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Policy Statement on Ecumenism Introduction I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Today in New Zealand we Catholics must be as conscious of this duty as Ephesians were called to be, for it is unity within the Church that is an essential prerequisite to forming ever greater degrees of unity with other churches and ecclesial communities. The Unity of the Church This analogy of the depth and closeness of the disciples to one another with that of the relationship of persons within the Godhead, is clearly a most profound one. Just as there is but one God of three distinct Persons so there should be one church, one communion of the faithful consisting nevertheless of many individuals. Those who make up the body of the Church, are the people of God. They are believers in the divinity of Christ and in the salvation from sin He brought to the world through the sacrificial mystery of His passion, death and resurrection. When seen in this light of the analogy of the Blessed Trinity, the unity of Christians can be understood in a most telling way as needing to be an organic unity. For Catholics this need for unity is, in the first place, a call for unity within the Church itself. We must have a recognition and acceptance of the central importance of unity for a true understanding of the very nature of the Church. That unity can be seen as the shared communion of faith, hope and charity; of a common worship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and of a common acceptance of the norms of morality by which we judge the extent of our own lives as being truly Christian. This unity within the Church is an essential prerequisite to forming ever-greater degrees of unity with other Churches and ecclesial bodies. This unity is as necessary here within the Church in New Zealand as for the Church world-wide, if there is to be a sound basis for our local ecumenical activities. The Church and Ecumenism This ecumenical goal of the Church in New Zealand was summed up by Pope John Paul II during the Ecumenical Service held in Christchurch in 1986. The Pope said then that Catholics come to the ecumenical movement "with those Catholic principles of ecumenism formulated in the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism. We are convinced that the goal is not simply partnership; it is nothing less than the fullness of communion in a visible, organic unity. The ecumenical way cannot be one of reduction. It is rather a journey of growth into the fullness of Christ, the fullness of unity. It is a journey in which the Churches and Ecclesial Communities taking part must have a genuine respect for one another and for their gifts and traditions, helping each other towards that unity in faith which alone can enable us to be one Church and to share in one Eucharist." The unity of which the Pope was speaking he had already explained "is much more than a federation, a working arrangement, a means of enabling the followers of Jesus Christ to do certain things together. 'The promise we have from God is the promise of the unity, which is the essence of Himself (Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Trallians). It is a unity, which is nothing less than a sharing in that communion which is the inner life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a unity in the profession of the apostolic faith. It is a unity in that sacramental life whereby Jesus Christ touches human lives with His salvation and maintains the communion of believers in one visible body. It is also a unity with the visible teaching authority of the Church, which in God's design necessarily expresses her inner communion. Only a deeply interior yet fully visible unity such as this could be adequate for Christ's mission to knit together the connective tissues of humanity torn apart by sin." In the Catechism of the Catholic Church issued in 1992 there are paragraphs on ecumenism in the section on The Unity of the Church. Attention must be given particularly to paragraphs 817 to 822. After recognising the serious dissensions of different sorts that have appeared between Christians over the years, the Catechism acknowledges frankly that "often enough, men of both sides were to blame. The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body...do not occur without human sin". The Catechism then goes on in paragraphs 818 and 819 to quote from the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council to emphasise that the present state of disunity among Christians is not the fault of people living today. "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers... All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore havea right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity". More recently a very relevant statement on ecumenism in relation to the unity of the Church is contained in the declaration of the International Theological Commission on Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past (L'Osservatore Romano, weekly edition, 15 March 2000 ). The statement in Section 5.2 under the heading The Division of Christians reads in part: "Unity is the law of the life of the Trinitarian God revealed to the world by the Son (cf. Jn 17:21), who, in the power of the Holy Spirit, loving until the end (cf. Jn 13:1) communicates this life to his own. This unity should be the source and the form of the communion of mankind's life with the Triune God. If Christians live this law of mutual love, so as to be one "as the Father and the Son are one", the result will be that "the world will believe that the Son was sent by the Father" (Jn 17:21) and "everyone will know that these are his disciples" (Jn 13:35). Unfortunately, it has not happened this way, particularly in the millennium which has just ended and in which great divisions appeared among Christians, in open contradiction to the explicit will of Christ, as if he himself were divided (cf. 1 Cor 1:13). Vatican Council II judges this fact in this way: "Certainly such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, is a scandal to the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature"... The way that has opened to overcome these differences is that of doctrinal development animated by mutual love. The lack of supernatural love, of agape, seems to have been common to both the breaches. Given that this charity is the supreme commandment of the gospel, without which all the rest is but "a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor 13:1), such a deficiency needs to be seen in all its seriousness before the Risen One, the Lord of the Church and of history. It is by virtue of the recognition of this lack that Pope Paul VI asked pardon of God and of the "separated brethren", who may have felt offended "by us" (the Catholic Church)... Particularly problematic for the path toward the unity of Christians is the temptation to be guided – or even determined – by cultural factors, historical conditioning and those prejudices which feed the separation and mutual distrust among Christians, even though they do not have anything to do with matters of faith. The Church's sons and daughters should sincerely examine their consciences to see whether they are actively committed to obeying the imperative of unity and are living an "interior conversion", because "it is from newness of attitudes of mind (cf. Eph 4:23), from self-denial and generous love, that desires for unity take their rise and grow toward maturity.” Differing Views on Ecumenism First the Cardinal emphasised that for Catholics 'ecumenism' is not to be seen as simply one aspect of the Church's activity, but rather is an integral part of it. "The commitment to ecumenism" he said, "is irrevocable." The Cardinal quoted from the papal encyclical Ut Unum Sint, the principle that the "love for the truth is the deepestdimension of any authentic quest for full communion". The Cardinal dealt specifically with relations with the Orthodox, the Anglicans and the Lutherans. He also spoke of the World Council of Churches and quoted from comments by the Secretary-General Konrad Raiser during his official visit to the Vatican in 1996. Dr Raiser said: "It will therefore be necessary to develop a much more dynamic understanding of unity, unity as a process rather than as a structured unity with a definitive doctrinal formulation." The Cardinal then explained that the Catholic Church did not share this vision because "ecumenism as a search for truth in love runs into difficulty when truth itself is relativised. For the Catholic Church," the Cardinal stated, "the goal of our ecumenical endeavours remains clearly the restoration of full visible unity in faith, ministry and sacramental life." But then the Cardinal immediately added that this goal does not mean that we are lacking in appreciation of the need for, and value of intermediate goals. In all ecumenical dialogue the necessity to be inspired by speaking the truth in love must always be the guiding principle. Nor must it be forgotten or down played that the goal for Catholics is the restoration of full visible unity. Regarding this goal there was a very significant development at the World Council of Churches General Assembly at Harare in 1998. In a report in L'Osservatore Romano of 23 February 2000 , Monsignor Radano of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity writes: "A recent amendment to the WCC Constitution gives this goal of visible unity (as the goal intended by the WCC itself) much greater prominence than the current version that it is replacing. Since Faith and Order has traditionally stressed visible unity as the goal of the ecumenical movement, the additional emphasis on this particular goal in the revisions of the WCC Constitution indicates a deeper reception of Faith and Order priorities. This is especially important because this goal must be very clear as Christians seek to heal their divisions. It is the goal at which the Catholic Church aims in its ecumenical work. To illustrate this welcome development, the older WCC Constitution lists seven "functions and purposes of the WCC", all of apparent equal value. The first listed of these seven purposes is: "to call the churches to the goal of visible unity in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship expressed in worship and in common life in Christ, and to advance towards that unity in order that the world may believe" (III Functions and Purposes). The revised version of "Purposes and Function" of the Constitution, on the other hand, makes the goal of visible unity clearly the primary purpose of the WCC, puts the responsibility for this goal on the fellowship of Churches in the WCC rather than on the WCC itself. And another aspect of this is that it bridges the competition or the gap sometimes perceived between Faith and Order's work in theological dialogue and the "Life and Work" (or social action and witness) part of the ecumenical movement, by clearly showing that they are intimately related. Thus, "the primary purpose of the fellowship of churches in the World Council of Churches is to call one another to visible unity in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and common life in Christ, through witness and service to the world, and to advance towards that unity in order that the world may believe. In the previous version, the other six specific purposes and functions are also presented as aims or goals, e.g. "to facilitate the common witness of the churches" and "to support the churches in their world-wide missionary and evangelistic task", etc. But in the revised Constitution these activities and others listed immediately afterwards, are indicated more as means (not aims) by which to seek the deepening of this fellowship of the churches towards visible unity, being introduced thus: "In seeking koinonia in faith and life, witness and service, the churches through the Council will….” Steps towards Unity – noted with hope and thanksgiving Without seeking to be comprehensive and by way of illustrating the great variety of recent exchanges note can be made of the following:
The Catholic Church here in New Zealand is an integral part of the Church universal — the world-wide Church in communion with the Bishop of Rome. Hence we have an interest and indeed involvement in the ecumenical activities of the Holy See. Steps towards unity can involve many people in many ways. There must first be a realisation that ecumenism means different things to different people so that when we are discussing ecumenism we must be clear ourselves and not confuse others as to what the Catholic Church means by that term, as has already been indicated. Above all we must pray for unity, personally, as a Church community, and in common with others in inter-Church prayer services as occasion offers – or can be made. There can be even more frequent, and focussed, dialogues at different levels as may be appropriate. In all such discussions there has to be a seeking for a shared understanding of the Christian faith, while always speaking and seeking the truth in love. There should be a closer study of Scripture with members of other Churches in an open search for greater understanding of the depths of revelation. There should be an ever greater shared ecumenical expression of social concerns on such issues as justice, development, peace and the environment. Where there is disagreement on major moral issues such as abortion, and possibly now euthanasia, we should