Smoky Mountains Sunrise
Showing posts with label Ecumenism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecumenism. Show all posts

Friday, February 21, 2014

Pope Francis Sends Video Message to Evangelical Gathering Sponsored by Kenneth Copeland Ministries


VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In an unusual video message, recorded on an iPhone by a Pentecostal pastor Pope Francis knew in Argentina, the pope says all Christians share blame for their divisions, speaks of his "longing" for their unity and insists that God will bring the miracle of Christian unity to completion.

"Pray to the Lord that he will unite us all," the pope tells a group of Pentecostals meeting in the United States. "Let's move forward, we are brothers; let us give each other that spiritual embrace and allow the Lord to complete the work he has begun. Because this is a miracle; the miracle of unity has begun."



In the video, posted on YouTube and never released by the Vatican, the pope quotes a character from a novel by Alessandro Manzoni; the character says, "'I have never found that the Lord began a miracle without finishing it well.' He will finish well this miracle of unity," the pope added.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Pope Concludes Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with Reflections on Ecumenism and the Petrine Ministry



HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls
Saturday, 25 January 2014


“Has Christ been divided?” (1 Cor 1:13). The urgent appeal which Saint Paul makes at the beginning of his First Letter to the Corinthians, and which has been proclaimed at this evening’s liturgy, was chosen by a group of our fellow Christians in Canada as the theme for our meditation during this year’s Week of Prayer.

The Apostle was grieved to learn that the Christians of Corinth had split into different factions. Some claimed: “I belong to Paul”; while others claimed: “I belong to Apollos” or “I belong to Cephas”, and others yet claimed: “I belong to Christ” (cf. v. 12). Paul could not even praise those who claimed to belong to Christ, since they were using the name of the one Saviour to set themselves apart from their other brothers and sisters within the community. In other words, the particular experience of each individual, or an attachment to certain significant persons in the community, had become a yardstick for judging the faith of others.

Amid this divisiveness, Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” to be in agreement, so that divisions will not reign among them, but rather a perfect union of mind and purpose (cf. v. 10). The communion for which the Apostle pleads, however, cannot be the fruit of human strategies. Perfect union among brothers and sisters can only come from looking to the mind and heart of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). This evening, as we gather here in prayer, may we realize that Christ, who cannot be divided, wants to draw us to himself, to the sentiments of his heart, to his complete and confident surrender into the hands of the Father, to his radical self-emptying for love of humanity. Christ alone can be the principle, the cause and the driving force behind our unity.

As we find ourselves in his presence, we realize all the more that we may not regard divisions in the Church as something natural, inevitable in any form of human association. Our divisions wound Christ’s body, they impair the witness which we are called to give to him before the world. The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, appealing to the text of Saint Paul which we have reflected on, significantly states: “Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communities present themselves to people as the true inheritance of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but they differ in outlook and go their different ways, as if Christ were divided”. And the Council continues: “Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the sacred cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature” (Unitatis Redintegratio, 1). We have all been damaged by these divisions. None of us wishes to become a cause of scandal. And so we are all journeying together, fraternally, on the road towards unity, bringing about unity even as we walk; that unity comes from the Holy Spirit and brings us something unique which only the Holy Spirit can do, that is, reconciling our differences. The Lord waits for us all, accompanies us all, and is with us all on this path of unity.

Christ, dear friends, cannot be divided! This conviction must sustain and encourage us to persevere with humility and trust on the way to the restoration of full visible unity among all believers in Christ. Tonight I think of the work of two great Popes: Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. In the course of their own lives, both came to realize the urgency of the cause of unity and, once elected Bishops of Rome, they guided the entire Catholic flock decisively on the paths of ecumenism. Pope John blazed new trails which earlier would have been almost unthinkable. Pope John Paul held up ecumenical dialogue as an ordinary and indispensable aspect of the life of each Particular Church. With them, I think too of Pope Paul VI, another great promoter of dialogue; in these very days we are commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his historic embrace with the Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople.

The work of these, my predecessors, enabled ecumenical dialogue to become an essential dimension of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, so that today the Petrine ministry cannot be fully understood without this openness to dialogue with all believers in Christ. We can say also that the journey of ecumenism has allowed us to come to a deeper understanding of the ministry of the Successor of Peter, and we must be confident that it will continue to do so in the future. As we look with gratitude to the progress which the Lord has enabled us to make, and without ignoring the difficulties which ecumenical dialogue is presently experiencing, let us all pray that we may put on the mind of Christ and thus progress towards the unity which he wills. And to journey together is already to be making unity!

In this climate of prayer for the gift of unity, I address a cordial and fraternal greeting to His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios, the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and to His Grace David Moxon, the representative in Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to all the representatives of the various Churches and Ecclesial Communities gathered here this evening. With these two brothers representing everyone, we have prayed at the Tomb of Paul and have said to one another: “Let us pray that he will help us on this path, on this path of unity and of love, as we advance towards unity”. Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end. Rather, unity comes about in journeying; the Holy Spirit does this on the journey. If we do not walk together, if we do not pray for one another, if we do not collaborate in the many ways that we can in this world for the People of God, then unity will not come about! But it will happen on this journey, in each step we take. And it is not we who are doing this, but rather the Holy Spirit, who sees our goodwill.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord Jesus, who has made us living members of his body, to keep us deeply united to him, to help us overcome our conflicts, our divisions and our self-seeking; and let us remember that unity is always better than conflict! And so may he help us to be united to one another by one force, by the power of love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5). Amen.


