East and in the West.
In accord with historical truth, it does not hesitate to say: "It is hardly
surprising if sometimes one tradition has come nearer than the other to an apt
appreciation of certain aspects of the revealed mystery or has expressed them in a clearer
manner. As a result, these various theological formulations are often to be considered as
complementary rather than conflicting".[93] Communion is made fruitful by the
exchange of gifts between the Churches insofar as they complement each other.
58. From the reaffirmation of an already
existing communion of faith, the Second Vatican Council drew pastoral consequences which
are useful for the everyday life of the faithful and for the promotion of the spirit of
unity. By reason of the very close sacramental bonds between the Catholic Church and the
Orthodox Churches, the Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches Orientalium Ecclesiarum
has stated: "Pastoral experience clearly shows that with respect to our Eastern
brethren there should and can be taken into consideration various circumstances affecting
individuals, wherein the unity of the Church is not jeopardized nor are intolerable risks
involved, but in which salvation itself and the spiritual profit of souls are urgently at
issue. Hence, in view of special circumstances of time, place and personage, the Catholic
Church has often adopted and now adopts a milder policy, offering to all the means of
salvation and an example of charity among Christians through participation in the
Sacraments and in other sacred functions and objects".[94]
In the light of experience gained in the
years following the Council, this theological and pastoral orientation has been
incorporated into the two Codes of Canon Law.[95] It has been explicitly treated from the
pastoral standpoint in the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on
Ecumenism.[96]
In so important and sensitive a matter, it
is necessary for Pastors to instruct the faithful with care, making them clearly aware of
the specific reasons both for this sharing in liturgical worship and for the various
regulations which govern it.
There must never be a loss of appreciation
for the ecclesiological implication of sharing in the sacraments, especially in the Holy
Eucharist.
Progress in dialogue
59. Since its establishment in 1979, the
Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic
Church and the Orthodox Church has worked steadily, directing its study to areas
decided upon by mutual agreement, with the purpose of re-establishing full communion
between the two Churches. This communion which is founded on the unity of faith, following
in the footsteps of the experience and tradition of the ancient Church, will find its
fulfillment in the common celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In a positive spirit, and on
the basis of what we have in common, the Joint Commission has been able to make
substantial progress and, as I was able to declare in union with my Venerable Brother, His
Holiness Dimitrios I, the Ecumenical Patriarch, it has concluded "that the Catholic
Church and the Orthodox Church can already profess together that common faith in the
mystery of the Church and the bond between faith and sacraments".[97] The Commission
was then able to acknowledge that "in our Churches apostolic succession is
fundamental for the sanctification and the unity of the people of God".[98] These are
important points of reference for the continuation of the dialogue. Moreover, these joint
affirmations represent the basis for Catholics and Orthodox to be able from now on to bear
a faithful and united common witness in our time, that the name of the Lord may be
proclaimed and glorified.
60. More recently, the Joint International
Commission took a significant step forward with regard to the very sensitive question of
the method To be followed in re- establishing full communion between the Catholic Church
and the Orthodox Church, an issue which has frequently embittered relations between
Catholics and Orthodox. The Commission has laid the doctrinal foundations for a positive
solution to this problem on the basis of the doctrine of Sister Churches. Here too it has
become evident that the method to be followed towards full communion is the dialogue of
truth, fostered and sustained by the dialogue of love. A recognition of the right of the
Eastern Catholic Churches to have their own organizational structures and to carry out
their own apostolate, as well as the actual involvement of these Churches in the dialogue
of charity and in theological dialogue, will not only promote a true and fraternal mutual
esteem between Orthodox and Catholics living in the same territory, but will also foster
their joint commitment to work for unity.[99] A step forward has been taken. The
commitment must continue. Already there are signs of a lessening of tensions, which is
making the quest for unity more fruitful.
With regard to the Eastern Catholic Churches
in communion with the Catholic Church, the Council expressed its esteem in these terms:
"While thanking God that many Eastern sons of the Catholic Church ... are already
living in full communion with their brethren who follow the tradition of the West, this
sacred Synod declares that this entire heritage of spirituality and liturgy, of discipline
and theology, in their various traditions, belongs to the full catholic and apostolic
character of the Church".[100] Certainly the Eastern Catholic Churches, in the spirit
of the Decree on Ecumenism, will play a constructive role in the dialogue of love and in
the theological dialogue at both the local and international levels, and thus contribute
to mutual understanding and the continuing pursuit of full unity.[101]
61. In view of all this, the Catholic Church
desires nothing less than full communion between East and West. She finds inspiration for
this in the experience of the first millennium. In that period, indeed, "the
development of different experiences of ecclesial life did not prevent Christians, through
mutual relations, from continuing to feel certain that they were at home in any Church,
because praise of the one Father, through Christ in the Holy Spirit, rose from them all,
in a marvelous variety of languages and melodies; all were gathered together to celebrate
the Eucharist, the heart and model for the community regarding not only spirituality and
the moral life, but also the Church's very structure, in the variety of ministries and
services under the leadership of the Bishop, successor of the Apostles. The first Councils
are an eloquent witness to this enduring unity in diversity".[102] How can unity be
restored after almost a thousand years? This is the great task which the Catholic Church
must accomplish, a task equally incumbent on the Orthodox Church. Thus can be understood
the continuing relevance of dialogue, guided by the light and strength of the Holy Spirit.
Relations with the Ancient Churches of
the East
62. In the period following the Second
Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has also, in different ways and with greater or
lesser rapidity, restored fraternal relations with the Ancient Churches of the East which
rejected the dogmatic formulations of the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. All these
Churches sent official observers to the Second Vatican Council; their Patriarchs have
honored us by their visits, and the Bishop of Rome has been able to converse with them as
with brothers who, after a long time, joyfully meet again.
The return of fraternal relations with the
Ancient Churches of the East witnesses to the Christian faith in situations which are
often hostile and tragic. This is a concrete sign of how we are united in Christ in spite
of historical, political, social and cultural barriers. And precisely in relation to
Christology, we have been able to join the Patriarchs of some of these Churches in
declaring our common faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Pope Paul VI of
venerable memory signed declarations to this effect with His Holiness Shenouda III, the
Coptic Orthodox Pope and Patriarch,[103] and with His Beatitude Jacoub III, the Syrian
Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.[104] I myself have been able to confirm this Christological
agreement and draw on it for the development of dialogue with Pope Shenouda,[105] and for
pastoral cooperation with the Syrian Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas.[106]
When the Venerable Patriarch of the
Ethiopian Church, Abuna Paulos, paid me a visit in Rome on 11 June 1993, together we
emphasized the deep communion existing between our two Churches: "We share the faith
handed down from the Apostles, as also the same sacraments and the same ministry, rooted
in the apostolic succession ... Today, moreover, we can affirm that we have the one faith
in Christ, even though for a long time this was a source of division between
us".[107]
More recently, the Lord has granted me the
great joy of signing a common Christological declaration with the Assyrian Patriarch of
the East, His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, who for this purpose chose to visit me in Rome in
November 1994. Taking into account the different theological formulations, we were able to
profess together the true faith in Christ.[108] I wish to express my joy at all this in
the words of the Blessed Virgin: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord"
(Lk 1:46).
63. Ecumenical contacts have thus made
possible essential clarifications with regard to the traditional controversies concerning
Christology, so much so that we have been able to profess together the faith which we have
in common. Once again it must be said that this important achievement is truly a fruit of
theological investigation and fraternal dialogue. And not only this. It is an
encouragement for us: for it shows us that the path followed is the right one and that we
can reasonably hope to discover together the solution to other disputed questions.
