From January 18 - January 25, 2007, we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, of which I have already posted a prayer. However, I feel that instruction is needed for the faithful during this week.It would be extremely easy to fall into error this week while seeking unity. We, as Catholics, follow the complete Truth of Jesus Christ revealed over the past 2,000 years. And that is what we will always believe. We shall not - must not - disregard a single teaching of the Church for "unity." Unity does not mean that all of the separated Christians should come together and make compromises until a new Creed is made. This is heresy! We will not compromise one single article of doctrine, or one single dogma, or one single practice of our faith. For that is a common misconception of what this Week of Christian Unity is about. This week of Christian Unity is about praying for fellow non-Catholics to repent for their sins and enter into the Catholic Church - completely obedient to the Magisterium and all honored Traditions of the Faith. Yes, it is a sin to refuse to believe a single dogma of the Church. It may compromise one's soul if that person refuses to believe even one part of the Faith taught by Christ and revealed through the years by the Holy Catholic Church. Again, anyone who disregards a dogma or teaching of the Holy Church in the name of ecumenism will surely answer to Almighty God.
The Church is our Mother and is led by the Successor of Saint Peter - the Pope. I have already posted a summary of some of the Church's teachings in my post on the Prayer for Unity. And, since we still hold the True Faith, it is our obligation to pray for non-Catholics to see their errors and enter the Church. In truth, interdenominational activity has been condemned through the years by the Church. I have not and will not attend a single Protestant service, and I hope and pray all Catholics will do the same. This is not because I view myself as superior. After all, Jesus ate with the sinners and was criticized for it. But, it is a scandalous activity to attend a Protestant service. Not only do Protestants not have authentic Sacraments like the Eucharist, Confession, Last Rites, Holy Orders, etc., but they believe in heresy. The very word "Protestant" implies they are "protesting." And what are they protesting against? They protest against the Catholic Church, which is the Sacrament of salvation for the whole world! For this reason, it is wrong for any Catholic to attend a non-Catholic religious service. The 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal (Angelus Press Edition) states that it is a sin to "go to places of worship belonging to other denominations" (page 66).
Pope Pius XI condemned the "ecumenical movement" in Mortalium Animos:
"...it will be opportune to expound and to reject a certain false opinion which lies at the root of this question and of that complex movement by which non-Catholics seek to bring about the union of Christian Churches. Those who favor this view constantly quote the words of Christ, "That they may be one (Ut unum sint)... And there shall be one fold and one shepherd" (John xvii. 21, x. 16), in the sense that Christ thereby merely expressed a desire or a prayer which as yet has not been granted. For they hold that the unity of faith and government which is a note of the one true Church of Christ has up to the present time hardly ever existed, and does not exist today. They consider that this unity is indeed to be desired and may even, by cooperation and good will, be actually attained, but that meanwhile it must be regarded as a mere ideal. The Church, they say, is of its nature divided into sections, composed of several churches or distinct communities which still remain separate, and although holding in common some articles of doctrine, nevertheless differ concerning the remainder; that all these enjoy the same rights; and that the Church remained one and undivided at the most only from the Apostolic age until the first Ecumenical Councils. Hence, they say, controversies and long-standing differences, which today still keep asunder the members of the Christian family, must be entirely set aside, and from the residue of doctrines a common form of faith drawn up and proposed for belief, in the profession of which all may not only know but also feel themselves to be brethren. If the various Churches or communities were united in some kind of universal federation, they would then be in a position to oppose resolutely and successfully the progress of irreligion.
"Such, Venerable Brethren, is the common contention. There are indeed some who recognize and affirm that Protestantism has with inconsiderate zeal rejected certain articles of faith and external ceremonies which are in fact useful and attractive, and which the Roman Church still retains. But they immediately go on to say that the Roman Church, too, has erred, and corrupted the primitive religion by adding to it and proposing for belief doctrines not only alien to the Gospel but contrary to its spirit. Chief among these they count that of the primacy of jurisdiction granted to Peter and to his successors in the See of Rome. There are actually some, though few, who grant to the Roman Pontiff a primacy of honor and even a certain power or jurisdiction; this, however, they consider to arise not from the divine law but merely from the consent of the faithful. Others, again, even go so far as to desire the Pontiff himself to preside over their mixed assemblies. For the rest, while you may hear many non-Catholics loudly preaching brotherly communion in Jesus Christ, yet not one will you find to whom it even occurs with devout submission to obey the Vicar of Jesus Christ in his capacity of teacher or ruler. Meanwhile they assert their readiness to treat with the Church of Rome, but on equal terms, as equals with an equal. But even if they could so treat, there seems little doubt that they would do so only on condition that no pact into which they might enter should compel them to retract those opinions which still keep them outside the one fold of Christ.