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Lutheran Group Expresses Interest in Ordinariate


An American Lutheran group, the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church—has expressed a desire to enter an ordinariate established in the US for former Anglicans entering the Catholic Church. 

Leaders of the Lutheran group told Vatican officials of their wish “to undo the mistakes of Father Martin Luther and return to the one, holy, and true Catholic Church.” They were referred by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who is charged with overseeing the establishment of an American ordinariate. 

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

De-population and De-Christianization Leading to Cultural Islamic Jihad: Catholic Apologist

From LifeSiteNews
By Hilary White

The de-Christianization of Europe, the “removal of Christian principles and institutions from the daily life of a country,” has created a religious and social vacuum that is being filled by Islam, a prominent U.S. Catholic speaker said on Thursday. Raymond de Souza, the Program Director for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International told an audience of the world’s pro-life and pro-family leaders that “Europe … is being culturally Islamized.”

“The world in general, and the West in particular, is undergoing a tragic process of de-Christianization. Christian principles, values and institutions have been extirpated from our social, economic, political, legal, educational structures. Sometimes publicly, sometimes stealthily, the process has wrought havoc in Europe and the countries that descended from them.”

De Souza is the founder and director of Saint Gabriel Communications, an international Catholic apologetics organization and a popular program host on EWTN. He said that the failure of Christianity in Europe, has led to “the greatest Jihad ever carried out by Islam,” which takes the form not of physical battles, but as a “silent Jihad” through demographic take-over.

The cause underlying this “silent Jihad,” he said, is the “most crucial aspect” of Europe’s de-Christianization - de-population. “Europeans do not even replace their countries populations.”

“As one Moslem mullah said to an Anglican priest in London, ‘By the end of this century, all great English Cathedrals will be mosques. Why? Because we have children, and you don’t’.

“Contraception promised a freedom without responsibility, abortion promises the right to do one’s own thing with one’s own body, homosexual marriage promises respect for different orientations … result: the end of civilization as we knew it.”

De-Christianization, he said, is not a new phenomenon, but had its start “centuries ago” with the social, economic and philosophical upheavals that resulted in the Protestant Reformation.

De Souza, a professional Catholic apologist, said bluntly that the solution is the “reunification of all baptized Christians under ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ in the one Church of God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.”

“Why re-unify? Because as long as our separated brethren-in-baptism remain fragmented into thousands of denominations with a wide variety of creeds and moral codes, all claiming to derive their interpretations from the Bible, Christianity will not stand a chance against Islam. It is already sorely weakened by the influence of secularism and the Culture of Death.”

The cultural revolution, he said, is reaching a “climax, in which governments from virtually all countries in the world declare war against human nature, exemplified in the family.”

“The Culture of Death … today reigns supreme. Its weapons are Contraception, IVF, abortion, euthanasia, experimentation with human embryos, homosexual marriage.”

He called for “prayer, study and action” aimed at opposing the “dictatorship of relativism” in society as a whole and in the churches, and the promotion of “true ecumenism” to “bring all peoples together into one faith, not all faiths together into one people.”

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Key Russian Orthodox Prelate Sees New Springtime for Christian Unity

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria (1966- ),
MP representative to the European Institutions
From Catholic World News

Speaking in Spain, and echoing language used by Venerable John Paul II, the Russian Orthodox Church’s leading ecumenical officer said on October 5 that this century will see a springtime of Christianity.

“A Christian spring is just about to arrive,” said Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev. “The 21st century will see the divisions between Christians healed and a rebirth of the faith, gift of God, just as it was preached by the apostles and preserved by the Fathers.”

Archbishop Hilarion’s remarks came less than two weeks after he downplayed the optimism prevalent at the official dialogue between Eastern Orthodox and Catholics.

In his address at the Conciliar Seminary of Barcelona, Archbishop Hilarion also called for a renewed appreciation of the Fathers of the Church.

“Contrary to the recipes of modern teachings such as psychoanalysis, the advice of the Fathers exhales a healthy spirit, founded as it is on the solid understanding of the human spirit, and the need to combat one's own sinful tendencies and put goodness into practice,” he said. “The counsels of the Fathers are much more universal than the basic postulates of Freudianism, and can be applied to people who live in the most diverse cultural and temporal contexts.”

“The works of the Fathers will never be irrelevant,” he added, “given that they treat questions, the answers to which are decisive for humanity's destiny.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.



Saturday, September 11, 2010

Beyond the Beatification of Cardinal Newman


Pope Benedict's trip to England is an outreach for reunion, too.

From The Wall Street Journal
By C. John McCloskey III

This month Pope Benedict XVI will travel to England for an unprecedented state visit to the United Kingdom, meeting with the Queen at Balmoral Castle and giving an address to Parliament. The occasion for this historic event, however, is not church or international politics—although political issues will doubtless be touched upon—but the beatification (the penultimate step towards sainthood) of John Henry Cardinal Newman.