Dialogue with other Churches and
Ecclesial Communities in the West
64. In its great plan for the
re-establishment of unity among all Christians, the Decree on Ecumenism also speaks of
relations with the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West. Wishing to create a
climate of Christian fraternity and dialogue, the Council situates its guidelines in the
context of two general considerations: one of an historical and psychological nature, and
the other theological and doctrinal. On the one hand, this Decree affirms: "The
Churches and Ecclesial Communities which were separated from the Apostolic See of Rome
during the very serious crisis that began in the West at the end of the Middle Ages, or
during later times, are bound to the Catholic Church by a special affinity and close
relationship in view of the long span of earlier centuries when the Christian people lived
in ecclesiastical communion".[109] On the other hand, with equal realism the same
Document states: "At the same time one should recognize that between these Churches
and Communities on the one hand, and the Catholic Church on the other, there are very
weighty differences not only of a historical, sociological, psychological and cultural
nature, but especially in the interpretation of revealed truth".[110]
65. Common roots and similar, if distinct,
considerations have guided the development in the West of the Catholic Church and of the
Churches and Communities which have their origins in the Reformation. Consequently these
share the fact that they are "Western" in character. Their
"diversities", although significant as has been pointed out, do not therefore
preclude mutual interaction and complementarity.
The ecumenical movement really began within
the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the Reform. At about the same time, in January,
1920, the Ecumenical Patriarchate expressed the hope that some kind of cooperation among
the Christian Communions could be organized. This fact shows that the weight of cultural
background is not the decisive factor. What is essential is the question of faith. The
prayer of Christ, our one Lord, Redeemer and Master, speaks to everyone in the same way,
both in the East and in the West. That prayer becomes an imperative to leave behind our
divisions in order to seek and re-establish unity, as a result also of the bitter
experiences of division itself.
66. The Second Vatican Council did not
attempt to give a "description" of post- Reformation Christianity, since
"in origin, teaching and spiritual practice, these Churches and Ecclesial Communities
differ not only from us but also among themselves to a considerable degree".[111]
Furthermore, the Decree observes that the ecumenical movement and the desire for peace
with the Catholic Church have not yet taken root everywhere.[112] These circumstances
notwithstanding, the Council calls for dialogue.
The Council Decree then seeks to
"propose ... some considerations which can and ought to serve as a basis and
motivation for such dialogue".[113]
"Our thoughts are concerned ... with
those Christians who openly confess Jesus Christ as God and Lord and as the sole Mediator
between God and man unto the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."[114]
These brothers and sisters promote love and
veneration for the Sacred Scriptures: "Calling upon the Holy Spirit, they seek in
these Sacred Scriptures God as he speaks to them in Christ, the One whom the prophets
foretold, God's Word made flesh for us. In the Scriptures they contemplate the life of
Christ, as well as the teachings and the actions of the Divine Master on behalf of the
salvation of all, in particular the mysteries of his Death and Resurrection ... They
affirm the divine authority of the Sacred Books".[115]
At the same time, however, they "think
differently from us ... about the relationship between the Scriptures and the Church. In
the Church, according to Catholic belief, an authentic teaching office plays a special
role in the explanation and proclamation of the written word of God".[116] Even so,
"in [ecumenical] dialogue itself, the sacred utterances are precious instruments in
the mighty hand of God for attaining that unity which the Savior holds out to
all".[117]
Furthermore, the Sacrament of Baptism, which
we have in common, represents "a sacramental bond of unity linking all who have been
reborn by means of it".[118] The theological, pastoral and ecumenical implications of
our common Baptism are many and important. Although this sacrament of itself is "only
a beginning, a point of departure", it is "oriented towards a complete
profession of faith, a complete incorporation into the system of salvation such as Christ
himself willed it to be, and finally, towards a complete participation in Eucharistic
communion".[119]
67. Doctrinal and historical disagreements
at the time of the Reformation emerged with regard to the Church, the sacraments and the
ordained ministry. The Council therefore calls for "dialogue to be undertaken
concerning the true meaning of the Lord's Supper, the other sacraments and the Church's
worship and ministry".[120]
The Decree Unitatis Redintegratio,
pointing out that the post-Reformation Communities lack that "fullness of unity with
us which should flow from Baptism", observes that "especially because of the
lack of the Sacrament of Orders they have not preserved the genuine and total reality of
the Eucharistic mystery", even though "when they commemorate the Lord's Death
and Resurrection in the Holy Supper, they profess that it signifies life in communion with
Christ and they await his coming in glory".[121]
68. The Decree does not overlook the
spiritual life and its moral consequences: "The Christian way of life of these
brethren is nourished by faith in Christ. It is strengthened by the grace of Baptism and
the hearing of God's Word. This way of life expresses itself in private prayer, in
meditation on the Bible, in Christian family life, and in services of worship offered by
Communities assembled to praise God. Furthermore, their worship sometimes displays notable
features of the ancient, common liturgy".[122]
The Council document moreover does not limit
itself to these spiritual, moral and cultural aspects but extends its appreciation to the
lively sense of justice and to the sincere charity towards others which are present among
these brothers and sisters. Nor does it overlook their efforts to make social conditions
more humane and to promote peace. All this is the result of a sincere desire to be
faithful to the Word of Christ as the source of Christian life.
The text thus raises a series of questions
which, in the area of ethics and morality, is becoming ever more urgent in our time:
"There are many Christians who do not always understand the Gospel in the same way as
Catholics".[123] In this vast area there is much room for dialogue concerning the
moral principles of the Gospel and their implications.
69. The hopes and invitation expressed by
the Second Vatican Council have been acted upon, and bilateral theological dialogue with
the various worldwide Churches and Christian Communities in the West has been
progressively set in motion.
Moreover, with regard to multilateral
dialogue, as early as 1964 the process of setting up a "Joint Working Group"
with the World Council of Churches was begun, and since 1968 Catholic theologians have
been admitted as full members of the theological Department of the Council, the Commission
on Faith and Order.
This dialogue has been and continues to be
fruitful and full of promise. The topics suggested by the Council Decree have already been
addressed, or will be in the near future. The reflections of the various bilateral
dialogues, conducted with a dedication which deserves the praise of all those committed to
ecumenism, have concentrated on many disputed questions such as Baptism, the Eucharist,
the ordained ministry, the sacramentality and authority of the Church and apostolic
succession. As a result, unexpected possibilities for resolving these questions have come
to light, while at the same time there has been a realization that certain questions need
to be studied more deeply.
70. This difficult and delicate research,
which involves questions of faith and respect for one's own conscience as well as for the
consciences of others, has been accompanied and sustained by the prayer of the Catholic
Church and of the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities. Prayer for unity, already so
deeply rooted in and spread throughout the body of the Church, shows that Christians do
indeed see the importance of ecumenism. Precisely because the search for full unity
requires believers to question one another in relation to their faith in the one Lord,
prayer is the source of enlightenment concerning the truth which has to be accepted in its
entirety.
Moreover, through prayer the quest for
unity, far from being limited to a group of specialists, comes to be shared by all the
baptized. Everyone, regardless of their role in the Church or level of education, can make
a valuable contribution, in a hidden and profound way.
Ecclesial relations
71. We must give thanks to Divine Providence
also for all the events which attest to progress on the path to unity. Besides theological
dialogue, mention should be made of other forms of encounter, common prayer and practical
cooperation. Pope Paul VI strongly encouraged this process by his visit to the
headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva on 10 June 1969, and by his many
meetings with representatives of various Churches and Ecclesial Communities. Such contacts
greatly help to improve mutual knowledge and to increase Christian fraternity.
Pope John Paul I, during his very brief
Pontificate, expressed the desire to continue on this path.[124] The Lord has enabled me
to carry on this work. In addition to important ecumenical meetings held in Rome, a
significant part of my Pastoral Visits is regularly devoted to fostering Christian unity.