"This being so, it is clear that the Apostolic See can by no means take part in these assemblies. nor is it in any way lawful for Catholics to give to such enterprises their encouragement or support. If they did so, they would be giving countenance to a false Christianity quite alien to the one Church of Christ. Shall we commit the iniquity of suffering the truth, the truth revealed by God, to be made a subject for compromise? For it is indeed a question of defending revealed truth. Jesus Christ sent His Apostles into the whole world to declare the faith of the Gospel to every nation, and, to save them from error, He willed that the Holy Ghost should first teach them all truth. Has this doctrine, then, disappeared, or at any time been obscured, in the Church of which God Himself is the ruler and guardian? Our Redeemer plainly said that His Gospel was intended not only for the apostolic age but for all time. Can the object of faith, then, have become in the process of time so dim and uncertain that today we must tolerate contradictory opinions? If this were so, then we should have to admit that the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, the perpetual indwelling of the same Spirit in the Church, nay, the very preaching of Jesus Christ, have centuries ago lost their efficacy and value. To affirm this would be blasphemy.
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI JANUARY 6, 1928
Much more information on the basics of Catholicism can be found at Fish Eaters. For some articles on Catholic beliefs that I have written, see my sidebar under the title "Catholic Categories."
Let us pray and work towards unity—that all people will be members of the one, true Church that Jesus Christ established for the salvation of the world—the Catholic Church. Please read Jesus' prayer for Christian Unity in The Gospel of John, Chapter 17.
14 comment(s):
St. Augustine notes: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity."
Until there is a change in the attitude that this kind of post perpetuates, there will be no chance of Christian unity.
great post MB. i am no fan of false ecumenism, it gives a sense of unity when really, we are not united. there is no unity unless we all speak the same thing, that there be no schisms among us, and we be perfect in mind and in the same judgement. to accomplish this, we must all assent to the teachings of Christ as taught by the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. even if one loves Jesus, one reads the bible, one has faith in the Trinity, conversion to the Church is necessary. though these truths or elements of the Church exist in false religions, they are not sufficient for salvation, they are supposed to impel toward unity, towards conversion to the Church.
St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop and Doctor of the Church: "No man can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One can have honor, one can have sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer amen, one can have faith in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic Church."
Just thought that you should know that the quote in your post did not originate from Pope John Paul II. It's actually from a document entitled "Notification relative to the book of Jacques Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism" from the CDF under the prefecture of the former Cardinal Ratzinger, now His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. It can be found here. The CDF also published a commentary on the text of the notification that can be found here. Perhaps you might want to correct that.
-Deo Juvante-
Moneybags:
Ecumenism is something sought after by the pontificate these days, so posting out-of-date papal encyclicals from eras when there were different concerns is not very helpful. What about Pope B16's trip to Turkey and his meetings there in the name of ecumenism? Unity is a good thing, and Catholics have done enough damage over time (think Inquisitions, think "Filioque clause", etc.) to cause rifts. We're not perfect, nor is any other Church, but dialogue and mutual respect is what is critical.
A papal encyclical can not become old and out of use. A papal encyclical cannot be contradicted - it will always apply to the Church!
We're not perfect
The Catholic Church's Doctrine is perfect because Jesus Christ is perfect.
For me, the issue is simple. Is the Catholic Church the One Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium has this to say:
This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Saviour, after His Resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd, and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority, which He erected for all ages as "the pillar and mainstay of the truth". This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure.
God alone knows how much grief and confusion the unfortunate choice of subsists in has brought to the Church. And elements of sanctification do not a Church make.
As St. Cyprian of Carthage said, you can't have God as your Father if you don't have the Church as you Mother. Extra ecclesiam nulla salus!.
So, back to my point. I'm a pretty simple minded guy. So the question in simple terms for me is this. Is the Catholic Church the One Church founded by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? If yes, then all men must be called to come into Her, the Ark of Salvation.
