Catholic Faith
Legion of Mary
Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Ut unum sint
On commitment to Ecumenism
1995.05.25
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INTRODUCTION
1. 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 vigour 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 Crucis 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 Saviour'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 endeavour,
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 theymight 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 Saviour. 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,
thecommunion 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 honour 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
Saviour. 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 honoured 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 laboured 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 clear that ecumenism, the
movement promoting Christian unity, is not just some sort of "appendix"
which is added to the Church's traditional activity. Rather, ecumenism
is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade
all that she is and does; 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 practising 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 Maria 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
clearly 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
acknowledgement in the conviction that legitimate diversity is in no
way opposed to the Church's unity, but rather enhances her splendour
and contributes greatly to the fulfilment 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 travelled 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 centred 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
fulfilment 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 marvellous
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 honoured 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 1 dialogue itself, the sacred utterances are
precious instruments in the mighty hand of God for attaining that unity
which the Saviour 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 programmes and
activities on behalf of Christian unity are in place, programmes 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 neighbourly 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 offence 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
10:11-18). 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 clearly 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 fervour, 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 offence 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 endeavour 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 ... " 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 splendour 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.
JOHN PAUL II