seek to explain our moral stands as clearly as possible and seek ecumenical support and co-operation to the extent that this is possible. Catholic Ecumenical activities in New Zealand Variety marks the nature, form and extent of Catholic ecumenical activities in New Zealand. An indicative list that does not pretend to be complete includes such forms of activity as: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Anglican-Catholic dialogue Presbyterian-Catholic dialogue Methodist-Catholic dialogue Wanganui City Mission, an ecumenical initiative between Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists and Presbyterians; National (and regional) Church leader group meetings Ministers' Associations Chaplaincy co-operation (e.g. prisons and hospitals) NZ Council of Christian Social Services Invitations to episcopal ordinations Churches Broadcasting Commission Integrated Private Schools — NZCPIS Local Councils of Churches, e.g. Council of Wellington Churches NZ Council of Christian Social Services Waikato Christian Social Services Village Trust Hamilton Casino Monitoring Committee For a number of years the Catholic Church was one of the Member Churches of the Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand (CCANZ). In 1999 however, the Catholic Church withdrew from membership of CCANZ. Now Catholic ecumenical activities concentrate on developing closer relations with individual Churches or groups of Churches through specific projects from time to time. In this respect the Commission records its awareness of the continuing dialogues the Catholic Church is involved in separately with the Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, and encourages the Catholic participants in these dialogues to develop ever deeper understanding and closer relations with those Churches. The Commission also notes with warm approval the active participation of priests in local associations of Ministers and similar bodies as well as the involvement of so many religious and lay people in appropriate ecumenical undertakings. The way ahead On the local level, however, it is important to be aware of these international developments with a view to seeing how we can make them relevant to the New Zealand situation. In this we must be patient and prudent and open to understanding possible differences of emphasis. As far as the local situation is concerned the way ahead at national, diocesan, parish and personal levels needs consideration. For the Commission itself the active part must be primarily at the national level; but the Commission must also encourage, stimulate and support ecumenical activities at the diocesan and parish levels while accepting that all activities must be assessed by the appropriate authorities in accordance with local situations. The suggestions now made for ecumenical activities in the years ahead should be understood as being subject to this qualification. 1. National Level A conference for those Catholics directly involved in ecumenical activities, to share their experiences, to be aware of the variety of ecumenical work being undertaken and to bring themselves up-to-date on the Catholic principles of ecumenism relevant to their work as set out in the Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II, the Encyclicals Ut Unum Sint and The Directory for the Application of the Principles and Norms of Ecumenism (1983) issued by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Bishop Michael Putney was the keynote speaker at this conference and his addresses are given elsewhere on this site. In 2002 a visit to New Zealand by Cardinal Cassidy. The Cardinal gave public addresses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and also met with the Bilateral Dialogues. Arranging to hold one of the Commission’s bi-annual (or more regular) meetings in different centres. While there the Commission members meet with those who work in ecumenism in that place either in a meeting or a workshop. Development of a workshop on Ecumenism given by Commission members, which can be used at such times if appropriate. Initiating development of this website. Development of a workshop on ecumenism for presentation to parishes. Some of these activities will be ongoing or repeated in a different guise in the future. Other future activities under consideration are: Ongoing updating of the Guidelines for Catholics involved in Ecumenical Activities. Encouraging consultation between the Churches on the ecumenical implications of issues under consideration within them and within society at large. Seeking and encouraging co-operation in social services and further ecumenical initiatives in this area. The compilation of a body of resource material on ecumenism and making it widely available Ecumenical formation for seminarians Sound-bite articles in NZ Catholic newspaper 2. Diocesan Level (a) In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity the diocese could hold an ecumenical reconciliation service involving at least some of the senior leaders from other Churches, but with an open invitation to such priests and ministers as wish to attend. (b) There could be an annual meeting of the diocesan clergy to look at their ecumenical experiences of the past year and to consider possible diocesan and parish ecumenical initiatives for the coming year. This could well be a follow-up to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Each diocese could designate one (at least) particular person to be an ecumenical advisor to the Bishop and who could also be the normal contact person for the Commission. 3. Parish Level (a) Particular emphasis needs to be given to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The activities of the Week could include: the parish priest explaining carefully the Catholic understanding of and commitment to ecumenism while distinguishing it from indifferentism small groups of three or four parishioners attending services in other Churches, if invited, and having their presence acknowledged as an ecumenical gesture. There must, of course, be no suggestion of intercommunion irrespective of reciprocity, small groups from other Churches being invited to attend Mass and their ecumenical presence thankfully acknowledged. But again it must be made clear that there is no suggestion of intercommunion. Every year or two parishes could consider holding meetings or courses on ecumenism. The National Commission is developing a parish workshop which it would be prepared to present if the parish wished and members’ commitments allowed. 4. Personal Level Conclusion "Unity, Unity!" Originally produced in consultation with the Commission by Pat Downey, a former member, and now updated on a regular basis.
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