Why cling to little boats and be tossed about by every wind of doctrine when one can come into the Barque of Peter and be steered into the Harbour of Heaven?
But is the Catholic Church is not the Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, then why are these hierarchs in Her? Should we not be looking high and low for this pearl of great price?
If we believe that the Catholic Church be the One True Church founded by her Lord, then the ecumenism of return is the only way, as distasteful as it might seem to our politically sensitive ears. But if Truth is what we want to pursue, then that's the only way. All, Orthodox, Non-Chalcedonian, Protestant(Anglican's inclusive), pagans, heathens, agnostics and atheists, without exception, must be called into union with her, for the salvation of their won souls.
Why must we sacrifice the truth, painful as it might be for these people to hear it, for the sake pleasing their ears when hearing the truth(though perhaps articulated a little more charitably than here =)) could save their souls? The salvation of souls is the prime goal and highest good of the Church. If we forget this, then we'd better close the shop down.
Perfectly said, Andrew.
Who is in the church, MB? We are, and speaking for myself at least, I am a sinner. Thus, we are a church of sinners, and we are not perfect. You cannot honestly be justifying the Inquisitions? or our antisemitic acts?
You're missing the point with ecumenism. Nobody is going to change creeds or water down the truth. What will happen is we will come to an amicable understanding of certain issues like governance because the Pope is the contentious issue between us and the Anglicans. The Filioque clause and governance is the contentious issue between us and the East.
Read up on some ecumenical documents that are recent, MB. There you'll see that we have made huge strides already, none of which compromise the truth in our church, but all of which admit that EVERY CHURCH HAS A SEED OF TRUTH. They're not all wrong because they're United, or Baptist, or Anglican, or Mormons. We need to respect that before we kill ecumenism thoughtlessly.
We need to start with a sense of humility and ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt before we'll make any strides at all.
One more thing:
If all papal encyclicals "never can be contradicted", how do you explain the difference in attitude between the encyclical you cited and Ut Unum Sint?
For me, the issue is simple. Is the Catholic Church the One Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium has this to say:
This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Saviour, after His Resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd, and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority, which He erected for all ages as "the pillar and mainstay of the truth". This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure.
God alone knows how much grief and confusion the unfortunate choice of subsists in has brought to the Church. And elements of sanctification do not a Church make.
As St. Cyprian of Carthage said, you can't have God as your Father if you don't have the Church as you Mother. Extra ecclesiam nulla salus!.
So, back to my point. I'm a pretty simple minded guy. So the question in simple terms for me is this. Is the Catholic Church the One Church founded by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? If yes, then all men must be called to come into Her, the Ark of Salvation.
Why cling to little boats and be tossed about by every wind of doctrine when one can come into the Barque of Peter and be steered into the Harbour of Heaven?
But is the Catholic Church is not the Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, then why are these hierarchs in Her? Should we not be looking high and low for this pearl of great price?
If we believe that the Catholic Church be the One True Church founded by her Lord, then the ecumenism of return is the only way, as distasteful as it might seem to our politically sensitive ears. But if Truth is what we want to pursue, then that's the only way. All, Orthodox, Non-Chalcedonian, Protestant(Anglican's inclusive), pagans, heathens, agnostics and atheists, without exception, must be called into union with her, for the salvation of their won souls.
Why must we sacrifice the truth, painful as it might be for these people to hear it, for the sake pleasing their ears when hearing the truth(though perhaps articulated a little more charitably than here =)) could save their souls? The salvation of souls is the prime goal and highest good of the Church. If we forget this, then we'd better close the shop down.
Thus, we are a church of sinners, and we are not perfect. You cannot honestly be justifying the Inquisitions? or our antisemitic acts?
The Church is made up of sinners, but the Church remains perfect. It is the bride of Christ! She is without blemish in all of her dogmas and doctrine.
The Inquisition WAS NOT bad. People claim that many people were killed and tortured, but that simply isn't true. Statistically, no one was tortured more than once in the Inquisition. It was a time where heretics were removed from teaching their lies.
And I don't think Ut Unum Sint says anything along the lines of "Catholics may attend protestant services". We have to realize that no papal encyclical can be contradicted. It would be wrong for Catholics to attend protestant services.
your attitude is essentially not Christian at all, but fascist...
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