Newman, whose long life spanned most of the 19th century, was perhaps the greatest religious figure of the last 200 years of British history. Converting from Anglicanism to Catholicism at the age of 44, he wrote cogently and beautifully under both religious affiliations, and was a lightning rod in the passionately argued religious controversies of his time, such as infallibility of the Pope or the legitimacy of Anglicanism as the state church.

Valuing his religious influences as a thinker and evangelizer of the highest caliber, Pope Benedict has made an exception of his thus-far universal practice of not participating in beatification ceremonies. Hence his trip to Great Britain.

En route to this honor were the standard ecclesial steps: the examination of Newman's life and writings; a declaration that he had lived a life of extraordinary virtue; and official approval by doctors and theologians of a miraculous cure after prayers that Newman would intercede with God on the sufferer's behalf.

The miracle in question holds special interest for Americans, being the recovery in 2001 from a debilitating back condition of the Massachusetts lawyer and deacon Jack Sullivan. His cure was a very modern "media miracle" provoked by a series on Newman on EWTN, Mother Angelica's Catholic broadcasting network. At the end of each episode, a prayer card for Newman was displayed on the screen. Mr. Sullivan prayed for the long-dead cardinal's intercession before God for a cure. The rest (following rigorous medical and ecclesial examination) is now history.

Although Newman was a devout and humble man of great personal warmth and sensitivity, it is difficult to think of him apart from his public career. The author of seminal books of theology and philosophy, such as "The Development of Doctrine" and "A Grammar of Assent," he also dashed off the greatest autobiography in English, "Apologia pro Vita Sua" (a media sensation in his time), in a matter of weeks after personal attacks on his honesty.

Newman's experience in helping found what is today the University College of Dublin inspired his extended argument for a classical liberal education, "The Idea of a University." He also wrote novels of religious conversion and hymns still sung in both Protestant and Catholic churches, such as "Lead, Kindly Light."

He also won early (and continuing) renown as a brilliant preacher. The atheist novelist George Eliot memorized the whole of one of them, "The Second Spring," and would recite it at the drop of a hat at private salons.

As a young and ardent Anglican priest, Newman and like-minded others originated the "Oxford Movement" in an attempt to revive the ancient doctrines and zeal for the "old religion" in an increasingly liberalizing Anglican Church. From the early 1830s up to his conversion to Catholicism in 1845, Newman battled the yielding spirit of Anglican toleration for indifferentism, which manifested itself in the belief that one religion was as good as another.

When his arguments were rejected by his Anglican superiors and he came to believe that his continued membership in the Church of England separated him from what he had now come to regard as the true Church, he converted to Catholicism and was ordained in Rome. Returning to England, he settled in Birmingham, where he founded the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, from which came the famous Brompton Oratory in London.

Newman died in 1890 popularly considered a saint. Over a century later, the Church is vindicating this judgment of the people of the U.K. and the whole English-speaking world. Pope Benedict's decision to preside over Newman's beatification reflects his love and respect for a fellow theologian whose work he has studied from his seminary days, and whose influence on the Second Vatican Council made him perhaps the most influential theologian on the council, even though it was meeting more than 70 years after his death.

Yet what is most intriguing about Benedict's upcoming visit to England is its ecumenical significance. Pope Benedict has established very cordial relationships with Orthodox patriarchs and bishops (a long-held ambition of his predecessor John Paul II as well). At the same time, he has made a remarkable and controversial offer to members of the Anglican Communion throughout the world to be received into the Church, singly or in whole congregations, bringing with them their liturgical traditions and even their pastors and bishops, if those clergymen were properly received into the Catholic Church.

If Pope Benedict's outreach meets with even limited success, perhaps tens of millions of fervent Evangelical and Pentecostal "Bible" Christians may want to reexamine more closely this ancient Church as the 500th anniversary of the Reformation draws near in 2017. The mutual momentum towards reunion may be irresistible.

Rev. McCloskey is a Church historian from Washington, D.C.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Lutherans Reaffirm Desire for Shared Eucharist


From Christian Today India
By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post

Talks of a continued commitment toward ecumenism, or church unity, dominated the stage at the Lutheran World Federation's assembly on Wednesday.

The Lutheran commitment to ecumenism will not end until we can share the Eucharist with other churches, said LWF President Bishop Mark S Hanson.

"If Roman Catholics and Lutherans [for example] can feed the hungry together, wouldn’t it be good if they could be fed at the Lord’s Table together?" he posed.

LWF is the world's largest communion of Lutheran churches, representing over 70 million Christians in 79 countries.

This year's meeting assembly in Stuttgart, Germany, is being joined by leaders and representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the United Methodist Church and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

LWF has pursued deeper relations with each of the global church bodies. One of the landmark ecumenical events was the 1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

"To be the Lutheran World Federation: A Communion of Churches is to be ecumenical," said Hanson in his report.


"When a radically inclusive communion is God’s gift to us in Christ and at the centre of our self-understanding we will always define ourselves first in terms of our relatedness to others in the body of Christ.

"We gather in Stuttgart as more than fragments who momentarily put together the semblance of a whole.

"We gather because we are one by God’s grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.


"God’s gift of unity will be experienced and expressed again and again in the midst of our varied diversity and even our differences."

