Much of the enthusiasm for ecumenism generated by the Second Vatican Council seems to have waned. This is both bad and good news. It is bad news because we still have far to go in effecting reunion among Christians. Such a reunion is Christ’s will and therefore an imperative for every believer. The Catholic Church can justifiably take some credit for significant progress in ecumenism over the last 25 years. Understanding has been reached through international dialogues between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches and communions. It would be a shame if such progress were to come to naught.
However, the waning enthusiasm for ecumenism is also good news because we need a period of reevaluation in the ecumenical enterprise. We need to rectify some serious ecumenical errors, particularly those committed on the local level. There are four most serious errors. They have served to confuse and compromise the Catholic faith.
First, the impression arose among some Christians, especially those with liturgical traditions, that intercommunion with Catholics is practically an accomplished fact. Some Catholics have been lax by allowing non-Catholics to receive Holy Communion at Mass without the necessary preconditions and the permission of the bishop. Some Catholic clergy have encouraged inappropriate participation by non-Catholic clergy in sacred rites.
Second, in some ecumenical groups fear of causing alienation has led to little substantive discussion on important theological issues. Catholics have often been hesitant to share the fullness of their faith with other Christians. This hesitance contradicts the teaching of Vatican II on ecumenism.
Third, in spite of Catholic support for much of the non-Catholic social/ethical agenda, there has been an appalling lack of support from many Anglicans and Protestants for important moral issues which are central to Catholic teaching: abortion, euthanasia, birth control, sex education in public schools, homosexual activity, AIDS prevention, government tax credits for church schools, etc. Ecumenism often has failed to address this lack of support from separated brethren.
Fourth, there has been an over-reliance upon social/ethical issues and theological praxis as the common ground for ecumenical cooperation, rather than the participants’ relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because there is substantial diversity of opinion among non-Catholics concerning the life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Christ, He remains a secondary figure in many ecumenical gatherings.
Ecclesiastical Equivalency
These ecumenical errors have led to a kind of ecclesiastical equivalency. In many ecumenical circles it is bad form to bring up theological positions for which participants are willing to die. High on the agenda is the seeking of common ground at almost any cost. Thus, distinctions among Christians are blurred for the sake of participants appearing cooperative.
Catholics have always had a particular responsibility to witness to the fullness of truth Christ gave to His Church. They are supposed to give assent to the official teachings of the Church as coming directly from Christ. When Catholics do not acknowledge and state the distinctiveness of Catholicism in relation to other Christian communions, they may give the impression that being Catholic makes no real difference either to God or to the individual believer.
Catholics no longer can rely on external distinctiveness alone. The Sunday liturgies of Lutherans and Anglicans have a remarkable outward resemblance to the Catholic Mass of Paul VI. The disciplines concerning Lenten and Eucharistic fasting have been relaxed. Catholics are no longer bound to avoid meat on Fridays. Therefore, it is more important than ever for Catholics to understand and defend the Church’s teachings on transubstantiation, the seven sacraments, the validity of Holy Orders, purgatory, the Magisterium, the primacy of the pope, the infallibility of the Church and of the pope, and the various dogmas and doctrines concerning the Virgin Mary.
The mishandling of ecumenical activity has not only contributed to the breakdown of distinctiveness among Catholics, it has encouraged many Catholics to absorb outright theological error. Private judgment, subjectivism, and relativism regarding issues of faith and morality are now accepted as legitimate expressions of Catholicism. So- called “cafeteria Catholics” have learned to emulate many of their Anglican and Protestant brethren.
Principles for Ecumenism
Just as ecumenism during the past 25 years has not been free from serious errors, so the present situation is not entirely sinister. Just because ecumenism has been a mixed blessing for Catholics does not mean we jettison Christ’s call to reconciliation among Christians. This time of waning enthusiasm for ecumenism is an opportunity for Catholics to correct past mistakes and to locate suitable partners for the future ecumenical enterprise. I would like to suggest four principles for a healthy ecumenism which ought to guide us.
First, Catholics participating in ecumenical activity ought to be clear about their motives. The ultimate goal of the Catholic Church is the redemption of persons through a saving faith in Jesus Christ within the context of His Church and His sacraments. Ecumenism ought to have two closely allied goals: first to discover commonality of faith and cooperation among Christians engaged in Christ’s mission, and second, to teach the fullness of faith as Christ gave His Church. If these two goals lead non-Catholics to desire full communion in the Catholic Church, then so be it. The Church twists no one’s arm, but she remains ever mindful of offering to all that which Christ has given her.
