unitatis redintegratio reflection

Share this: Twitter; Facebook; Reddit; Like this: Like Loading... Related. Unitatis Redintegratio. He was convinced that the war was still going on and he was still on his mission. Such sins are found not only in the aforementioned historical events where Catholics helped occasion schism by undue severity or giving scandal, but also in a general posture of hostility or bigotry toward other Christians, without giving due weight to their human dignity and status as baptized brethren in Christ. the person of Jesus Christ is what is at stake. Modern societies are built upon science. He led Peter to the home of the centurion Cornelius and made him witness the coming of the Spirit on those in attendance with the same manifestations that the apostles had experienced at Pentecost: they spoke in tongues and glorified God with loud voices. After presenting humanity in its universal state of sin and damnation in the two preceding chapters of Romans, the apostle has the unmitigated courage to proclaim that this situation has now radically changed “through the redemption which is in Christ,” “by one’s man’s obedience” (Rom 3:24, 5:19). For example, if Protestants object to a Marian doctrine of the Church as being non-Biblical or extraneous to the faith, the response is not to exclude that doctrine from discussion, but to show how that doctrine is hierarchically linked to more central doctrines, e.g., the Incarnation. Top positive review. Sectarian strife, viewed from the outside, can make Christianity seem to be an incoherent and uncharitable religion, thereby undermining the preaching of the Gospel. Alongside this official and doctrinal ecumenism, an ecumenism of personal encounters and reconciliation of hearts has arisen since the very beginning. Full text of Unitatis Redintegratio. Scripture exhorts us to “speak the truth in love [veritatem facientes in caritate]” (see Eph 4:15), and St. Augustine affirms that “one does not enter into truth except through love” [non intratur in veritatem nisi per caritatem]. Il n’est pas défini en termes de « retour » mais de rapprochement en vue de l’unité • Pendant la période préparatoire, un « Secrétariat pour l’Unité des Chrétiens » est créé par le pape. Fifth Lenten Sermon 2016. Summary. An authentic theological renewal, therefore, would consist not in the denial of the truth of traditionally formulated teaching, but in complementing the traditional formulas with other expressions, which accentuate aspects of divine revelation that have not been fully captured or expressed by the older formulas. 3.Raniero Cantalamessa, Due polmoni, un unico respiro: Oriente e Occidente di fronte ai grandi misteri della fede [Two Lungs, One Breath: East and West Before the Great Mysteries of Faith] (Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015). Such premature shortcuts only hinder real unity, since it is based on deceiving the other party as to the real Catholic position. Previous Post Paul and the Eucharist Next Post The Church’s Self-Destruction. Was ist mit der Prophezeiung des Malachias? The Church has always recognized the indelible character of baptism, never allowing it to be repeated, and has also considered it the means by which we are made members Goof the Body of Christ. UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIO 11Mar05. These obstacles, however serious, do not abolish the fact that the separated communities have members who deserve to be called Christian and are to be accepted as brethren by Catholics, insofar as they are all justified by faith in baptism. He entrusted to Peter all His sheep… to be confirmed in faith, and shepherded in perfect unity. Wie steht Papst Benedikt heute zu seiner Entscheidung, zurückzutreten? The assertion that this salvation is received by faith and not by works is present in the text and was the most urgent thing to bring to light in Luther’s time, when it was obvious, at least in Europe, that the issue at hand was faith in Christ and the grace of Christ. It is a principle that Jesus had much earlier formulated, saying that every tree will be known by its fruit (see Lk 6:44). As an example of scandal, surely none is greater than that occasioned by the sacking of Constantinople in 1204 by Crusaders and Venetians. I believe something similar has happened among Christians. Strictly speaking, the Latin Church may also be considered a sister Church, but it would be an error to regard the Catholic Church as such. UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIO 313 The Document In his Opening Address to the Council, Pope John XXIII included a reflection that was to be of special importance in the theological dialogue that would follow the Council. cit.) (UR, 13). The Church of the East and of the West refers to the Eastern patriarchates and the Latin Church respectively. Possible domains of cooperation include: There are two aspects of Christian social activity listed here: (1) activities which apply