Some of my journeys have a precise ecumenical "priority", especially in
countries where the Catholic communities constitute a minority with respect to the
post-Reformation communities or where the latter represent a considerable portion of the
believers in Christ in a given society.
72. This is true above all for the European
countries, in which these divisions first appeared, and for North America. In this regard,
without wishing to minimize the other visits, I would especially mention those within
Europe which took me twice to Germany, in November 1980 and in April-May 1987; to the
United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Wales) in May-June 1982; to Switzerland in June
1984; and to the Scandinavian and Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and
Iceland) in June 1989. In an atmosphere of joy, mutual respect, Christian solidarity and
prayer I met so very many brothers and sisters, all making a committed effort to be
faithful to the Gospel. Seeing all this has been for me a great source of encouragement.
We experienced the Lord's presence among us.
In this respect I would like to mention one
demonstration dictated by fraternal charity and marked by deep clarity of faith which made
a profound impression on me. I am speaking of the Eucharistic celebrations at which I
presided in Finland and Sweden during my journey to the Scandinavian and Nordic countries.
At Communion time, the Lutheran Bishops approached the celebrant. They wished, by means of
an agreed gesture, to demonstrate their desire for that time when we, Catholics and
Lutherans, will be able to share the same Eucharist, and they wished to receive the
celebrant's blessing. With love I blessed them. The same gesture, so rich in meaning, was
repeated in Rome at the Mass at which I presided in Piazza Farnese, on the sixth centenary
of the canonization of Saint Birgitta of Sweden, on 6 October 1991.
I have encountered similar sentiments on the
other side of the ocean also: in Canada, in September 1984; and particularly in September
1987 in the United States, where one notices a great ecumenical openness. This was the
case, to give one example, of the ecumenical meeting held at Columbia, South Carolina on
11 September 1987. The very fact that such meetings regularly take place between the Pope
and these brothers and sisters whose Churches and Ecclesial Communities originate in the
Reformation is important in itself. I am deeply grateful for the warm reception which I
have received both from the leaders of the various Communities and from the Communities as
a whole. From this standpoint, I consider significant the ecumenical celebration of the
Word held in Columbia on the theme of the family.
73. It is also a source of great joy to
observe how in the postconciliar period and in the local Churches many programs and
activities on behalf of Christian unity are in place, programs and activities which have a
stimulating effect at the level of Episcopal Conferences, individual Dioceses and
parishes, and at the level of the various ecclesial organizations and movements.
Achievements of cooperation
74. "Not every one who says to me,
'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven" (Mt 7:21). The consistency and honesty of intentions and of
statements of principles are verified by their application to real life. The Council
Decree on Ecumenism notes that among other Christians "the faith by which they
believe in Christ bears fruit in praise and thanksgiving for the benefits received from
the hands of God. Joined to it are a lively sense of justice and a true neighborly
charity".[125]
What has just been outlined is fertile
ground not only for dialogue but also for practical cooperation: "Active faith has
produced many organizations for the relief of spiritual and bodily distress, the education
of youth, the advancement of humane social conditions, and the promotion of peace
throughout the world".[126]
Social and cultural life offers ample
opportunities for ecumenical cooperation. With increasing frequency Christians are working
together to defend human dignity, to promote peace, to apply the Gospel to social life, to
bring the Christian spirit to the world of science and of the arts. They find themselves
ever more united in striving to meet the sufferings and the needs of our time: hunger,
natural disasters and social injustice.
75. For Christians, this cooperation, which
draws its inspiration from the Gospel itself, is never mere humanitarian action. It has
its reason for being in the Lord's words: "For I was hungry and you gave me
food" (Mt 25:35). As I have already emphasized, the cooperation among
Christians clearly manifests that degree of communion which already exists among
them.[127]
Before the world, united action in society
on the part of Christians has the clear value of a joint witness to the name of the Lord.
It is also a form of proclamation, since it reveals the face of Christ.
The doctrinal disagreements which remain
exercise a negative influence and even place limits on cooperation. Still, the communion
of faith which already exists between Christians provides a solid foundation for their
joint action not only in the social field but also in the religious sphere.
Such cooperation will facilitate the quest
for unity. The Decree on Ecumenism noted that "through such cooperation, all
believers in Christ are able to learn easily how they can understand each other better and
esteem each other more, and how the road to the unity of Christians may be made
smooth".[128]
76. In this context, how can I fail to
mention the ecumenical interest in peace, expressed in prayer and action by ever greater
numbers of Christians and with a steadily growing theological inspiration? It could not be
otherwise. Do we not believe in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace? Christians are becoming
ever more united in their rejection of violence, every kind of violence, from wars to
social injustice.
We are called to make ever greater efforts,
so that it may be ever more apparent that religious considerations are not the real cause
of current conflicts, even though, unfortunately, there is still a risk of religion being
exploited for political and polemical purposes.
In 1986, at Assisi, during the World Day
of Prayer for Peace, Christians of the various Churches and Ecclesial Communities
prayed with one voice to the Lord of history for peace in the world. That same day, in a
different but parallel way, Jews and representatives of non-Christian religions also
prayed for peace in a harmonious expression of feelings which struck a resonant chord deep
in the human spirit.
Nor do I wish to overlook the Day of
Prayer for Peace in Europe, especially in the Balkans, which took me back to the town
of Saint Francis as a pilgrim on 9-10 January 1993, and the Mass for Peace in the
Balkans and especially in Bosnia-Hercegovina, which I celebrated on 23 January 1994 in
Saint Peter's Basilica during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
When we survey the world joy fills our
hearts. For we note that Christians feel ever more challenged by the issue of peace. They
see it as intimately connected with the proclamation of the Gospel and with the coming of
God's Kingdom.
CHAPTER III --
QUANTA EST NOBIS VIA?
Continuing and deepening dialogue
77. We can now ask how much further we must
travel until that blessed day when full unity in faith will be attained and we can
celebrate together in peace the Holy Eucharist of the Lord. The greater mutual
understanding and the doctrinal convergences already achieved between us, which have
resulted in an affective and effective growth of communion, cannot suffice for the
conscience of Christians who profess that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
The ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is to re-establish full visible unity among
all the baptized.
In view of this goal, all the results so far
attained are but one stage of the journey, however promising and positive.
78. In the ecumenical movement, it is not
only the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches which hold to this demanding concept of
the unity willed by God. The orientation towards such unity is also expressed by
others.[129]
Ecumenism implies that the Christian
communities should help one another so that there may be truly present in them the full
content and all the requirements of "the heritage handed down by the
Apostles".[130] Without this, full communion will never be possible. This mutual help
in the search for truth is a sublime form of evangelical charity.
The documents of the many International
Mixed Commissions of dialogue have expressed this commitment to seeking unity. On the
basis of a certain fundamental doctrinal unity, these texts discuss Baptism, Eucharist,
ministry and authority.
From this basic but partial unity it is now
necessary to advance towards the visible unity which is required and sufficient and which
is manifested in a real and concrete way, so that the Churches may truly become a sign of
that full communion in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church which will be
expressed in the common celebration of the Eucharist.
This journey towards the necessary and
sufficient visible unity, in the communion of the one Church willed by Christ, continues
to require patient and courageous efforts. In this process, one must not impose any burden
beyond that which is strictly necessary (cf. Acts 15:28).
79. It is already possible to identify the
areas in need of fuller study before a true consensus of faith can be achieved: 1) the
relationship between Sacred Scripture, as the highest authority in matters of faith, and
Sacred Tradition, as indispensable to the interpretation of the Word of God; 2) the
Eucharist, as the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, an offering of praise to the
Father, the sacrificial memorial and Real Presence of Christ and the sanctifying
outpouring of the Holy Spirit; 3) Ordination, as a Sacrament, to the threefold ministry of
the episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate; 4) the Magisterium of the Church, entrusted to
the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him, understood as a responsibility and an
authority exercised in the name of Christ for teaching and safeguarding the faith; 5) the
Virgin Mary, as Mother of God and Icon of the Church, the spiritual Mother who intercedes
for Christ's disciples and for all humanity.