Second, participants ought to be firmly convinced of their respective faiths. They should also have the necessary competence in theology as well as the necessary pastoral skills. Participants should not overstate or minimize the basic teachings and practices of their communities. They should be familiar with the relationship between doctrines and should take into account legitimate theological diversity if and where it exists.
Third, there ought to be a healthy respect for differences in history, tradition, and terminology. While an attitude of equality and openness among participants is important, all doctrinal or theological positions are not equal. Honest differences must be noted and accepted. Catholic participants should not hesitate in expressing and explaining the Church’s teachings.
Fourth, all should respect each other’s disciplines and norms regarding intercommunion and participation in sacred rites. The entire discussion should be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect with a willingness to learn and grow.
Choosing Partners
If ecumenism in the next century is to produce worthwhile fruit, Catholics will have to be discerning as to which Christian communities hold the most promise for mutually satisfactory relations. Catholics ought to concentrate on those Christians who are most compatible theologically. Christians who desire ecumenical activity for its own sake may not be suitable.
In order to find promising ecumenical partners, Catholics ought to resist two tendencies. The first tendency is to enter into dialogue with Christians simply because they possess formal authority structures. Many Catholics feel ill-at-ease in dealing with entirely independent pastors and congregations.
The second tendency is to feel more comfortable narrowing ecumenical discussion down to readily agreed upon issues such as war and peace, poverty, racism, or the homeless. Issues of faith and personal morality are often considered too hot to handle, often because the opinions of some clergy differ dramatically from the official positions of their church communities.
If Catholics want their ecumenical endeavors to stand the test of time they ought to seek out Christians with whom they have enough in common to speak with one voice. They ought to concentrate on communities which agree, not just on social issues, but on issues of doctrine and personal faith and morality and thus manifest a profound influence upon public policy.
Catholics also ought to examine critically whether or not potential partners in ecumenism are theologically prepared to respond to mutual concerns. When Christians are doubtful about the reality of the Trinity or of the bodily resurrection of Christ, when a congregation ordains practicing homosexuals to its ministry, or when a whole denomination advocates a pro-choice stand regarding abortion, Catholics ought to wonder whether it might be wiser to avoid ecumenical activity. Christians ought to be able to affirm the basic truths found in the Apostles’ Creed and in the traditional moral teachings of Christ. Otherwise there is little hope for true ecumenical understanding and cooperation.
The time has come for Catholics to consider realigning their ecumenical loyalties. Catholics ought to seek out Christians whose personal faith reflects basic Catholic teaching and the official teaching of their respective church communities. Those Christians who hold the most promise for future ecumenical understanding and cooperation with Roman Catholics are the Eastern Orthodox, the Anglo-Catholics, and Protestant Evangelical Christians.
Eastern Orthodox
Vatican II declared that Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox belong to sister Churches. The Orthodox have valid sacraments and Holy Orders. Few major issues stand in the way of reunion between the Churches.
Catholics may not always find an enthusiastic reception among the Orthodox, partly because of historic animosity and mistrust between the Churches, which has yet to be completely healed, and partly because of a lack of liturgical and theological appreciation of one another’s tradition.
However, Catholics and Orthodox are natural allies in the battle to fight abortion, in the support of traditional family life, in the desire to teach the fullness of Christian truth, and in their mutual concern for ethnic Christian minorities throughout the world. It would be well worthwhile for Catholic pastors to make every effort to acquaint themselves with local Orthodox pastors, with their particular social and theological concerns, and with their views on developing a stronger bond between Christians of Eastern and of Western traditions.
Anglo-Catholics
Anglo-Catholics, or High Church Episcopalians, are Christians of the Anglican tradition, which was founded in the sixteenth century. The English Oxford Movement of the nineteenth century encouraged Anglicans to return to their Catholic roots. As a result some Anglicans enriched the Eucharistic liturgy as found in the Book of Common Prayer, employing chant, vestments, candles, and incense and encouraging devotion to the saints, auricular confession, and a zealous doctrinal orthodoxy. Though most Episcopalians were affected by the Oxford Movement to one degree or another, only a minority call themselves Anglo¬Catholic.