Regarding differences on human sexuality, Hanson encouraged Christians to begin the conversation by identifying what they have in common – such as "we are all sexual beings" – rather than from a position of judgment. His comments come nearly a year after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of which he is the presiding bishop, opened the door to allow partnered gays and lesbians to serve as clergy.


He expressed concerns over emerging conversations in some Lutheran churches about what it means to be truly Lutheran.


"I sense that there is a growing desire on the part of some to look at our rich, shared confessions not as a reason for conversation about how we can live in that confessional tradition, but rather as a way of determining who is truly Lutheran and who is not."

Hanson said he desired to see full unity among Lutherans themselves. "That would be an unfortunate breakdown."


Lutherans should not only affirm the theological and confessional foundations they share as Lutherans, but also the notion "that to be Lutheran is to be both evangelical and ecumenical".


LWF General Secretary the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko recalled in his address the statement they adopted in 2007. Rather than see themselves as "the Church", LWF views itself as a movement within the "one Church".


"We are aware that we need other Christians," Noko said.

Interfaith Diapraxis, or practical cooperation across religious borders, has been a special focus of the life of the LWF since 2003. Continuing that commitment, LWF delegates are being asked this year to take an action that would redefine their relations with Mennonites – a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations.

Noko lamented that the two bodies have been estranged for 500 years and that their Lutheran confessions "have very harsh things to say" about the Mennonites.


LWF will consider an action that asks for forgiveness "for the persecution and violence of which our Lutheran forebears were guilty, and of which we are the inheritors", Noko said.

Also present at the LWF assembly is World Council of Churches General Secretary the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit who lauded LWF's ecumenical efforts.


Though there are "several reasons given for why churches are not fully sharing the one bread in the Eucharist", Tveit said, "there are even more important theological and moral reasons why we continue to do anything we can do to come to the same table and have a common sharing of the one bread."


He said: "You are known for your commitment to peace with justice, to mission, diakonia and to ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious cooperation. Let it be so also in the future."


Sunday, July 11, 2010

Are Lutherans Next? Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church


Pope Benedict XVI's first Papal message: 'With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty.'

Priestly Ordination.

From
Catholic Online
By Deacon Keith Fournier

On Tuesday, Peter Kemmether, a married 62 year old father of four children was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller. Fr. Peter was granted a dispensation from the canonical discipline of celibacy attached to priestly ordination. He had been a Protestant Pastor who came into the full communion of the Catholic Church as the fruit of a sincere search for the fullness of the Christian faith. On June 6, 2010, I read a story in the Philadelphia Enquirer entitled "The Priest and his Mrs." concerning now Fr. Philip Johnson, a Lutheran Pastor for 19 years, who followed a similar path. He was ordained for the Diocese of Camden with the same exception, under the sponsorship and invitation of Bishop Joseph Galante.

Catholics are becoming aware of the former Anglican and Episcopal ministers who have followed the same journey home. Fewer Catholics are aware of the marvelous welcome the Church has extended to many more through the historic apostolic constitution approved by Pope Benedict XI. I have written extensively about this and recently shared my joy with our readers at the ordination of lifelong friend and pro-life hero Fr. Paul Schenck, whose ordination I had the privilege of attending last month. You can read my account here.

I am in a dialogue with Archbishop Irl A. Gladfelter, CSP, the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, a group of Lutherans who have embraced the Catholic Catechism and the teaching of the Magisterium. They are humbly knocking at the door of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeking a way into full communion. You can read about this amazing group here. I am working on a fuller story of their journey. Some have said that their smallness and placement on "the fringes" of the Lutheran community makes them less representative. I recall that those were the same comments made about the "Traditional Anglican Communion" in their early efforts. They became the prophetic vehicle the Holy Spirit used to open up an historic breakthrough.

To be Catholic is to enter into the prayer of Jesus for the Unity of His Church. In Pope Benedict XVI's first Papal message he signaled his commitment to this unity: "Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Lk 22: 32). With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty."

He has placed the commitment to the full communion of the Church at the forefront of his Papacy. This is evident in his love, respect and repeated overtures toward our Orthodox brethren, whom we recognize as a Church and whose priesthood and Sacraments we also recognize. However, this love is also evident in his outreach to the separated Christians of the Reformation communities of the West. On the 4th anniversary of the death of his predecessor, John Paul II, Pope Benedict reminded us of John Paul's passionate commitment to the full communion of the Church. That teaching is summarized in the Encyclical Letter "May they be One" (Ut Unum Sint).

The teaching of the Church is rooted in an ecclesiology of communion. John Paul II wrote: "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. ... The broadening of vocabulary is indicative of a significant change in attitudes" There is an increased awareness that we all belong to Christ."(#42)

John Paul also wrote: "Relations between Christians are not aimed merely at mutual knowledge, common prayer and dialog. 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. Cooperation among all Christians vividly expresses that bond which already unites them, and it sets in clearer relief the features of Christ the Servant". 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. 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." (#40)

I embrace the Catholic claim that the fullness of truth is found within the Catholic Church and carry a burden to see the prayer of Jesus recorded in St. John, Chapter 17, answered. There is a connection. Into a world that is fractured, divided, wounded, filled with "sides" and "camps" at enmity with one another, the Church is called to proclaim, by both word and deed, the unifying love of a living God. The heart of the "Gospel" is the message that in and through Jesus Christ, authentic unity with God - and through Him, in the Spirit, with one another- is not only possible but is the plan of God for the entire human race. The Church is the way. It was not the Lord's plan that she be divided. It is His Plan that she be restored to full communion.