In this courageous journey towards unity,
the transparency and the prudence of faith require us to avoid both false irenicism and
indifference to the Church's ordinances.[131] Conversely, that same transparency and
prudence urge us to reject a halfhearted commitment to unity and, even more, a prejudicial
opposition or a defeatism which tends to see everything in negative terms.
To uphold a vision of unity which takes
account of all the demands of revealed truth does not mean to put a brake on the
ecumenical movement.[132] On the contrary, it means preventing it from settling for
apparent solutions which would lead to no firm and solid results.[133] The obligation to
respect the truth is absolute. Is this not the law of the Gospel?
Reception of the results already
achieved
80. While dialogue continues on new subjects
or develops at deeper levels, a new task lies before us: that of receiving the results
already achieved. These cannot remain the statements of bilateral commissions but must
become a common heritage. For this to come about and for the bonds of communion to be thus
strengthened, a serious examination needs to be made, which, by different ways and means
and at various levels of responsibility, must involve the whole People of God. We are in
fact dealing with issues which frequently are matters of faith, and these require
universal consent, extending from the Bishops to the lay faithful, all of whom have
received the anointing of the Holy Spirit.[134] It is the same Spirit who assists the
Magisterium and awakens the sensus fidei.
Consequently, for the outcome of dialogue to
be received, there is needed a broad and precise critical process which analyzes the
results and rigorously tests their consistency with the Tradition of faith received from
the Apostles and lived out in the community of believers gathered around the Bishop, their
legitimate Pastor.
81. This process, which must be carried
forward with prudence and in a spirit of faith, will be assisted by the Holy Spirit. If it
is to be successful, its results must be made known in appropriate ways by competent
persons. Significant in this regard is the contribution which theologians and faculties of
theology are called to make by exercising their charism in the Church. It is also clear
that ecumenical commissions have very specific responsibilities and tasks in this regard.
The whole process is followed and encouraged
by the Bishops and the Holy See. The Church's teaching authority is responsible for
expressing a definitive judgment.
In all this, it will be of great help
methodologically to keep carefully in mind the distinction between the deposit of faith
and the formulation in which it is expressed, as Pope John XXIII recommended in his
opening address at the Second Vatican Council.[135]
Continuing spiritual ecumenism and
bearing witness to holiness
82. It is understandable how the seriousness
of the commitment to ecumenism presents a deep challenge to the Catholic faithful. The
Spirit calls them to make a serious examination of conscience. The Catholic Church must
enter into what might be called a "dialogue of conversion", which constitutes
the spiritual foundation of ecumenical dialogue. In this dialogue, which takes place
before God, each individual must recognize his own faults, confess his sins and place
himself in the hands of the One who is our Intercessor before the Father, Jesus Christ.
Certainly, in this attitude of conversion to
the will of the Father and, at the same time, of repentance and absolute trust in the
reconciling power of the truth which is Christ, we will find the strength needed to bring
to a successful conclusion the long and arduous pilgrimage of ecumenism. The
"dialogue of conversion" with the Father on the part of each Community, with the
full acceptance of all that it demands, is the basis of fraternal relations which will be
something more than a mere cordial understanding or external sociability. The bonds of
fraternal koinonia must be forged before God and in Christ Jesus.
Only the act of placing ourselves before God
can offer a solid basis for that conversion of individual Christians and for that constant
reform of the Church, insofar as she is also a human and earthly institution,[136] which
represent the preconditions for all ecumenical commitment. One of the first steps in
ecumenical dialogue is the effort to draw the Christian Communities into this completely
interior spiritual space in which Christ, by the power of the Spirit, leads them all,
without exception, to examine themselves before the Father and to ask themselves whether
they have been faithful to his plan for the Church.
83. I have mentioned the will of the Father
and the spiritual space in which each community hears the call to overcome the obstacles
to unity. All Christian Communities know that, thanks to the power given by the Spirit,
obeying that will and overcoming those obstacles are not beyond their reach. All of them
in fact have martyrs for the Christian faith.[137] Despite the tragedy of our divisions,
these brothers and sisters have preserved an attachment to Christ and to the Father so
radical and absolute as to lead even to the shedding of blood. But is not this same
attachment at the heart of what I have called a "dialogue of conversion"? Is it
not precisely this dialogue which clearly shows the need for an ever more profound
experience of the truth if full communion is to be attained?
84. In a theocentric vision, we Christians
already have a common Martyrology. This also includes the martyrs of our own
century, more numerous than one might think, and it shows how, at a profound level, God
preserves communion among the baptized in the supreme demand of faith, manifested in the
sacrifice of life itself.[138] The fact that one can die for the faith shows that other
demands of the faith can also be met. I have already remarked, and with deep joy, how an
imperfect but real communion is preserved and is growing at many levels of ecclesial life.
I now add that this communion is already perfect in what we all consider the highest point
of the life of grace, martyria unto death, the truest communion possible with
Christ who shed his Blood, and by that sacrifice brings near those who once were far off
(cf. Eph 2:13).
While for all Christian communities the
martyrs are the proof of the power of grace, they are not the only ones to bear witness to
that power. Albeit in an invisible way, the communion between our Communities, even if
still incomplete, is truly and solidly grounded in the full communion of the Saints-those
who, at the end of a life faithful to grace, are in communion with Christ in glory. These
Saints come from all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities which gave them
entrance into the communion of salvation.
When we speak of a common heritage, we must
acknowledge as part of it not only the institutions, rites, means of salvation and the
traditions which all the communities have preserved and by which they have been shaped,
but first and foremost this reality of holiness.[139]
In the radiance of the "heritage of the
saints" belonging to all Communities, the "dialogue of conversion" towards
full and visible unity thus appears as a source of hope. This universal presence of the
Saints is in fact a proof of the transcendent power of the Spirit. It is the sign and
proof of God's victory over the forces of evil which divide humanity. As the liturgies
sing: "You are glorified in your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of your
gifts".[140]
Where there is a sincere desire to follow
Christ, the Spirit is often able to pour out his grace in extraordinary ways. The
experience of ecumenism has enabled us to understand this better. If, in the interior
spiritual space described above, Communities are able truly to "be converted" to
the quest for full and visible communion, God will do for them what he did for their
Saints. He will overcome the obstacles inherited from the past and will lead Communities
along his paths to where he wills: to the visible koinonia which is both praise of
his glory and service of his plan of salvation.
85. Since God in his infinite mercy can
always bring good even out of situations which are an offense to his plan, we can discover
that the Spirit has allowed conflicts to serve in some circumstances to make explicit
certain aspects of the Christian vocation, as happens in the lives of the Saints. In spite
of fragmentation, which is an evil from which we need to be healed, there has resulted a
kind of rich bestowal of grace which is meant to embellish the koinonia. God's
grace will be with all those who, following the example of the Saints, commit themselves
to meeting its demands. How can we hesitate to be converted to the Father's expectations?
He is with us.
Contribution of the Catholic Church to
the quest for Christian unity
86. The Constitution Lumen Gentium,
in a fundamental affirmation echoed by the Decree Unitatis Redintegratio,[141]
states that the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church.[142] The Decree on
Ecumenism emphasizes the presence in her of the fullness (plenitudo) of the means
of salvation.[143] Full unity will come about when all share in the fullness of the means
of salvation entrusted by Christ to his Church.