Some Anglo-Catholics left the Episcopal Church to form their own branch of Anglicanism in the years following the ordination of the first women to the Episcopal priesthood in 1976. More recently, since the ordination of a woman bishop to the Episcopal diocese of Eastern Massachusetts, many conservative High Church and Low Church evangelical Episcopalians have joined the newly formed Episcopal Synod of America. This new synod remains part of the Episcopal Church but desires to uphold the historical episcopate, the authority of Sacred Scripture, the sacraments as signs of grace, and the ancient creeds, which form the foundation of Anglicanism. The new synod maintains a prophetic role in calling for a return to evangelical faith and Catholic order in the Episcopal Church.
Anglo-Catholics are perhaps best known for their practice of traditional Catholic rites. They also confess faith in ancient Catholic doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, the Atonement, the Resurrection, a male priesthood, and all other teachings found in the Creed. They are staunchly pro-life and pro-family and shun the moral casuistry and relativism found among many Christians today. Anglo-Catholics consider themselves evangelical in the best sense of the word. While unable, at this time, to accept the authority of the pope and several other Catholic teachings on faith and morality, they hope for a reunion with the Roman Catholic Church which will allow Anglicans to maintain their identity as a distinctive branch of Christianity.
Evangelical Christians
Evangelical Christians cut across denominational lines. They are found in nearly every Christian community, as individuals, as congregations, and as whole denominations. Evangelicals are found among many mainline congregations: Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, and Methodists. The Southern Baptist Convention is perhaps the largest denomination defining itself as Evangelical.
Evangelical Christians possess a wide variety of doctrinal and liturgical traditions, but all of them agree on certain fundamentals of faith. They hold firmly to a traditional belief in the Trinity, in the Incarnation of Christ as Lord and Savior, in the Virgin Birth, in the atoning death of Christ on the cross, in His resurrection from the dead, and in His promise to return in glory. They believe that the Scriptures are inspired by God and the only authentic source for all matters of faith and morality.
Evangelicals are characterized by their zeal to spread the Gospel by word of mouth and by a Christian way of life; they invite people to make personal commitments of faith to Jesus as Lord and Savior. They range from fundamentalists who interpret the Bible literally, even regarding interpreting scientific and historical facts, to moderate evangelicals, who possess a deep sense of their social and ethical responsibilities.
Evangelicals are not uniformly ecumenical. Many shun ecumenism as a temptation to water down sacred beliefs for the sake of organic unity and as a waste of precious time better spent in spreading the Gospel. Yet many other evangelicals view Roman Catholics as kindred spirits in maintaining the fundamentals of faith and morality.
Increasingly, evangelical Christians are seeking allies in the fight for traditional family values and against substance abuse, moral relativism, and secular humanism. They are on the front lines in the pro-life movement, in seeking alternative education for children, and in supporting traditional family values. While Catholics and evangelicals may make strange bedfellows, they need each other’s experience, dedication, and fidelity to revealed truth.
Beyond Appearances
The American Catholic bishops have courageously taken well-publicized stands regarding nuclear weapons, the economy, and social injustice. The secular press and many Christian leaders have hailed the bishops as paragons of enlightened public policy. Yet too often the bishops have been pilloried by these same secular and religious voices for taking equally courageous stands against abortion, euthanasia, test-tube reproduction, and immoral sexual activity.
In their teachings American Catholic bishops have been faithful to revealed Christian truth. If they are looking for true and valuable support among Christians for their teaching they will find it only where broad and consistent agreement in matters of faith and morality already exists.
Ecumenism should not be reduced to a matter of appearances and politics. If the appearance of solidarity among Christians has been paramount, and discussion regarding issues of faith and morality has been secondary, then the teachings of Vatican II on ecumenism have been misunderstood and misapplied. True ecumenism must first seek a clear articulation of theological and moral convictions as espoused by each Christian community. Only then may dialogue begin, based on these articulations and on the official teachings of Christ as proposed by the Catholic Church.
It appears that at this juncture in history Catholics will find more ground for authentic dialogue amongOrthodox, Anglo-Catholic, and evangelical brethren than among those who have jettisoned traditional beliefs. Catholics will always have to be very careful to review regularly their understanding of their own faith. They ought to pray for the unity of all Christians. In the meantime, for the sake of their own integrity, Catholics ought to choose their ecumenical partners carefully.