Let us take our lead from the clear teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These paragraphs are in the section entitled "Wounds to Unity":

"817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame." The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism - do not occur without human sin: Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.

818 "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."

819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."

820 "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time." Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit."

Are Lutherans Next? We shall see. However, the Holy Spirit is clearly at work.We should welcome these wonderful stories as they increase and pray for the plan of the Lord for the full communion of all Christians to unfold.


Monday, June 28, 2010

Ecumenical Outlook with Orthodox World is Encouraging, Pope Says




From Catholic World News

Pope Benedict XVI said that he was encouraged with ecumenical progress, and hoped that the Orthodox churches would play a role in the October 2010 Synod of Bishops, as he met on June 28 with a delegation of prelates from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Orthodox delegation was in Rome to join the Pope in celebrations for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The exchange of representatives has become a regular feature of ecumenical ties; each year the Vatican sends a similar delegation to Istanbul for the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople patriarchate.

The Pope told the ecumenical delegates that relations between Rome and Constantinople today are “characterized by sentiments of mutual trust, esteem, and fraternity.” That amicable relationship provides hope for further progress, he said. Moreover, the Pontiff continued, the work of a joint Catholic-Orthodox theological commission offers more hope for closer ties.

Pope Benedict said that he was pleased to know the Ecumenical Patriarchate will send a delegation to participate in the October Synod, which is devoted to a discussion of the challenges facing the Church in the Middle East. "I am certain that the theme of ecumenical cooperation between the Christians of that region will receive great attention” during the Synod discussions, he said. The Pope added: “The difficulties that the Christians of the Middle East are experiencing are in large measure common to all: living as a minority, and yearning for authentic religious freedom and for peace.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.


Thursday, June 3, 2010

Major Conference in Edinburgh Marks a Century of Ecumenism

A century ago the worldwide, Christian ecumenical movement was launched at the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh. That historic conference included various Protestant missionary groups, the Anglican Church, and a single representative from the Orthodox Church. The extraordinary progress in ecumenism realized over the past century is being commemorated with a June 2 - 6 conference in Edinburgh.

Live feed from Edinburgh is available during the course of the conference here:


Live video by Ustream
Pope Benedict reflected on the importance of these historic events in a January 25th homily:
The choice of the theme of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity the invitation, that is, to a common witness of the Risen Christ in accordance with the mandate he entrusted to his disciples is linked to the memory of the 100th anniversary of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, in Scotland, widely considered a crucial event in the birth of the modern ecumenical movement. In the summer of 1910, in the Scottish capital, over 1,000 missionaries from diverse branches of Protestantism and Anglicanism, who were joined by one Orthodox guest, met to reflect together on the necessity of achieving unity in order to be credible in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it is precisely this desire to proclaim Christ to others and to carry his message of reconciliation throughout the world that makes one realize the contradiction posed by division among Christians. Indeed, how can non-believers accept the Gospel proclamation if Christians even if they all call on the same Christ are divided among themselves? Moreover, as we know, the same Teacher, at the end of the Last Supper, had prayed to the Father for his disciples: "That they may all be one... so that the world may believe" (Jn 17: 21). The communion and unity of Christ's disciples is therefore a particularly important condition to enhance the credibility and efficacy of their witness.

Now a century after the Edinburgh event, the intuition of those courageous precursors is still very timely. In a world marked by religious indifference, and even by a growing aversion to the Christian faith, it is necessary to discover a new, intense method of evangelization, not only among the peoples who have never known the Gospel but also among those where Christianity has spread and is part of their history. Unfortunately, the issues that separate us from each other are many, and we hope that they can be resolved through prayer and dialogue. There is, however, a core of the Christian message that we can all proclaim together: the fatherhood of God, the victory of Christ over sin and death with his Cross and Resurrection, and faith in the transforming action of the Spirit. While we journey toward full communion, we are called to offer a common witness in the face of the ever increasingly complex challenges of our time, such as secularization and indifference, relativism and hedonism, the delicate ethical issues concerning the beginning and end of life, the limits of science and technology, the dialogue with other religious traditions. There are also other areas in which we must from now on give a common witness: the safeguard of Creation, the promotion of the common good and of peace, the defense of the centrality of the human person, the commitment to overcome the shortcomings of our time, such as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and the unequal distribution of goods.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

In Russia, the Path to Unity is Defrosting


Picture

Benedict XVI meets Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad in 2007.
Today, Kirill is the Russian Orthodox Patriarch
(Photo: CNS)

From The Catholic Herald (UK)
By Neville Kyrke-Smith


"The Lefebvrists, the Anglicans... will it be the Orthodox next?" asked one slightly bewildered Catholic priest recently. Pope Benedict XVI is turning out to be ecumenically audacious. For this he has faced criticism, misunderstanding and accusations of insensitivity. But Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church seem now to be making progress in preparing the ground to overcome the Great Schism of 1054.