87. Along the way that leads to full unity,
ecumenical dialogue works to awaken a reciprocal fraternal assistance, whereby Communities
strive to give in mutual exchange what each one needs in order to grow towards definitive
fullness in accordance with God's plan (cf. Eph 4:11-13). I have said how we are
aware, as the Catholic Church, that we have received much from the witness borne by other
Churches and Ecclesial Communities to certain common Christian values, from their study of
those values, and even from the way in which they have emphasized and experienced them.
Among the achievements of the last thirty years, this reciprocal fraternal influence has
had an important place. At the stage which we have now reached,[144] this process of
mutual enrichment must be taken seriously into account. Based on the communion which
already exists as a result of the ecclesial elements present in the Christian communities,
this process will certainly be a force impelling towards full and visible communion, the
desired goal of the journey we are making. Here we have the ecumenical expression of the
Gospel law of sharing. This leads me to state once more: "We must take every care to
meet the legitimate desires and expectations of our Christian brethren, coming to know
their way of thinking and their sensibilities ... The talents of each must be developed
for the utility and the advantage of all".[145]
The ministry of unity of the Bishop of
Rome
88. Among all the Churches and Ecclesial
Communities, the Catholic Church is conscious that she has preserved the ministry of the
Successor of the Apostle Peter, the Bishop of Rome, whom God established as her
"perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity"[146] and whom the
Spirit sustains in order that he may enable all the others to share in this essential
good. In the beautiful expression of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, my ministry is that of
servus servorum Dei. This designation is the best possible safeguard against the
risk of separating power (and in particular the primacy) from ministry. Such a separation
would contradict the very meaning of power according to the Gospel: "I am among you
as one who serves" (Lk 22:27), says our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the
Church. On the other hand, as I acknowledged on the important occasion of a visit to the
World Council of Churches in Geneva on 12 June 1984, the Catholic Church's conviction that
in the ministry of the Bishop of Rome she has preserved, in fidelity to the Apostolic
Tradition and the faith of the Fathers, the visible sign and guarantor of unity,
constitutes a difficulty for most other Christians, whose memory is marked by certain
painful recollections. To the extent that we are responsible for these, I join my
Predecessor Paul VI in asking forgiveness.[147]
89. It is nonetheless significant and
encouraging that the question of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome has now become a
subject of study which is already under way or will be in the near future. It is likewise
significant and encouraging that this question appears as an essential theme not only in
the theological dialogues in which the Catholic Church is engaging with other Churches and
Ecclesial Communities, but also more generally in the ecumenical movement as a whole.
Recently the delegates to the Fifth World Assembly of the Commission on Faith and Order of
the World Council of Churches, held in Santiago de Compostela, recommended that the
Commission "begin a new study of the question of a universal ministry of Christian
unity"[148] After centuries of bitter controversies, the other Churches and Ecclesial
Communities are more and more taking a fresh look at this ministry of unity.[149]
90. The Bishop of Rome is the Bishop of the
Church which preserves the mark of the martyrdom of Peter and of Paul: "By a
mysterious design of Providence it is at Rome that [Peter] concludes his journey in
following Jesus, and it is at Rome that he gives his greatest proof of love and fidelity.
Likewise Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, gives his supreme witness at Rome. In this way
the Church of Rome became the Church of Peter and of Paul".[150]
In the New Testament, the person of Peter
has an eminent place. In the first part of the Acts of the Apostles, he appears as the
leader and spokesman of the Apostolic College described as "Peter ... and the
Eleven" (2:14; cf. 2:37, 5:29). The place assigned to Peter is based on the words of
Christ himself, as they are recorded in the Gospel traditions.
91. The Gospel of Matthew gives a clear
outline of the pastoral mission of Peter in the Church: "Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church and the
powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven" (16:17-19). Luke makes clear that Christ urged Peter
to strengthen his brethren, while at the same time reminding him of his own human weakness
and need of conversion (cf. 22:31-32). It is just as though, against the backdrop of
Peter's human weakness, it were made fully evident that his particular ministry in the
Church derives altogether from grace. It is as though the Master especially concerned
himself with Peter's conversion as a way of preparing him for the task he was about to
give him in his Church, and for this reason was very strict with him. This same role of
Peter, similarly linked with a realistic affirmation of his weakness, appears again in the
Fourth Gospel: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? ... Feed my
sheep" (cf. Jn 21:15-19). It is also significant that according to the First
Letter of Paul to the Corinthians the Risen Christ appears to Cephas and then to the
Twelve (cf. 15:5).
It is important to note how the weakness of
Peter and of Paul clearly shows that the Church is founded upon the infinite power of
grace (cf. Mt 16:17; 2 Cor 12:7-10). Peter, immediately after receiving
his mission, is rebuked with unusual severity by Christ, who tells him: "You are a
hindrance to me" (Mt 16:23). How can we fail to see that the mercy which
Peter needs is related to the ministry of that mercy which he is the first to experience?
And yet, Peter will deny Jesus three times. The Gospel of John emphasizes that Peter
receives the charge of shepherding the flock on the occasion of a threefold profession of
love (cf. 21:15-17), which corresponds to his threefold denial (cf. 13:38). Luke, for his
part, in the words of Christ already quoted, words which the early tradition will
concentrate upon in order to clarify the mission of Peter, insists on the fact that he
will have to "strengthen his brethren when he has turned again" (cf. 22:32).
92. As for Paul, he is able to end the
description of his ministry with the amazing words which he had heard from the Lord
himself: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness"; consequently, he can exclaim: "When I am weak, then I am strong"
(2 Cor 12:9-10). This is a basic characteristic of the Christian experience.
As the heir to the mission of Peter in the
Church, which has been made fruitful by the blood of the Princes of the Apostles, the
Bishop of Rome exercises a ministry originating in the manifold mercy of God. This mercy
converts hearts and pours forth the power of grace where the disciple experiences the
bitter taste of his personal weakness and helplessness. The authority proper to this
ministry is completely at the service of God's merciful plan and it must always be seen in
this perspective. Its power is explained from this perspective.
93. Associating himself with Peter's
threefold profession of love, which corresponds to the earlier threefold denial, his
Successor knows that he must be a sign of mercy. His is a ministry of mercy, born of an
act of Christ's own mercy. This whole lesson of the Gospel must be constantly read anew,
so that the exercise of the Petrine ministry may lose nothing of its authenticity and
transparency.
The Church of God is called by Christ to
manifest to a world ensnared by its sins and evil designs that, despite everything, God in
his mercy can convert hearts to unity and enable them to enter into communion with him.
94. This service of unity, rooted in the
action of divine mercy, is entrusted within the College of Bishops to one among those who
have received from the Spirit the task, not of exercising power over the people as the
rulers of the Gentiles and their great men do (cf. Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42)-but
of leading them towards peaceful pastures. This task can require the offering of one's own
life (cf. Jn 10: 18). Saint Augustine, after showing that Christ is "the one
Shepherd, in whose unity all are one", goes on to exhort: "May all shepherds
thus be one in the one Shepherd; may they let the one voice of the Shepherd be heard; may
the sheep hear this voice and follow their Shepherd, not this shepherd or that, but the
only one; in him may they all let one voice be heard and not a babble of voices ... the
voice free of all division, purified of all heresy, that the sheep hear".[151] The
mission of the Bishop of Rome within the College of all the Pastors consists precisely in
"keeping watch" (episkopein), like a sentinel, so that, through the
efforts of the Pastors, the true voice of Christ the Shepherd may be heard in all the
particular Churches. In this way, in each of the particular Churches entrusted to those
Pastors, the una, sancta, catholica et apostolica Ecclesia is made present. All
the Churches are in full and visible communion, because all the Pastors are in communion
with Peter and therefore united in Christ.
