The problem with a purely human ecumenism

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 12, 2026

When I was a kid in the late 1950s and early 1960s, shortly before the ecumenical movement became widespread throughout the Catholic Church, I had many debates with my Protestant friends. Though raised Catholic, I attended public schools, so there was plenty of opportunity for religious differences. At age 12 or 14 or 16 (1960 to 1964), I was determined to prove Protestantism wrong in its differences with Catholicism, but I do not recall thinking that non-Catholic Christians were necessarily in deep spiritual trouble. And when the ecumenical movement went mainstream following the Second Vatican Council, it seemed like a good idea.

Indeed, it is still a good idea when it is a genuine quest for unity without denying the essential rightness of the doctrines taught by the Catholic Church, without adopting a “separate but equal” attitude toward the various religious groups, and without pretending that the truths guaranteed to us by the Church are, in effect, optional truths or, worse, simply “our” truths as opposed to “your” truths. Certainly there is great good in appreciating any and all commitment to Christ, even if some of those who are committed are not aware of the central teaching authority Christ Himself established in the speciric Church He deliberately founded.

There is, after all, a great deal of nearly inescapable confusion in this world, and we do well to recognize the lack of opportunity that prevents so many good people from understanding the primary manner in which Christ chose to have his teachings and his sacramental grace defined, preserved and extended down through history. But—and it is a very big “but”—those who are genuinely seeking to be faithful to Christ do have a serious obligation to understand how Our Lord chose to secure this definition, this preservation and this extension through time and space. It is not too much to say, if we are honest, that without this understanding we can no longer be sure of anything.

No wonder the Biblical writer Timothy wrote that “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Without a genuine interest in bringing others to the truth, ecumenism primarily serves a worldly purpose of “going along to get along”. But for all parties, ecumenism ought to be a way of communicating clearly about differences, not only to promote good relations, but ultimately to break down barriers so that non-Catholics (and even ill-informed Catholics) can open themselves fully to the truth which Christ suffered and died to reveal.

The problem with the idea of ecumenism or ecumenical activity is that it too often stops at mutual respect and mutual understanding. Even at the highest levels, a certain unity may be sometimes achieved through a deeper understanding of how diverse interpretations of Divine realities can be expressed in a mutually agreeable way. But this unity stops far short of the acknowledgement of errors that, understood as such, compel people to enter the true “full gospel church”, the only Church that Christ founded, the only Church that He guaranteed would always teach what is true and serve as an inerrant conduit of His grace.

The dangers of endless discussion

It would be a shame if anyone missed my point here. It is a good thing to recognize the positive elements in all religions that honor God and, of course, especially those that are Christian (which is the context for ecumenism). And it is certainly a good thing to befriend those who honor Christ in any positive form. Finally, it is clearly necessary to attempt to remove barriers and to seek as much common ground as possible among all who do recognize (just as Peter recognized) Our Lord and Savior.

But at the same time, the ravages of Western secularization have gutted many Christian variants of both their supernatural awareness and their Christian morality (which is also built firmly into the natural law). For this reason, there comes a point at which ecumenical gestures can be either meaningless or, to some extent, a refusal to recognize the diabolic fracturing of wayward Christian groups. There are, to be sure, many reasons that are largely beyond personal control which lead people to honor God in one form or another, without being aware of what Christ offers and demands through His Church. Sad to say, many of these reasons involve shifts in both belief and morality based on the fact that non-Catholics have no authoritative way to distinguish between cultural “insights” and Divine Revelation.

The truth, after all, is that a great many Christian variants represent convenient moral and doctrinal attitudes that are directly at odds with Divine Revelation and Christ Himself. Without the authority principle that is built into Christ’s headship of the Catholic Church, even many religions which claim to be varieties of Christianity do not really distinguish their own “doctrines” from whatever their “good” members actually want to believe. To put this another way, consider how difficult it is for the Catholic Church, in her humanity, to avoid becoming culture bound. The Church fights this battle at every moment of her life, even with her stupendous access to sacramental grace, personal grace, and what we might call ecclesiastical grace (such as her Divinely-guaranteed magisterium). It is not too much to say that even some “Catholics” will believe anything.

These natural difficulties—unleashed when there is a lack of both a supernatural focus and a supernatural understanding of the very structure of the Church—make it extraordinarily difficult to foster the sort of ecumenical progress that matters. It is not enough simply to cultivate a broad Christian friendship. If a proper understanding of Divine Revelation is not central to the effort—a factor which Catholics are always and everywhere obliged to keep clearly in mind—then ecumenism degenerates into the pretence that differences in belief among Christians really do not matter, and that a false understanding does not seriously undermine both ecclesial and personal faith.

Witness to the truth

The saying that there is a time and a place for everything may well apply here, but it cannot be all that applies. I do not mean to say that what ecumenism needs is a constant argument over who is right and who is wrong. But I do mean that ecumenism cannot be approached, at least not by a Catholic, without a conviction that the Catholic Church alone offers the fullness of Christian truth and grace. It is one thing to attempt to understand the position of others, to explore the degree to which we may be allowing mere forms of expression to create differences that need not exist in reality, and to honor even a flawed Christian sincerity (for all of us are flawed) wherever we may find it. But it is quite another thing to keep talking and sharing with others, and approving others in the interest of greater mutual understanding, without bearing a consistent witness to the truth.

We might say that the point of ecumenism is to emphasize Christian commonalities while promoting a deeper understanding of doctrinal and spiritual differences. By breaking down as many barriers as possible, we can foster the ultimate reunion of all Christians in the body of the Church Christ established for our salvation. But even though it recognizes a common baptism, ecumenism ultimately fails when it stops at good human relationships, mutual understanding, and toleration of differences. Ecumenism ultimately fails when it becomes a social habit which obscures its true end.

The goal of ecumenical activity must never be merely good fellowship but rather unity in the Truth of Christ. This means the goal must be the reincorporation of all those who, over two thousand years of history, now find themselves estranged from that particular institution which is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. For this alone is the Church founded by Christ on the Rock of Peter (Mt 16:18); and this alone is the Church in which the successors of Peter still fulfill Our Lord’s mandate to feed and tend His sheep. Perhaps even more to the point, both institutionally and among her faithful members, this alone is the Church against which the gates of Hell shall not prevail.