We’ve talked about Protestant doctrines and their difference with the Catholic understanding. How do these two viewpoints dialogue with each other? How do we move towards unity in the truth and in the one Church? We find the answer to this question in “ecumenism.”
What is Ecumenism?
Ecumenism refers to the study and activities that bring different Christian faith groups together, to promote mutual understanding, and to the greatest extent work toward establishment of full and authentic unity and cooperation between them. The root of the term ecumenism (oikouménē) is taken from a Greek word for “household” (oikéō). In this case, it is about the “household” of believers in Jesus Christ working to increase the love and unity between them, seeking full unity in the one Church that Christ founded—although what this “fullness” entails differs between various Christian faith groups.
Ecumenism is rarely spoken of today, at least in North America, yet its principles remain vitally important. They are important for those of us in the forefront of sharing the Gospel and the fullness of the Christian faith among fellow believers who do not share ecclesial communion with us. This “ecclesial communion” is a unique bond between believers that comes from professing the same faith, being renewed by the same sacraments, and being under the same pastoral leadership. For Catholics, this communion comes through the mutual ties between the world’s Catholic bishops, coordinated by its first bishop and Supreme Pastor, the Pope.[1]
Early Ecumenism
In the early 20th century, the world’s major Christian faith groups began to participate openly in what, from its early days, came to be called the “ecumenical movement.” The movement originated in 1910 at a world missionary conference in Scotland, and continued forward through various conferences, eventually leading to the founding of the World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches opened in 1948 with the international participation of 147 Protestant, Orthodox and other Christian churches and faith groups, and now includes 350 representative churches and denominations.[2]
The Catholic Church and Ecumenism
The Catholic Church’s involvement in the work of Christian unity also began in the early 20th century, although much more quietly, through calls to prayer and through the activity of Catholic scholars. Shortly after the end of World War II, the Catholic Church recognized, while noting appropriate cautions, that the ecumenical movement was the work of the Holy Spirit.[3] This work eventually gained such importance in the Catholic Church that the Second Vatican Council issued a formal “Decree on Ecumenism” (Unitatis Redintegratio, November 21, 1964).[4] This is not to say that the Catholic Church had no interest in the promotion of Christian unity in earlier days; but after Vatican II, the approach had radically changed.
Traditionally, the Church simply condemned errors and declared anathema those separated from the Catholic faith, in the hopes that they would be chastened and return to the Church. Eventually, however, the Church realized that unity between Christian bodies could not be promoted by condemnation and threat, but only by establishing honest and charitable dialogue — to “speak the truth in love.”[5] It also took the new view that the dialogue “partners”—whether at the official level or in unofficial efforts between individual Christians—must be generally recognized as those who inherited centuries of separation and misunderstanding. Their separation from the Catholic Church was not their fault—they were born into it. Either way, dialogue and witness would take time, good will and patient charity.
The Catholic Spirit of Ecumenism
For us who have been called to the work of evangelization, we should embrace, as Vatican Council II says, the “promot[ion of] justice and truth, concord and collaboration, as well as the spirit of brotherly love and unity”[6] with our separated brothers and sisters. Sometimes, this approach has been criticized as inauthentic, but it is not. The important thing is to make sure that we don’t act with indifference to the truth of the Catholic Faith as we share fellowship with non-Catholics. Genuine Catholic ecumenism must always be directed toward an ultimate goal and good: As the Council teaches, “When the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually overcome, all Christians … [will] be gathered into the one and only Church.”[7]
Undoubtedly, the Council Fathers and Protestant leaders of the era of Vatican II thought this would be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. However, it soon became apparent that the disunity of centuries would take a great amount of time to undo. Yet, the monumental hopes for unity expressed over a half-century ago continue quietly and modestly at the individual and small-group level. We have had to reframe and rethink how we can promote genuine Catholic ecumenism, and the work we are doing here, through the One Good Reason method, is one such initiative.
Concluding Thoughts
In the Gospel, Jesus prayed for his followers, “that they may all be one” — ut unum sint.[8] As Catholic evangelists who regularly encounter Protestants, we need to be aware both of the similarities that unite us, and the differences that divide us. Above all, we must remember to hold to an authentic, Catholic approach to ecumenism so that we can be effective instruments of God for the reunion of all Christians in the one Church, according to His will.
Let’s conclude with some additional, practical advice that we can bring into our own outreach, given by Vatican II itself:
Catholics, in their ecumenical work, must assuredly be concerned for their separated brethren, praying for them, keeping them informed about the Church, making the first approaches toward them. But their primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be done [in our Church] in order that it’s life may bear witness more clearly and faithfully to the teachings and institutions which have come to it from Christ through the Apostles (emphasis added).[9]
[1] For more on the term “ecclesial communion,” see the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church (June 29, 2007). See also the Commentary on this document (June 29, 2007).
[2] See the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) web site for more information. The Catholic Church has not accepted membership in the WCC, but has sent official observers for decades who are actively involved in various sectors of it. In the light of an appearance, in 2018, of Pope Francis to the WCC headquarters in Geneva, some discussion about the matter arose within The National Catholic Register by Matthew Bunson and Edward Pentin.
[3] See, for instance, the 1949 Instruction of the Holy Office, “On the ‘Ecumenical Movement’” (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 42 [1950], 142ff). An English translation was reproduced by EWTN.
[4] AAS 57 (1965), 90ff. This document is available on the Vatican’s web site.
[5] Eph. 4:15.
[6] Unitatis Redintegratio, 4.
[7] Ibid.
[8] John 17:21.