With the power and the authority without
which such an office would be illusory, the Bishop of Rome must ensure the communion of
all the Churches. For this reason, he is the first servant of unity. This primacy is
exercised on various levels, including vigilance over the handing down of the Word, the
celebration of the Liturgy and the Sacraments, the Church's mission, discipline and the
Christian life. It is the responsibility of the Successor of Peter to recall the
requirements of the common good of the Church, should anyone be tempted to overlook it in
the pursuit of personal interests. He has the duty to admonish, to caution and to declare
at times that this or that opinion being circulated is irreconcilable with the unity of
faith. When circumstances require it, he speaks in the name of all the Pastors in
communion with him. He can also-under very specific conditions clearly laid down by the
First Vatican Council- declare ex cathedra that a certain doctrine belongs to the
deposit of faith.[152] By thus bearing witness to the truth, he serves unity.
95. All this however must always be done in
communion. When the Catholic Church affirms that the office of the Bishop of Rome
corresponds to the will of Christ, she does not separate this office from the mission
entrusted to the whole body of Bishops, who are also "vicars and ambassadors of
Christ".[153] The Bishop of Rome is a member of the "College", and the
Bishops are his brothers in the ministry.
Whatever relates to the unity of all
Christian communities clearly forms part of the concerns of the primacy. As Bishop of Rome
I am fully aware, as I have reaffirmed in the present Encyclical Letter, that Christ
ardently desires the full and visible communion of all those Communities in which, by
virtue of God's faithfulness, his Spirit dwells. I am convinced that I have a particular
responsibility in this regard, above all in acknowledging the ecumenical aspirations of
the majority of the Christian Communities and in heeding the request made of me to find a
way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its
mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation. For a whole millennium Christians were
united in "a brotherly fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life ... If
disagreements in belief and discipline arose among them, the Roman See acted by common
consent as moderator".[154]
In this way the primacy exercised its office
of unity. When addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch His Holiness Dimitrios I, I
acknowledged my awareness that "for a great variety of reasons, and against the will
of all concerned, what should have been a service sometimes manifested itself in a very
different light. But ... it is out of a desire to obey the will of Christ truly that I
recognize that as Bishop of Rome I am called to exercise that ministry ... I insistently
pray the Holy Spirit to shine his light upon us, enlightening all the Pastors and
theologians of our Churches, that we may seek- together, of course-the forms in which this
ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned".[155]
96. This is an immense task, which we cannot
refuse and which I cannot carry out by myself. Could not the real but imperfect communion
existing between us persuade Church leaders and their theologians to engage with me in a
patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject, a dialogue in which, leaving useless
controversies behind, we could listen to one another, keeping before us only the will of
Christ for his Church and allowing ourselves to be deeply moved by his plea "that
they may all be one ... so that the world may believe that you have sent me"
(Jn 17:21)?
The communion of all particular Churches
with the Church of Rome: a necessary condition for unity
97. The Catholic Church, both in her
praxis and in her solemn documents, holds that the communion of the particular
Churches with the Church of Rome, and of their Bishops with the Bishop of Rome, is-in
God's plan-an essential requisite of full and visible communion. Indeed full communion, of
which the Eucharist is the highest sacramental manifestation, needs to be visibly
expressed in a ministry in which all the Bishops recognize that they are united in Christ
and all the faithful find confirmation for their faith. The first part of the Acts of the
Apostles presents Peter as the one who speaks in the name of the apostolic group and who
serves the unity of the community all the while respecting the authority of James, the
head of the Church in Jerusalem. This function of Peter must continue in the Church so
that under her sole Head, who is Jesus Christ, she may be visibly present in the world as
the communion of all his disciples.
Do not many of those involved in ecumenism
today feel a need for such a ministry? A ministry which presides in truth and love so that
the ship-that beautiful symbol which the World Council of Churches has chosen as its
emblem- will not be buffeted by the storms and will one day reach its haven.
Full unity and evangelization
98. The ecumenical movement in our century,
more than the ecumenical undertakings of past centuries, the importance of which must not
however be underestimated, has been characterized by a missionary outlook. In the verse of
John's Gospel which is ecumenism's inspiration and guiding motif-"that they may all
be one ... so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn
17:21)-the phrase that the world may believe has been so strongly emphasized that
at times we run the risk of forgetting that, in the mind of the Evangelist, unity is above
all for the glory of the Father. At the same time it is obvious that the lack of unity
among Christians contradicts the Truth which Christians have the mission to spread and,
consequently, it gravely damages their witness. This was dearly understood and expressed
by my Predecessor Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi:
"As evangelizers, we must offer Christ's faithful not the image of people divided and
separated by unedifying quarrels, but the image of people who are mature in faith and
capable of finding a meeting-point beyond the real tensions, thanks to a shared, sincere
and disinterested search for truth. Yes, the destiny of evangelization is certainly bound
up with the witness of unity given by the Church ... At this point we wish to emphasize
the sign of unity among all Christians as the way and instrument of evangelization. The
division among Christians is a serious reality which impedes the very work of
Christ".[156]
How indeed can we proclaim the Gospel of
reconciliation without at the same time being committed to working for reconciliation
between Christians? However true it is that the Church, by the prompting of the Holy
Spirit and with the promise of indefectibility, has preached and still preaches the Gospel
to all nations, it is also true that she must face the difficulties which derive from the
lack of unity. When non- believers meet missionaries who do not agree among themselves,
even though they all appeal to Christ, will they be in a position to receive the true
message? Will they not think that the Gospel is a cause of division, despite the fact that
it is presented as the fundamental law of love?
99. When I say that for me, as Bishop of
Rome, the ecumenical task is "one of the pastoral priorities" of my
Pontificate,[157] I think of the grave obstacle which the lack of unity represents for the
proclamation of the Gospel. A Christian Community which believes in Christ and desires,
with Gospel fervor, the salvation of mankind can hardly be closed to the promptings of the
Holy Spirit, who leads all Christians towards full and visible unity. Here an imperative
of charity is in question, an imperative which admits of no exception. Ecumenism is not
only an internal question of the Christian Communities. It is a matter of the love which
God has in Jesus Christ for all humanity; to stand in the way of this love is an offense
against him and against his plan to gather all people in Christ. As Pope Paul VI wrote to
the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I: "May the Holy Spirit guide us along the way
of reconciliation, so that the unity of our Churches may become an ever more radiant sign
of hope and consolation for all mankind".[158]
EXHORTATION
100. In my recent Letter to the Bishops,
clergy and faithful of the Catholic Church indicating the path to be followed towards the
celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Holy Year 2000, I wrote that "the
best preparation for the new millennium can only be expressed in a renewed commitment
to apply, as faithfully as possible, the teachings of Vatican II to the life of every
individual and of the whole Church".[159] The Second Vatican Council is the great
beginning-the Advent as it were-of the journey leading us to the threshold of the Third
Millennium. Given the importance which the Council attributed to the work of rebuilding
Christian unity, and in this our age of grace for ecumenism, I thought it necessary to
reaffirm the fundamental convictions which the Council impressed upon the consciousness of
the Catholic Church, recalling them in the light of the progress subsequently made towards
the full communion of all the baptized.
There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is
active in this endeavor and that he is leading the Church to the full realization of the
Father's plan, in conformity with the will of Christ. This will was expressed with
heartfelt urgency in the prayer which, according to the Fourth Gospel, he uttered at the
moment when he entered upon the saving mystery of his Passover. Just as he did then, today
too Christ calls everyone to renew their commitment to work for full and visible
communion.
101. I therefore exhort my Brothers in the
Episcopate to be especially mindful of this commitment. The two Codes of Canon Law
include among the responsibilities of the Bishop that of promoting the unity of all
Christians by supporting all activities or initiatives undertaken for this purpose, in the
awareness that the Church has this obligation from the will of Christ himself.[160] This
is part of the episcopal mission and it is a duty which derives directly from fidelity to
Christ, the Shepherd of the Church. Indeed all the faithful are asked by the Spirit of God
to do everything possible to strengthen the bonds of communion between all Christians and
to increase cooperation between Christ's followers: "Concern for restoring unity
pertains to the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike. It extends to everyone according
to the potential of each".[161]
102. The power of God's Spirit gives growth
and builds up the Church down the centuries. As the Church turns her gaze to the new
millennium, she asks the Spirit for the grace to strengthen her own unity and to make it
grow towards full communion with other Christians.
