Reconciliation Begins with Listening
The 21st of November 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio. As such, 2014 offered an opportunity to reflect on relations with some of the major ecclesial communities of the West, and to look for ways to move forward in the search for Christian Unity. Certain elements are common in each of the communities that will be addressed, yet each relationship is also unique. Our conviction regarding what St Paul affirmed, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:56), drives us to continue the journey towards the unity of Christians.
One of the first communities with which the Catholic Church entered into ecumenical dialogue after Vatican II was the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). Discussions that led to dialogue began in 1968, just three years after the conclusion of the Council, and the first formal dialogue began in 1970. The dialogue with the Catholic Church was among the first initiated by the newly formed WARC, which had been formed out of a merger of two previous Reformed alliances in 1970. Three rounds of dialogue with WARC were held over the next 35 years, with topics reflecting the priorities set during those initial discussions that led to the first dialogue. Those discussions resulted into a convergence around the importance of addressing three subjects: Christology, ecclesiology, and the witness of the Christian in the world. These three topics are reflected in the themes of the three rounds of theological conversations held with WARC.
The general theme of the first round (1970-1977) was “The Presence of Christ in Church and World”. The final report addressed the following topics: Christ’s relationship to the church; the teaching authority of the church; the presence of Christ in the world; the Eucharist; and ministry. The second series of conversations (1984-1990) focused on the understanding of the church. The resulting report, “Towards a Common Understanding of the Church”, opens with a substantial effort at reconciliation of memories in which the dialogue partners share with each other the ecclesiological and reforming concerns of their 16th century predecessors as well as their own contemporary attitudes towards one another. The report then moves to a common confession of faith that includes affirmations of Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity, on justification by grace through faith, and on the role of the church in justification. It also identifies some distinct Reformed and Catholic understandings of the Church, its continuity throughout the ages, and its ministerial order. In choosing the theme of the third round of conversations, “The Church as Community of Common Witness to the Kingdom of God” (1998-2005) the two communions wanted to shed new light on areas identified in the first two rounds, ecclesiology and common witness. This third round of dialogue strove to make clearer the complementarity claimed by “Towards a Common Understanding of the Church” between the Reformed emphasis on the church as creatura verbi and the Catholic emphasis on the church as sacramentum gratiae. The third round of dialogue reflected on the ecumenical significance of witnessing together to the Kingdom of God.
In 2009 two international Reformed alliances merged into a new entity, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). There was a conscious choice to call the new Reformed body a communion, reflecting a growing desire for growth into communion, so that the faith life of Reformed Christians might grow in unity and strength. The new communion has 229 member churches (denominations) in 108 countries, representing an estimated combined membership of 80 million people. The first international dialogue the new Reformed Communion engaged in was with the Catholic Church. Following the progress made in the first three rounds of dialogue, a new fourth round of dialogue was initiated in 2011 with the theme “Justification and Sacramentality: The Christian Community as an Agent for Justice”. It is hoped that this phase of international dialogue will help Reformed and Catholic Christians grow together in faith, and assist in the discernment of whether the WCRC will affiliate with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.
Relations with the Reformed have grown over the past 50 years, with gains and setbacks, as in all ecumenical relations. One persistent problem affecting global Christianity is the increasing fragmentation of Christianity, with the number of Christian ecclesial communions growing at a geometric rate. While not immune to the problem of fragmentation, the Reformed have made a conscious decision to commit to growing into a worldwide communion, not just an alliance, as in the previous alliance. This is a hopeful sign, one shared in our dialogue.
The Anabaptist movement is sometimes referred to as the ‘radical reformation ’ of the 16th century. Unlike other branches of Protestantism, Anabaptists approached discipleship and baptism in a radical way, not recognizing infant baptism but only ‘believer’ baptism where the person professed his or her faith in order to be baptized. Anabaptists are also pacifists, which sets them apart both religiously and politically, as they refuse military service in any nation. Compared to mainline Protestantism, Anabaptists are a small group, but they are a significant voice that continues to resonate and grow in the world. Menno Simons, an early 16th century former Catholic priest, was an early Anabaptist, and many ecclesial communities of Anabaptists are referred to as Mennonites. The Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is the largest gathering of Anabaptists, defining itself as a communion of Anabaptist-related churches linked to one another in a worldwide community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness. The MWC represents 1,700,000 believers from 243 national conferences of churches in 83 countries. About two-thirds of the baptized believers are African, Asian or Latin American. The international headquarters of the MWC is now in Colombia, South America.
Conversations with the Mennonites did not begin quickly after Vatican II. Mennonites slowly engaged in ecumenical dialogue, beginning with the Reformed and Baptists. Contacts with the Catholic Church grew through international ecumenical organizations. The Mennonites then expanded formal conversations to Catholics in 1998 and then to Lutherans in 2004.
