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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 4981 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sun Feb 25th, 2007 11:21 am |
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WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Ecumenical and interreligious dialogue doesn't mean that Catholics have to compromise their beliefs, actually, quite the opposite is true, says Father James Massa.
Father Massa is the executive director of the U.S. episcopal conference's Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
In this interview with ZENIT, he discusses the particular challenges and benefits of ecumenical dialogue in the United States.
He highlights the current trials in dialogue with the Episcopal Church, which recently participated in the Anglican Communion's meeting of primates in Africa.
Q: On Jan. 30, Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, met with U.S. ecumenists in Virginia. He said one of the main challenges in ecumenism is getting to the local level and making the spirit of ecumenism form part of the daily life of pastors and faithful, something he referred to as "reception." Could you explain more of what that is?
Father Massa: The last 40 years, since the Second Vatican Council, have produced an abundance of ecumenical statements that are the fruit of the Catholic Church's bilateral and multilateral dialogues with our partners in the Orthodox Churches and in the ecclesial communities of the 16th century Reformation.
Many Catholics and other Christians have scarcely any awareness of the progress that has been made in these dialogues, which have sought to resolve doctrinal disputes and to find new ways of expressing in common our faith in Jesus Christ. Ecumenism must be about more than issuing statements; it must be lived at the local level where Catholics and other Christians gather for worship and witness to the Gospel.
Q: Benedict XVI said in his Angelus address Jan. 21: "I hope that the longing for unity ... will spread ever more at the level of parishes...." What do the U.S. bishops recommend to their priests so that this longing for unity can be nurtured?
Father Massa: Pope John Paul II has called spiritual ecumenism "the soul of the ecumenical movement." The Catholic faithful and their pastors have ample opportunities to engage the multivalent tasks of spiritual ecumenism.
I would name three key areas: prayer, study and witness to justice.
As for prayer, we should keep in mind what the John Paul II said in his magnificent 1995 encyclical, "Ut unum sint," no. 22: "If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little divides them in comparison to what unites them."
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Then there is dialogue, which requires that all the participants be knowledgeable and fully committed to the tenets of their own religious tradition.
If the Catholic participant is conflicted about this or that particular teaching of the Catholic Church, then he or she is not an adequate representative of the tradition. Dialogue becomes a farce. I have been in attendance at such meetings, and they are not terribly edifying.
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Finally, there is the work of justice.
As followers of Christ, we must defend the dignity of every human being who has been "remade in the image of Christ" irrespective of that person's race, ethnicity, religious convictions, or way of life. Once again I draw on "Ut unum sint," no. 74: "Social and cultural life offers ample opportunities for ecumenical cooperation. With increasing frequency Christians are working together to defend human dignity, to promote peace, to apply the Gospel to social life, to bring the Christian spirit to the world of science and of the arts. They find themselves ever more united in striving to meet the sufferings and the needs of our time: hunger, natural disasters and social injustice."
Q: During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke at a press conference regarding division in the Anglican church over ordaining women and homosexuals as bishops. This debate was sparked by moves made by the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion. Cardinal Kasper mentioned that the U.S. bishops maintain contact with the U.S. branch of the Anglicans. How is that going? How are these conflicts affecting ecumenical dialogue?
Father Massa: Well, as you can imagine, the problems facing the dialogue with the Episcopal Church in the United States are formidable. As Cardinal Kasper has indicated, we are perhaps further apart from the Anglican Communion than we were at the onset of the journey of reconciliation that began in 1966 with the famous visit of Archbishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury to Pope Paul VI.
It is not only sad, but quite baffling, that the Anglicans have chosen to move in this direction of ordaining openly gay bishops even if this means the dissolution of their own communion. What happened this very week [Feb. 12-19, 2007] in Dar Salam in Africa, with the meeting of the Anglican primates, may produce that very result of tragic fragmentation.
Yet, the dialogue continues because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I have heard the argument that the greater the divide, the more reason for dialogue. Perhaps there is some truth in this statement. I would very much like to see the dialogue between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops take up some of the foundational issues in moral theology that lead us to taking such divergent positions on matters of human sexuality and the sanctity of life.