How is the Church to obtain this grace? In
the first place, through prayer. Prayer should always concern itself with the
longing for unity, and as such is one of the basic forms of our love for Christ and for
the Father who is rich in mercy. In this journey which we are undertaking with other
Christians towards the new millennium prayer must occupy the first place.
How is she to obtain this grace? Through
giving thanks, so that we do not present ourselves empty-handed at the appointed
time: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness ... [and] intercedes for us with
sighs too deep for words" (Rom 8:26), disposing us to ask God for what we
need.
How is she to obtain this grace? Through
hope in the Spirit, who can banish from us the painful memories of our separation.
The Spirit is able to grant us clear-sightedness, strength and courage to take whatever
steps are necessary, that our commitment may be ever more authentic.
And should we ask if all this is possible,
the answer will always be yes. It is the same answer which Mary of Nazareth heard: with
God nothing is impossible.
I am reminded of the words of Saint
Cyprian's commentary on the Lord's Prayer, the prayer of every Christian:
"God does not accept the sacrifice of a sower of disunion, but commands that he
depart from the altar so that he may first be reconciled with his brother. For God can be
appeased only by prayers that make peace. To God, the better offering is peace, brotherly
concord and a people made one in the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit".[162]
At the dawn of the new millennium, how can
we not implore from the Lord, with renewed enthusiasm and a deeper awareness, the grace to
prepare ourselves, together, to offer this sacrifice of unity?
103. I, John Paul, servus servorum
Dei,, venture to make my own the words of the Apostle Paul, whose martyrdom, together
with that of the Apostle Peter, has bequeathed to this See of Rome the splendor of its
witness, and I say to you, the faithful of the Catholic Church, and to you, my brothers
and sisters of the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities: "Mend your ways,
encourage one another, live in harmony, and the God of love and peace will be with you ...
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor 13:11, 13).
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 25 May,
the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, in the year 1995, the seventeenth of my
Pontificate.
Joannes Paulus II
ENDNOTES
1. Cf. Address following the Way of the
Cross on Good Friday (1 April 1994), 3: AAS 87 (1995), 88.
2. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 1.
3. Cf. Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio
Adveniente (10 November 1994), 16: AAS 87 (1995), 15.
4. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE
FAITH, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of the Church
Understood as Communion Communionis Notio (28 May 1992), 4: AAS 85 (1993),
840.
5. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree
on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 1.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., 4.
8. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 14.
9. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 1 and 2.
10. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 14.
11. Ibid., 8.
12. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 3.
13. Ibid.
14. No. 15.
15. Ibid.
16. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 15.
17. Ibid., 3.
18. Ibid.
19. Cf. SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT,
Homilies on the Gospel, 19, 1: PL, 1154, quoted in SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL
COUNCIL Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 2.
20. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
21. Ibid., 7.
22. Cf. ibid.
23. Ibid., 6.
24. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 7.
25. Cf. Apostolic Letter Euntes in
Mundum (25 January 1988): AAS 80 (1988), 935- 956.
26. Cf. Encyclical Epistle Slavorum
Apostoli (2 June 1985): AAS 77 (1985), 779-813.
27. Cf. Directory for the Application of
Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (25 March 1993): AAS 85 (1993), 1039-1119.
28. Cf. in particular, the Lima Document:
Baptism Eucharist and Ministry (January 1982), and the study of the JOINT WORKING
GROUP BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Confessing the
"One" Faith (1991), Document No. 153 of the Commission on Faith and Order,
Geneva, 1991.
29. Cf. Opening Address of the Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council (11 October 1962): AAS 54 (1962), 793.
30. We are speaking of the SECRETARIAT FOR
PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, established by Pope John XXIII with the Motu Proprio
Superno Dei Nutu (5 June 1960), 9: AAS 52 (1960), 436, and confirmed by
successive documents: JOHN XXIII Motu Proprio Appropinquante Concilio (6 August
1962), c. III, a. 7, # 2, I: AAS 54 (1962), 614; cf. PAUL VI Apostolic
Constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae (15 August 1967), 92-94: AAS 59
(1967), 918-919. This dicastery is now called the PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN UNITY: cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus (28 June
1988), V, Arts. 135-138: AAS 80 (1988), 895-896.
31. Opening Address of the Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council (11 October 1962): AAS 54 (1962), 792.
32. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio 6.
33. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 1.
34. Encyclical Epistle Slavorum
Apostoli (2 June 1985), 11: AAS 77 (1985), 792.
35. Ibid., 13: loc. cit.,
794.
36. Ibid., 11: loc. cit.,
792.
37. Address to the Aboriginal Peoples (29
November 1986), 12: AAS 79 (1987), 977.
38. Cf. SAINT VINCENT OF LERINS,
Commonitorium primum, 23: PL 50, 667-668.
39. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 6.
40. Ibid., 5.
41. Ibid., 7.
42. Ibid., 8.
43. Ibid.
44. Cf. ibid, 4.
45. Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter
Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November 1994), 24: AAS 87 (1995), 19-20.
46. Address at Canterbury Cathedral (29 May
1982), 5: AAS 74 (1982), 922.
47. WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES,
Constitution and Rules, III, 1.
48. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 24.
49. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 7.
50. Maria Sagheddu was born at Dorgali
(Sardinia) in 1914. At twenty-one years of age she entered the Trappistine Monastery in
Grottaferrata. Through the apostolic labors of Abbe Paul Couturier she came to understand
the need for prayers and spiritual sacrifices for the unity of Christians. In 1936, at the
time of an Octave for Unity, she chose to offer her life for the unity of the
Church. Following a grave illness, Sister Maria Gabriella died on 23 April 1939.
51. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 24.
52. Cf. AAS 56 (1964), 609-659.
53. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 13.
54. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
55. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon
755; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canons 902-904.
56. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
57. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 3.
58. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
59. Cf. ibid.
60. Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam Suam
(6 August 1964), III: AAS 56 (1964), 642.
61. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL Decree
on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, 11.
62. Cf. ibid.
63. Ibid.; cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE
DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration in Defense of Catholic Doctrine on the Church
Mysterium Ecclesiae (24 June 1973), 4: AAS 65 (1973), 402.
64. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE
FAITH, Declaration in Defense of Catholic Doctrine on the Church Mysterium
Ecclesiae, 5: AAS 65 (1973), 403.
65. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
66. Cf. Common Christological Declaration
between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East: L'Osservatore
Romano, 12 November 1994, 1.
67. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree of Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 12.
68. Ibid.
69. PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on
Ecumenism (25 March 1993), 5: AAS 85 (1993), 1040.
70. Ibid. 94: loc. cit., 1078.
71. Cf. COMMISSION ON FAITH AND ORDER OF THE
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (January 1982).
72. Cf. Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis (30 December 1987), 32: AAS 80 (1988), 556.
73. Address to the Cardinals and the Roman
Curia (28 June 1985 ), 10: AAS 77 (1985), 1158, cf. Encyclical Letter
Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979), 11 AAS 71 (1979), 277-278
74. Address to the Cardinals and the Roman
Curia (28 June 1985 ), 10: AAS 77 (1985), 1158.
75. Cf. SECRETARIAT FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN
UNITY and the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES Guiding Principles for
Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible (1968). This was revised and
then published by the SECRETARIAT FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, "Guidelines for
Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible": Information Service,
65 (1987), 140-145.