The initial conversations, from 1998-2003, focused on a process of reconciliation. The two dialogue partners had had no official dialogue previous to this, and the purpose was to assist Mennonites and Catholics to overcome the consequences of almost five centuries of mutual isolation and hostility. The conversations focused on three main topics: “Considering History Together,” which studied three crucial eras (and related events) of history that shaped our respective traditions and have yielded distinctive interpretations. These are the rupture of the 16th century, the Constantinian era, and the Middle Ages as such. The aim of the study was to re-read history together for the purpose of comparing and refining our interpretations. The second topic, “Considering Theology Together,” examined our common and differing understandings of the Church, of Baptism, of the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper, and of peace. Of particular significance is the theological study and comparison of our respective teachings on peace. The third topic, “Toward a Healing of Memories” sought to overcome centuries of hostility or isolation, and was aimed at healing bitter memories that have made reconciliation between our communities difficult.
The initial conversations went well between the Catholic Church and the MWC, as did the round of dialogue the Mennonites had with the Lutherans. Since both the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) had expressed their interest and readiness to initiate new rounds of conversations with the MWC, and since both the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and LWF had recommended baptism as a topic for such conversations, a tri-lateral dialogue began in December 2012. A study of baptism, which is one of the principal historic points of theological division with Anabaptists, offers the opportunity to both look at the theological points of departure as well as to begin conversations about the mutual recognition of each other’s baptism. The general topic of the dialogue is “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church”. The challenge of a three-way dialogue is still being worked out, nonetheless, the wrestling with the basics of our journeying in Christian initiation has chalenged all three partners to look at discipleship, initiation and mission in invitingly provocative ways.
It may surprise some that the largest Protestant community in the world are the Baptists. Baptists are evangelical Christians. The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is a fellowship of 231 conventions and unions in 121 countries and territories comprising 42 million baptized members. This alliance does not count the largest single Baptist group, the Southern Baptist Convention, which alone has 16 million baptized members. Like the Anabaptists, Baptists do not practice infant baptism, but hold to ‘believer baptism’, or baptism of persons who personally make their profession of faith. For this reason, if children in Baptists’ homes are counted, there would be over 130 million Baptists.
From humble beginnings in Amsterdam in 1609 through more decisive developments in London, Baptist witness has spread across the world. Explosive growth in Baptists numbers was achieved in several periods of evangelical revivalism in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Baptists share Anabaptist beliefs about baptism and Congregationalist (reformed) church structure. While most Baptists today live in the United States, there are millions of Baptists in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The relationship between Baptists and Catholics has known some difficulties over the years. A first series of conversations took place between the BWA and the Catholic Church from 1984-1988. Especially in areas where there is a Catholic majority and Baptist minority, there was some resistance to the initial conversations, and it took nearly 20 years for a second set of conversations to be initiated. During this time two major consultations were held to assist Catholics and Baptists to meet and dispel some misperceptions about each other. The first was held in Rome in December, 2000 on the theme of “Historical and Contemporary Issues Confronting Us” and then a year later in December, 2001 in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the topic of “Theological Issues between Baptists and Catholics in Latin America; Notion of ‘Communio’ as a Framework for Conversations on Controversial Issues”. It is a direct result of these intense efforts on both sides that a second set of conversations was made possible.
Those theological conversations began in 2006 and continued in annual meetings until 2010. The themes for the new conversations were somewhat eclectic, mostly a combination of the most difficult issues raised in the reception of the first report and highlighted in the Buenos Aires consultation. The chapter titles of the second report reflect the varied topics of the document: the Authority of Christ in Scripture and Tradition; Baptism and Lord’s Supper/Eucharist as Visible Word of God in the Koinonia of the Church; Mary in the Communion of the Church; Oversight and Primacy in the Ministry of the Church .
In the end, after much work by both teams and by the PCPCU and the Doctrine Committee of the BWA, a text was finalized and published in 2013, “The Word of God in the Life of the Church: Scripture, Tradition and Koinonia.” Initial reactions to the report are largely favourable, especially in the Baptist world. After the first conversations report, there was a 19-year hiatus between rounds of dialogue, due to hesitation in predominantly Catholic nations where Baptists feel persecuted. This report seems to have helped lessen those tensions, as it focused on many problematic areas of theology between our communities. The two communions are beginning to explore the opportunities for a new round of conversations, which will begin on a much stronger footing.
In the 50 years since Unitatis Redintegratio much has been accomplished towards reconciliation between Christians. Yet, we still have a long way to go. One common link in the above relationships is the re-reading of history together, the healing of memories, and an attempt to view the past in the eyes of the other. Reconciliation begins with the listening to the historic values, as well as historic injuries, of each side. Only with reconciliation can healing take place, and all sides recognize that the primary actor in this is God, not us. This was attested by the Council fathers: “The Council moreover professes its awareness that human powers and capacities cannot achieve this holy objective – the reconciling of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ. It is because of this that the Council rests all its hope on the prayer of Christ for the Church, on our Father’s love for us, and on the power of the Holy Spirit” (UR, 24). 500 years of separation have not yet been overcome, and there is much work to do. Nonetheless, as members of the one Body of Christ, we are hopeful that the inspirations of the Holy Spirit continue to lead Christians in their own time and at their own pace towards the unity Christ prayed for: “that they all may be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21).
© Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2015
This item 10823 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