When I was in Russia late last year the Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, commented on the imperative aim of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to build "a dialogue of truth and charity" with the Orthodox. He emphasised how vital this was and thanked Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for its work in supporting Catholic, Orthodox and ecumenical projects in Russia:

"We have to encourage the Catholic community to show solidarity to the Orthodox. The initiative of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI is so important. Thank you for all that the charity does for the Church and for building relations with the Orthodox, in line with the will of the Holy Father... and Our Lord!"

He continued, reflecting on the great sufferings of all Christians in Soviet times: "We must find courage to turn the pages of history."

But it is not only Catholics who wish to "turn the pages of history" and establish an understanding, with a deeper respect.

Archpriest Fr Igor Vyzhanov, Secretary for inter-Christian Affairs at the Moscow Patriarchate, told me: "We have a common heritage, a common mission and challenges in common - both Catholics and Orthodox. We need your prayers and charity."

Fr Igor accompanied Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, who is head of the External Affairs Department of the Russian Orthodox Church, to a meeting at Castel Gandolfo with Pope Benedict XVI in late September. When asked about the continuing tense situation between churches in Ukraine - where the faithful of the Eastern Rite (Greek) Catholic Church suffered so much and where there is a raw sensitivity and a politically territorial religious viewpoint on both sides - Archpriest Igor recognised the scale of the challenges: "There is much hurt and there are very painful memories on both sides and the question is how a way forward can be found. But we must foster a solution with the Greek Catholics in Ukraine - and we both call for the need for dialogue."

So what underlies these recent changes in attitude? Where has this new energy come from, pushing towards a mutual recognition and some theological and ecclesial agreement? The difficult meetings of the International Joint Commission for Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Theological Commission, the publishing of books and articles, as well as cultural and diplomatic exchanges, are definitely leading to a greater openness. Indeed, one sign of this is a forthcoming exhibition with lectures this spring 2010 in Rome entitled Days of Russian Spiritual Culture - and it is thought likely that the Holy Father will make a point of attending. Additionally, the projects supported by Aid to the Church in Need have helped to build bridges of charity - including the publishing of social teaching documents by the Russian Orthodox Church and the sponsoring of a television programme on the Holy Father, with a personal message from Pope Benedict in Russian, broadcast across Russia in 2008. Barriers of mistrust and superstition are coming down - as common social and religious challenges are faced - and some of the wounds of atheism are beginning to heal.

Above all, it is the personalities involved at the top of the ecclesial trees who are encouraging a growing closeness. It is almost as though both Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict, through their theological studies and meetings prior to their elevation to office, were being prepared for a big fraternal gesture between the Orthodox and Catholic communities.

Patriarch Kirill hand-picked Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev as his successor as head of the External Relations Department of the Patriarchate, the post he himself previously held. While the Patriarch is cautious and measured in what he says, it is fascinating to hear what Archbishop Hilarion says. In Rome in September he said: "We support the Pope in his commitment to the defence of Christian values. We also support him when his courageous declarations arouse negative reactions on the part of politicians or public figures or they are criticised and sometimes misrepresented by some in the mass media. We believe that he has the duty to witness to the truth and we are therefore with him even when his word encounters opposition.

"Personally, I hope that sooner or later the meeting that many are awaiting between the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow will take place. I can say with responsibility that on both sides there is the desire to prepare a meeting with great care."

Pope Benedict's theological grounding, his studies, his lecturing and his time at the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith seem to have prepared him to be a bold pope who wishes to heal theological divides. Time and again he emphasises the common ground. The Holy Father summed up his deep respect for Orthodoxy late last year when he told Archbishop Anastas, head of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania late that we have "a common profession of the Nicene - Constantinopolitan creed; a common baptism for the remission of sins and for incorporation into Christ and the Church; the legacy of the first Ecumenical Councils; the real if imperfect communion which we already share, and the common desire and collaborative efforts to build upon what already exists".

In Russia the Catholic Church is seen in a different light from the Nineties when there was a great deal of suspicion and mistrust. Even in late 2001 Catholics were seen by the Orthodox to be triumphalistic and insensitive in establishing dioceses in Russia, without any consultation, just after the interfaith Assisi gathering with Pope John Paul II. Now Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has opened many doors and helped deepen respect for the Holy Father, Pope Benedict. Additionally, Italian diplomatic skills and ways seem to be to the fore. The Nuncio Archbishop Mennini has built good relationships - which led to the recent proposal from President Medvedev to upgrade the status of the Holy See so that the Vatican has full diplomatic relations with Russia. Archbishop Paolo Pezzi in Moscow and all the Catholic bishops are also working wherever they can to improve understanding and co-operation with the local Orthodox bishops.

Fr Pietro Scalini, the rector of the Catholic seminary in St Petersburg, told me that he has Orthodox lecturers and how there is a growing understanding, even if it is not easy at times.

"As the Pope has called the Church to breathe with both lungs, our presence here enables communication and knowing each other," he said. "I have taught a lot of Orthodox here, who come to learn. Our presence may help unity. It is not our aim to spread the Gospel - it relies on God."