76. Cf. COMMISSION ON FAITH AND ORDER OF THE
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (January 1982).
77. For example, at the most recent
assemblies of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver (1983) and in Canberra (1991),
and of the Commission on Faith and Order in Santiago de Compostela (1993).
78. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 8 and 15; Code of Canon Law,
Canon 844; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 671; PONTIFICAL COUNCIL
FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms
on Ecumenism (25 March 1993) 122-125, 129-131, 123 and 132: AAS 85 (1993),
1086-1087, 1088-1089, 1087 and 1089.
79. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree On Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
80. Ibid.
81. Cf. No. 15.
82. No. 15.
83. Ibid., 14.
84. Cf. Joint Declaration of Pope Paul VI
and the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras I (7 December 1965): Tomos Agapis,
Vatican-Phanar (1958-1970), Rome- Istanbul, 1971, 280-281.
85. Cf. AAS 77 (1985), 779-813.
86. Cf. AAS 80 (1988), 933-956; Cf.
Message Magnum Baptismi Donum, (14 February 1988): AAS 80 (1988), 988-997.
87. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree On Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 14.
88. Ibid.
89. Apostolic Brief Anno Ineunte (25
July 1967): Tomos Agapis,Vatican-Phanar (1958-1970), Rome-Istanbul, 1971, 388-391.
90. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 14.
91. Ibid., 15.
92. No. 14: L'Osservatore Romano,
2-3 May 1995, 3.
93. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 17.
94. No. 26.
95. Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon
844, ## 2 and 3; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 671, ## 2 and 3.
96. PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on
Ecumenism (25 March 1993), 122-128: AAS 85 (1993), 1086-1088.
97. Declaration by His Holiness Pope John
Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I (7 December 1987) AAS 80 (1988),
253.
98. JOINT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE
THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH, "The
Sacrament of Order in the Sacramental Structure of the Church, with Particular Reference
to the Importance of the Apostolic Succession for the Sanctification and the Unity of the
People of God" (26 June 1988), 1: Information Service, 68 (1988), 173.
99. Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Letter to the Bishops
of Europe on the Relations between Catholics and Orthodox in the New Situation of Central
and Eastern Europe (31 May 1991), 6: AAS 84 (1992), 168.
100. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 17.
101. Cf. Apostolic Letter Orientale
Lumen (2 May 1995), 24: L'Osservatore Romano, 2-3 May 1995, 5.
102. Ibid., 18: loc. cit.,
4.
103. Cf. Joint Declaration by His Holiness
Pope Paul VI and His Holiness Shenouda m, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of
Saint Mark of Alexandria (10 May 1973): AAS 65 (1973), 299-301.
104. Cf. Joint Declaration by His Holiness
Pope Paul VI and His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Jacoub III, Patriarch of the Church of Antioch
of the Syrians (27 October 1971): AAS 63 (1971), 814-815.
105. Cf. Address to the Delegates of the
Coptic Orthodox Church (2 June 1979): AAS 71 (1979), 1000-1001.
106. Cf. Joint Declaration of Pope John Paul
II and the Syrian-Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (23 June
1984): Insegnamenti VII/1 (1984), 1902-1906.
107. Address to His Holiness Abuna Paulos,
Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia (11 June 1993): L'Osservatore Romano,
11-12 June 1993, 4.
108. Cf. Common Christological Declaration
between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East: L'Osservatore
Romano, 12 November 1994, 1.
109. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 19.
110. Ibid.
111. Ibid., 19.
112. Cf. ibid.
113. Ibid.
114. Ibid., 20.
115. Ibid., 21.
116. Ibid.
117. Ibid.
118. Ibid., 22.
119. Ibid.
120. Ibid., 22; cf. 20.
121. Ibid., 22.
122. Ibid., 23.
123. Ibid.
124. Cf. Radio Message Urbi et Orbi
(27 August 1978): AAS 70 (1978), 695-696.
125. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 23.
126. Ibid.
127. Cf. ibid., 12.
128. Ibid.
129. The steady work of the Commission on
Faith and Order has led to a comparable vision adopted by the Seventh Assembly of the
World Council of Churches in the Canberra Declaration (7-20 February 1991); cf. Signs
of the Spirit, Official Report, Seventh Assembly, WCC, Geneva, 1991, pp. 235-258. This
vision was reaffirmed by the World Conference of Faith and Order at Santiago de Compostela
(3-14 August 1993); cf. Information Service, 285 (1994), 18-37.
130. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 14.
131. Cf. ibid., 4 and 11.
132. Cf. Address to the Cardinals and the
Roman Curia (28 June 1985), 6: AAS 77 (1985), 1153.
133. Cf. ibid.
134. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 12.
135. Cf. AAS 54 (1962), 792.
136. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 6.
137. Cf. ibid., 4; PAUL VI, Homily
for the Canonization of the Ugandan Martyrs (18 October 1964): AAS 56 (1964), 906.
138. Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter
Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November 1994), 37: AAS 87 (1995), 29-30.
139. Cf. PAUL VI, Address at the Shrine in
Namugongo, Uganda (2 August 1969): AAS 61 (1969), 590-591.
140. Cf. Missale Romanum, Praefatio le
Sanctis I: Sanctorum "coronando merita tua dona coronans".
141. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
142. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 8.
143. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 3.
144. After the Lima Document of the
Commission on Faith and Order, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (January 1982), and
in the spirit of the Declaration of the Seventh General Assembly of the World Council of
Churches, The Unity of the Church as "koinonia": Gift and Task
(Canberra, 7-20 February 1991): cf. Istina 36 (1991), 389-391.
145. Address to the Cardinals and the Roman
Curia (28 June 1985), 4: AAS 77 (1985), 1151-1152.
146. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 23.
147. Cf. Discourse at the Headquarters of
the World Council of Churches, Geneva (12 June 1984), 2: Insegnamenti VII/1
(1984), 1686.
148. WORLD CONFERENCE OF THE COMMISSION ON
FAITH AND ORDER, Report of the Second Section, Santiago de Compostela (1993 ):
Confessing the One Faith to God's Glory 31, 2, Faith and Order Paper No. 166,
World Council of Churches, Geneva, 1994, 243.
149. To cite only a few examples:
ANGLICAN-ROMAN CATHOLIC INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION, Final Report ARCIC-I (September
1981); INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST AND THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH, Report (1981); ROMAN CATHOLIC/LUTHERAN JOINT COMMISSION, The
Ministry in the Church (13 March 1981). The problem takes clear shape in the research
conducted by the JOINT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
150. Address to the Cardinals and the Roman
Curia (28 June 1985 ), 3: AAS 77 (1985), 1150.
151. Sermon XLVI, 30: CCL
41, 557.
152. Cf. FIRST VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ Pastor Aeternus: DS 3074.
153. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 27.
154. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 14.
155. Homily in the Vatican Basilica in the
presence of Dimitrios I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch (6 December
1987), 3: AAS 80 (1988), 714.
156. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii
Nuntiandi (8 December 1975), 77: AAS 68 (1976), 69; Cf. SECOND VATICAN
ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 1; PONTIFICAL
COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, Directory for the Application of Principles and
Norms on Ecumenism (25 March 1993), 205-209: AAS 85 (1993), 1112-1114.
157. Address to the Cardinals and the Roman
Curia (28 June 1985), 4: AAS 77 (1985), 1151.
158. Letter of 13 January 1970: Tomos
Agapis, Vatican-Phanar (1958-1970), Rome- Istanbul, 1971, pp. 610-611.
159. Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio
Adveniente (10 November 1994), 20: AAS 87 (1995), 17.
160. Cf.Code of Canon Law, Canon
755; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 902.
161. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 5.
162. On The Lord's Prayer, 23:
CSEL 3, 284-285.
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