Pastor's Page:  "That They May Be One, As We Are One."
(John 17.11)
The Church and Ecumenism

For many decades before the second Vatican Council, during the month of January, Roman Catholics offered eight days of prayer for Christian unity. The hope before the Council, was that Protestants would "return" to the one true church, and that the Orthodox schism would end.

Protestants prayed with Catholics during the week of prayer for unity, January 18-25, in what came to be called the "ecumenical movement." When Pope John XXIII convened what he termed an ecumenical (open to the whole world) Council, he was taking a long overdue step toward unity among all Christian believers, Protestant and Orthodox and Catholic. The Protestant and Orthodox churches selected observers to sit in St. Peter's across the aisle from the Catholic Cardinals. Pope John established a Secretariat for promoting Christian Unity that would be serving the Protestant and Orthodox observers.

The decree of the Second Vatican Council on Ecumenism oes beyond the assertion that the Catholic Church is the true church, to recognize that Jesus through the Holy Spirit, is also at work in the churches and communities beyond the borders of the Catholic Church.

The bishops at the Council broke new ground. No previous document of the church had spoken of non- Catholic Christians in such a respectful and affirming way. The Council went on to say that the division among Christians is the consequence of sin on both sides. All have an obligation to pray and work for the restoration of unity among all Christians.

The Council document contains a call to action that depends on true change of heart.
"Promoting the restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the chief concerns of the second sacred ecumenical Synod of the Vatican. The church established by Christ the Lord is, indeed, one and unique. Yet many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true heritage of Jesus Christ. To be sure, all proclaim themselves to be disciples of the Lord, but their convictions clash and their paths diverge, as though Christ himself were divided. Without doubt, this discord openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the good news to every creature." (Decree on ecumenism, Second Vatican Council).

The week of prayer for Christian unity began Monday, January 18. The Catholic Church continues to pray with our separated brothers and sisters, the Protestant and Orthodox churches, Anglican, and Oriental churches, for Christian unity. Our division is still a scandal that needs to be rectified. A giant step was taken the day before the second Vatican Council ended, December 7, 1965, Pope Paul VI and the ecumenical patriarch Athenagoras mutually lifted the condemnations of 1054 that the churches had hurled at one another, dividing Eastern and Western Christianity in the Great Schism.

Our present pope, Benedict, and his predecessor John Paul II, have and had the unity of Christian churches as a top priority. Both made strong overtures through mutual prayer and discussion to bring this about. This week of Christian prayer for unity we continue to ask the Lord to bring about the harmony and peace that is needed among all those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. “That they may be one, as we are one."

Peace and love,
Father Bruce