Why does all this matter? So that Christ can be proclaimed with two lungs in today's world - breathed, lived, spoken of and witnessed to with real energy and power. For Catholics and Orthodox need each other. Both Cardinal Kasper and Archbishop Hilarion have spoken about the importance of the social teachings of the Church and the Liturgy. Indeed, Archbishop Hilarion has not held back at times with his comments: "Only united will we be able to propose to the world the spiritual and moral values of the Christian faith; together we will be able to offer our Christian vision of the family, of procreation, of a human love made not only for pleasure; to confirm our concept of social justice, of a more equitable distribution of goods, of a commitment to safeguarding the environment, for the defence of human life and its dignity. Therefore, the time has come to move from a failure to meet and competition, to solidarity, mutual respect and esteem; I would say, without a doubt, that we must move to mutual love. Our Christian preaching can have effect, can be convincing in our contemporary world, if we are able to live this mutual love between us, Christians."

He has also written: "Orthodox divine services are a priceless treasure that we must carefully guard... 'divine wisdom accessible to simple, loving hearts' (St John of Kronstadt)."

He added sadly that "since the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, services in some Catholic churches have become little different from Protestant ones".

Looking around Moscow, the visitor will see numerous Orthodox churches. There were just 40 functioning churches in Moscow during Soviet times, but now there are 400 churches for a population of perhaps 10 million. Surveys indicate that over 70 per cent of Russians claim to be Orthodox, even if only perhaps four to seven per cent attend the Liturgy regularly. There is a real feeling of Russian identity associated with the Orthodox Church and the Patriarch is recognised as an important diplomatic figure of influence within Russia. We in the West may worry about a resurgent Russian nationalism - with the Church getting too close to the state - but the Orthodox say that they are just developing a relationship with the Kremlin in order to have influence and to be able to have religion taught in schools.

In pastoral work and mission there are some imaginative initiatives. In St Petersburg Fr Alexander Tkachenko, a young priest, runs a centre providing pastoral care for terminally ill children. His is the only hospice for children in the whole of Russia. About 200 children are cared for per annum and the Centre is now registered. ACN has helped with three vehicles which visit outlying parishes - and vital paediatric palliative care is given, and the Liturgy is also celebrated. This is faith in action - and very similar to the founding work of Fr Werenfreid van Straaten at Aid to the Church in Need for displaced and abandoned German refugee families after the Second World War. For three years Fr Alexander had the only disabled vehicle in St Petersburg. In other developments the programmes of Blagovest Media and the courses of St Andrew's Biblical Theological Institute are real bridges of understanding.

The ecumenical road is not easy - often it is frozen or even non-existent in Russia - but the foundations of respect and understanding are being laid, with the help of Italian diplomatic engineering and a theologian Pope. These foundations are also built upon the joint witness of the Orthodox and Catholic martyrs of the 20th century. Human rights issues, political misunderstandings, Russian historical identity and Ukrainian tensions are all part of the terrible legacy of Soviet suffering. But there is one other legacy in Russia which has been rediscovered: a legacy of Christian faith which somehow survived the Gulag prison camps. Look at the icons of the Mother of God and the Protecting Veil, and perhaps we in the West can be challenged to a deeper understanding and respect.


Neville Kyrke-Smith is National Director of Aid to the Church in Need UK and has travelled extensively for more than 25 years in Russia and Eastern Europe. ACN gives priority to supporting Catholic projects in Russia and also assists with Orthodox and ecumenical projects.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Conservative Anglican Group Moving Toward Union with Rome


Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth, the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), has reported substantial progress toward the goal of entering into communion with the Holy See. The Australian prelate reported that he would soon meet with officials of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and then with the Anglican bishops who have joined him in a petition to be accepted into the Catholic Church.

Under the terms of Pope Benedict’s apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, Archbishop Hepworth observed, Anglicans now have the opportunity to become Catholics while maintaining their identity. “The ball is in our court,” he said. “We asked for this and this is what we got.”

“This becoming Anglican Catholics, not Roman Catholics,” the archbishop continued. He noted that the Pope’s policy allowed for the Anglican bishops entering the Catholic Church to retain “those revered traditions of spirituality, liturgy, discipline and theology that constitute the cherished and centuries-old heritage of Angli­can communities throughout the world.”

Archbishop Hepworth recognized that some Anglicans object to the Vatican’s demand that all the bishops and priests of the TAC must be conditionally re-ordained, in light of the Catholic stand that Anglican orders are invalid. TAC members may contest that stand, Hepworth said, but should recognize that “we ourselves moved beyond the Anglican Communion in order to ensure the validity of sacramental life. Rome is now seeking the same assurance.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.


Monday, January 25, 2010

Pope Benedict Revives Ecumenical Dialogue with Orthodox World, Vatican-Watcher Finds


Pope Benedict XVI shakes hands with Theophilos III at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on May 15, 2009 in the Old City of Jerusalem.

From Catholic World News

Pope Benedict XVI has successfully begun a discussion with the Orthodox churches that Pope John Paul II sought but could not bring about, writes Sando Magister of L’Espresso. The German Pope has persuaded Orthodox leaders to engage in genuine dialogue about the role of the Petrine ministry in the universal Church. Already those theological talks have produced an agreement that the See of Rome enjoys primacy—although the exact nature of that primacy remains a subject of debate.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.