specifically Christian principles to the public sphere, and (2) corporal works of mercy. The ecumenical path after Vatican II Modern hermeneutics has familiarized us with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s principle of the “history of effects” (Wirkungsgeschichte). These distinctions depend not on the organic centrality of the doctrine, but on the level of authority or definitiveness with which the Church has pronounced on the question. No longer in opposition to “good works”—an issue that has been dealt with and resolved—but in opposition, rather, to the claim by the secularized world that it can save itself through science and technology or through spiritual techniques people invented. He has one of his characters say, “It was . Studying other Christian traditions is encouraged only for well-formed Catholics, for whom there is no danger to faith, for the purpose of engaging non-Catholics in discussion. The Church is catholic or universal in the sense that she contains absolutely all the faithful, and is not confined to any one country or class of men, but embraces within the amplitude of her love all mankind, whether barbarians or Scythians, slaves or freemen, male or female. How did the church come to embrace the ecumenical movement? In any case this is what converted me to a love for Christian unity, although I had been accustomed by my studies in the period before the Council to regard the Orthodox and Protestants only as “adversaries” to refute with our theological arguments. In this sense, all the baptized are united to the Church. For us as well the battle is around the king . All future pastors and priests are expected to master a theology that has been carefully worked out in this way and not polemically… (UR, 10) This recommendation is not a call to change the content of Catholic theology, but to alter its tone and to include more accurate representation of the perspectives of other Christians. The Council suggests that ecumenical dialogue may be aided by keeping this in mind: When comparing doctrines with one another, they should remember that in Catholic doctrine there exists a ‘hierarchy’ of truths, since they vary in their relation to the fundamental Christian faith. I believe it is well to quote the whole of this … We cannot “cut corners” on doctrine because there are real differences there that need to be resolved patiently in appropriate settings. This withholding of grace was due to the sin of receiving a sacrament against the Church’s prohibition. In this regard some famous meetings stand out that have marked the ecumenical journey during these fifty years: the meeting of Paul VI with the Patriarch Athenagoras, the innumerable meetings of John Paul II and of Benedict XVI with various leaders of Christian churches, the meeting of Pope Francis with the Patriarch Bartholomew in 2014, and finally, a few weeks ago, the meeting in Cuba with Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow, that opened up a new horizon for the ecumenism. The same has to be said about opposing Scripture and tradition. Since Christ has only one Church, it follows that no other entity besides the Catholic Church can be the subject of this unity. Rather, they might be deficient in a relative sense, as not fully expressing the reality signified. What is new here is the recommendation that ecumenical dialogue should be on an equal footing. This does not mean ignoring all that the Protestant Reformation has produced that is innovative and valid—whether in the area of theology or of spirituality—especially with its reaffirmation of the primacy of the word of God. Ecumenism is specifically Christian, as it comes from Christ’s wish that all who believe in him should be gathered into one flock. Although the various types of Christians are all born again into one body by baptism, they still lack the unity that Christ willed for all believers, but is only realized in the Catholic Church. At the Heart of Unitatis redintegratio. By such common worship, separated Christians may share in the graces of the Church, including that of unity, albeit imperfectly. Yet at the same time the doctrine should be clearly presented in its entirety. Most notably, the Council applies the words of Matthew 18:20, a verse traditionally applied to the Church, to the bond between Catholic and non-Catholic. If we will turn to Christ and go forward together toward him, we Christians will draw closer to each other until we become what he prayed for: to be “one with him and with the Father” (see Jn 17:9). Wie bewertet Erzbischof Georg Gänswein die Reaktionen auf seine Aussagen über ein "potenziertes Pontifikat"? In the post-Conciliar era, we have seen too much of false ecumenical theology, which has become practically synonymous with fuzzy thinking and obscuring traditional Catholic dogma. Rather, this unity, bestowed on the Church from the beginning, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose. F. GIL HELLÍN (ed. Thus, the only way to partake of Christian unity is by participation in the Catholic Church. The phenomenon of formalism already began in antiquity once the creative phase of the great dogmas ended. 