Q: This year the idea of "spiritual ecumenism" was often mentioned in Rome during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Given the Protestant roots of the United States and the prevailing Protestant Christian culture, do you think that the United States has a special role to play in ecumenism, perhaps especially in this "spiritual ecumenism"?
Father Massa: Yes. Let me just mention that at the National Workshop on Christian Unity here in Arlington, Virginia, our office sold over a hundred copies of Cardinal Kasper's new text, "Handbook on Spiritual Ecumenism." I recommend that book highly to all of our priests, deacons, and religious educators here in the United States.
Q: Is apologetics a key element of ecumenism? Do Catholics have to be better formed in their own faith before engaging in ecumenical dialogue with Protestants? Or does ecumenism come "from the top down," for example, through agreements made among Church leaders like the document on justification signed some years ago by Lutherans and Catholics?
Father Massa: That's a very interesting question. Let me refer you to my answer to the second question. I would also say, however, that while being informed about and committed to one's own faith is essential for participation in ecumenical work, apologetics is not the same as ecumenical dialogue.
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Q: How does the growing popularity of New Age-related practices or spiritualities -- things like yoga, transcendental meditation, etc. -- affect the ecumenical movement? Do these trends unite Christians to defend common beliefs?
Father Massa: I think that Evangelical Christians and Catholics might have the strongest reaction to what might be called "syncretism" in this regard. I would be hesitant to lump all forms of Eastern meditation with the New Age movement.
Through interreligious dialogue with the ancient religions of Asia, we as Catholics have encountered spiritual practices that merit our respect and interest. As with everything, the standard by which we Catholics discern the value and truthfulness of these religious practices is Christ and his teaching Church. If we stand on the ground of Catholic orthodoxy, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue can be an adventure worth pursuing.
The entire interview is available from Zenit.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Steven Barrett
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Posted: Wed Mar 21st, 2007 12:18 pm |
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 Cajunrick, excellent posting! Church unity is indeed possible, but only if we, (all Christians in general) really want it, know why they want it, and are willing to ditch a lot of misperceptions in order to achieve it.
All of us should want it, if for no other reason than to glorify Christ by seeking to fulfill one of His last prayerful wishes. However, saying we want unity without understanding what unity really means is going to require some very disciplined thinking, especially on the part of more liberal-minded Catholics.
Just as Neville Chamberlain naively misunderstood the difference between the necessity of continued negotiations to prevent war from outright sacrificing somebody else's homeland to buy peace, we must not abandon bedrock Catholic teachings on matters of faith and morality for the sake of achieving what in the long run will only look like unity on the surface.
Moreover, just from a practical viewpoint, who'd respect us for doing so, much less want to become Catholic if we watered down the very essential Catholic teachings? Without wantind to appear overly triumphalistic, or smug, we have what others lack and are seeking. We'd also be grievously short-changing converts and prospective converts should the rueful day ever occur that we drop controversial teachings such as Humanae Vitae, Marian doctrines, transubstantiation, etc., among others just to demonstrate "good faith" and desire to repair "fraternal ties" with Protestants.
What has five hundred years of excessive compromise over longstanding Truths accomplished for Protestantism.? Division and more division, occuring no less on a daily basis. And, a branch of the tree given to producing more useless offshoots is not a branch we can rely upon to keep the main trunk growing at full strength.
Doing that would be a slap in the face to Christ who uttered His prayer for unity only hours before He gave His all to save our mortal souls. The least we can do is to remain constant.
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For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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JillD
Member
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Visalia, California USA |
| Posts: | 600 |
| First Name: | Jill | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | heathen, EvFree, Messianic, LC-MS, Catholic 2007 |
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Posted: Wed Mar 21st, 2007 12:49 pm |
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Well stated, Steven! Nothing would be more disillusioning to a convert like me than for this Church which I've desired and struggled to understand and love to suddenly become like the mess I'm leaving!
Jill
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"The alternative to obedience is to turn the conversation into a cacophony of Christians making it up as they go along." - Fr. Richard John Neuhaus
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Steven Barrett
Member
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Posted: Wed Mar 21st, 2007 01:37 pm |
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| Thank you Jill for your kind reply. We can't win if we give in, and in, and in ... And may you have many joyous years ahead on the Rock. We only need to look around and see what's become of those other "solid bible churches," and whateverelse.
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For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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