Saturday, November 21, 2009

An Anglican Bridge Across the Tiber



A Bob Jones University Graduate, former Anglican Vicar, and now a Catholic Priest Reflects on the Apostolic Constitution


From The Times (UK)
By Father Dwight Longenecker

Last Monday I was traveling to Tampa, Florida for a week long retreat with other Catholic priests who were once Anglican priests. In the airport I got an email with the news that the new Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus had been published. Suddenly the rest of the week’s program was decided. My brother priests and I spent time studying the document and discussing its implications.

The wider implications of Pope Benedict’s invitation to Anglicans to come into full communion are genuinely historic. It impacts discussions not only with Anglicans, but with all of the churches derived from the Protestant Reformation. It is a popular past time among traditionalist Catholics to throw dirt at ecumenism. Catholic triumphalists trumpet the truth of the Catholic faith and denigrate discussions with Protestants. They point out the false premises, the artificial camaraderie, and the fickleness of their ecumenical partners. The ecumenical movement is not without its faults, but it is also not without its accomplishments. Through the ecumenical movement Catholics and Protestants really have learned from one another. Over the last 40 years astounding progress has been made. Old prejudices have disappeared. Historic misunderstandings have evaporated. New formulas for old truths have been discovered and agreed.

Some commentators have reported the end of the old ecumenism. In one sense this is true. Through the new Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is following up her warnings with action. For over a decade now the Vatican has had a consistent message to the Anglican Church, and the message can be summed up as, "Please don't do that. It puts yet another obstacle in the path of Christian unity." Time and again the Anglicans have gone ahead anyway. Each item on the progressive agenda has been another wound to the body. Now Rome has acted and with Anglicanorum coetibus, directed the ecumenical journey in a radical new direction. No doubt the old style ecumenical meetings will continue, but they will lack urgency. It is as if the Catholic Church has sent a butler with a bell into the hall where the pre prandial cocktail party was going on to announce that dinner is served. The drinks are over. Dinner time has begun. Are you coming in to dinner or not?

Ecumenism isn’t over. It has taken a new direction. To understand the wider implications of Anglicanorum coetibus one needs to look further than the shores of England and Europe. Most people have rightly focussed on the troubles within Anglicanism, and the new relationship between the Catholic and Anglican churches. However, we sometimes forget that the rest of Protestantism is struggling with the same conflicts that besiege Anglicanism. It is said that “where Anglicanism goes the rest of the Protestants soon follow." Here in the United States, where Anglicanism is just one of many Protestant groups, the Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists and Evangelicals are all battling over the same issues of modernist theology and relativist morality.

In England, the Anglican Ordinariate will benefit the small rump of Anglo Catholics who are still in the Church of England, but elsewhere in the world I believe it will eventually become a bridge into full communion with the historic Church for Protestants of many different backgrounds. In the United States there are large numbers of Evangelical Christians who are attracted to the historic liturgical churches. They hold to the historic faith, but they want to move away from the sectarian and often shallow worship and theology of the large Evangelical churches. They admire Catholic liturgy and spirituality, but they are repelled by the progressive political and moral agenda of the liturgical Protestant churches like the Lutherans and Episcopalians. They admire the Pope and much of Catholicism, but for most of them the step into the Catholic Church is still a step too far.

If the Anglican Ordinariate includes 'broad church Anglicans' as well as Anglo Catholics, then these other Protestants may also find a way to 'come home to Rome.' If this is the way the Ordinariate develops, then it will provide not only a bridge across the Tiber for Anglicans, but an Anglican bridge across the Tiber for many other Christians, and if this happens, then the harvest from the ecumenical discussions over the last forty years will be rich indeed.


Fr Dwight Longenecker is Chaplain to St Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. He is a former Anglican priest, and the author of ten books on the Catholic faith. He blogs at Standing on My Head .


Friday, November 6, 2009

A Catholic Among the Evangelicals


From First Things
By Gerardine Luongo

In 2005 I accepted a position at CURE International, an evangelical mission organization. Today I serve as CURE’s director of government and foundation relations. At first blush, my story appears unexceptional—until I add that I am a Catholic. CURE’s motto is “Healing changes everything,” and the organization is devoted to overcoming brokenness on many levels. Although I did ponder the implications of accepting such a position, I must admit I was in no way prepared for the ramifications this job would have on my life. My experience at CURE clearly demonstrates that a shared commitment to seeking God trumps the need for a shared theology. To focus on differences can only cause us to get lost among the weeds.

I grew up during
the great Kumbaya revolution in Catholicism that grew out of the Second Vatican Council. My background kept me sheltered from the deep mistrust that existed among some Christian denominations, and especially between some Catholics and evangelicals. Ironically, I finally became aware of these divisions through global humanitarian outreach.

Shortly after I joined CURE, I made my first trip to Africa. This trip included CURE’s annual meeting, a gathering of colleagues from around the world. After a few days I mentioned to some colleagues from Uganda that I was Catholic. I can’t recall why the subject even came up. I will never forget the stunned look in my fellow workers’ eyes. I was told that I couldn’t be Catholic because I was clearly a Christian. Now it was my turn to be stunned! Thus began a conversation that continues to this day—a conversation that has changed our views of one another and strengthened our faith.

Read the rest of this entry >>