1. These differ not only from the Church’s constitution, but even from each other in fundamental points of ecclesiology, discipline, and doctrine. (UR, 1), The above account of ecumenism describes the perspective of separated Christians, since the ecumenical movement existed only among Protestants prior to the Council. Università Gregoriana, Roma 1987. Together with Lumen Gentium and Orientalium Ecclesiarum, the decree on ecumenism titled Unitatis Redintegratio establishes the Second Vatican Council’s position on the Church’s relation to other Christians. The Anglicans, and to a lesser degree the Lutherans and Moravians, might also be called Churches, but only in the highly equivocal sense discussed above. . Summary. Still, this declaration is significant because of its implication for the relation of such Christians to the Catholic Church. en The reflection of the faithful in the second year of preparation ought to focus particularly on the value of unity within the Church, ... (Unitatis Redintegratio, 7). One of them has remained particularly vivid in my mind because it was like a visual prophecy of what the ecumenical movement should be leading us to. As all such elements belong to the one Church of Christ, which implies that the various Christian communities have some participation in the gifts of the one Church. (UR, 3). How did the church come to embrace the ecumenical movement? A particular Church has a valid episcopate and Eucharist, whereby it possesses a constitution analogous to that of the Catholic Church as a whole. Here we are speaking of ties among the Easterns, so the expression sister Churches is applied only to the Easterns in relation to each other. The second point, ecumenical dialogue among experts, is hardly less public, but it only involves relatively few members of the Churches or communities involved. The first point, suppression of certain expressions, judgments and actions that complicate ecumenical relations, is perhaps the most visibly implemented in the modern Church. The world has forgotten, or have never known, its Savior, the one who is the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the life, so how can we waste time arguing among ourselves? All Catholics and Protestants believe that, and that is what the Council of Trent had said. Every phrase acquires a new and relevant meaning if it is applied to love among the members of the various Christian churches, to our ecumenical relationships: Love is patient and kind; Not even the Lutheran formula “Simul iustus et peccator,” “at the same time righteous and sinner,” is a real hurdle to communion. This is a reminder, not a new teaching. menism (Unitatis redintegratio).3 It was no accident or mere coincidence that both of these conciliar documents, on the Church and on ecumenism, were issued the same day (November 21, 1964), since we must look to the former for the latter's theological foundation. Accordingly, the Orthodox communities of the East were called Churches, since they retain the constitution of particular Churches. While the Church is the one flock, nonetheless, the Council will expound how other Christians still remain in imperfect communion with this one Church founded by Christ upon Peter. Thus their status as particular Churches is defective or wounded, to use Pope Benedict’s term. Peter could only draw the conclusion, “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us, . For example, we now avoid calling other Christians heretics or schismatics, not because we doubt the material heresy of their doctrines or the objective fact of schism, but because we recognize that the present generation of separated Christians does not necessarily bear culpability for their errors, which are often held in good faith (bona fides). Most authorities date the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement to the Edinburgh (Scotland) World Missionary Conference of 1910. (UR, 4) Ecumenism does not mean preparing other Christians to convert to Catholicism. REFLECTION BY CARDINAL WALTER KASPER. I believe that all the centuries-old discussion between Catholics and Protestants about faith and works has ended up making us lose the main point of the Pauline message. But this truth holds second place, not first place. Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism) is a document under Vatican 2 Council, where it aims to give clarification on the Catholic Church perspective regarding Ecumenism. Unity in Diversity From November 11-13, 2004, the Pontificai Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity sponsored a symposium of Church leaders and Catholic ecumenical officers from around the world to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of Vatican ITs «Decree on Ecumenism». The Council does not specify exactly how the formulation of doctrine is distinct from the deposit of faith. It makes sense if by “good works” one primarily means (as it unfortunately did in Luther’s time) indulgences, pilgrimages, fasts, votive candles, and so on. Those who are born into separated communities do not necessarily bear the culpability of one who receives sacraments from a willful excommunicate. Further, in these Churches and ecclesial Communities there exist important differences from the Catholic Church, not only of an historical, sociological, psychological and cultural character, but especially in the interpretation of revealed truth. This leaves the vast mass of the rest of Protestantism, which is composed only of ecclesial Communities. That was the point at which the final outcome of the battle was determined. This is only logical and consistent with the decree’s earlier assertion that there is only one flock, as well as with the supposition that Christ’s will for the Church’s unity is not an idle wish, unessential to salvation. Apart from this minimal condition of Christian brotherhood, the various communities may share other gifts of the Church to varying degrees of perfection. (cf. We more clearly perceive that the victory of the Church is to be over sin, the devil, and death, not against our fellow men and their churches. 10.See Hans Urs von Balthasar, “Casta meretrix,” in Explorations in Theology, Vol II: Spouse of the Word, trans. (UR, 21). Christ established the Church to last forever, entrusting its governance to the apostles and building it upon Peter, with Christ Himself as the cornerstone. This principle is highly useful when applied to the interpretation of Scripture. Unitatis redintegratio Histoire du décret • L’objectif œcuménique est explicite chez le pape Jean XXIII. . These affirmations include the ecumenical commitment, assumed by the Catholic Church — which is no secondary theme of the Council but one of its main priorities — as we can already read in the first sentence of the Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio. The Council hopes that unity will continue to increase, suggesting it has already been increasing. The understanding of the doctrine of justification set forth in this Declaration shows that a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification exists between Lutherans and Catholics. (1 Cor. What was intended to be a demonstration “for” Jesus became a powerful demonstration “of” Jesus. (UR, 11) Note the term ‘also’; the intent is to make Catholic dogma as intelligible to other Christians as it already is to Catholics. The basis of this positive regard for separated Christians is their faith in Christ and true baptism, for all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ’s body. With this broadmindedness, Catholics better express the universality of the Church, admitting diversity in spiritual life, discipline, liturgy, and even in their theological elaborations of revealed truth. The fulfillment or fruits of this document have been of two kinds. Chapter II: The Practice of Ecumenism Nonetheless, the fact that Anglican priests are admitted directly to Holy Orders, even being dispensed from the law of celibacy, implies that the Church recognizes something more than ordinary laymen in the Anglican priesthood. 15 Cf. In fact, the Council later says, We thank God that many Eastern children of the Catholic Church, who preserve this heritage, and wish to express it more faithfully and completely in their lives, are already living in full communion with their brethren who follow the tradition of the West. In this way, we may more accurately and fairly assess their condition with respect to the Catholic Church. Add to Wish List. 11.Augustine, The Answer to Faustus a Manichean, 32, 18, trans. It happens something like what happened that day in Stockholm. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things © 2012 Daniel J. Castellano. It does not say that the Catholic Church lacks unity. It means rather allowing the whole Church to benefit from its positive achievements once they are freed of certain excesses and hardening of positions that were due to the overheated climate of that time, and to political interference and subsequent polemics. And this: “Christiana horum fratrum conversatio fide in Christum alitur, baptismatis gratia et verbo Dei audito fovetur.” Me spaketh no Latineth. In addition bilateral dialogues with almost all the Christian confessions have been initiated with the goal of promoting a better reciprocal understanding in comparing our positions and overcoming prejudices. Every renewal of the Church is essentially grounded in an increase of fidelity to her own calling. The first important clarification needed is that ecumenism, as understood in Unitatis Redintegratio, applies only to Christians. Thus it is something already perfectly guaranteed by Christ, and not something that can admit of any defect or deficiency. 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