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Pope Benedict General Audience for the WPCU

January 18, 2012 12:00 pm / Leave a comment

“The Unity for Which We Pray Requires Interior Conversion, Both Communal and Personal”

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in Paul VI Hall. The Pope reflected on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins today.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which for more than a century has been celebrated by Christians of all Churches and ecclesial Communities, in order to invoke that extraordinary gift for which the Lord Jesus Himself prayed during the Last Supper, before His Passion: “that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21). The practice of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was introduced in 1908 by Father Paul Wattson, founder of an Anglican religious community that subsequently entered the Catholic Church. The initiative received the blessing of Pope St. Pius X and was then promoted by Pope Benedict XV, who encouraged its celebration throughout the Church with the Brief, Romanorum Pontificum, promulgated Feb. 25, 1916.

The octave of prayer was developed and perfected in the 1930s by Abbé Paul Couturier of Lyon, who promoted prayer “for the unity of the Church as Christ wills, and in accordance with the instruments He wills.” In his later writings, Abbé Couturier sees this Week as a way of allowing the prayer of Christ to “enter into and penetrate the entire Christian Body”; it must grow until it becomes “an immense, unanimous cry of the whole People of God” who ask God for this great gift. And it is precisely during the Week of Christian Unity that the impetus given by the Second Vatican Council toward seeking full communion among all of Christ’s disciples each year finds one of its most forceful expressions. This spiritual gathering, which unites Christians of all traditions, increases our awareness of the fact that the unity to which we tend will not be the result of our efforts alone, but will rather be a gift received from above, a gift for which we must constantly pray.

Each year, the booklets for the Week of Prayer are prepared by an ecumenical group from a different region of the world. I would like to pause to consider this point. This year, the texts were proposed by a mixed group comprised of representatives of the Catholic Church and of the Polish Ecumenical Council, which includes the country’s various Churches and ecclesial Communities. The documentation was then reviewed by a committee made up of members of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and of the Faith and Order Commission of the Council of Churches.  This work, carried out together in two stages, is also a sign of the desire for unity that animates Christians, and of the awareness that prayer is the primary way of attaining full communion, since it is in being united with the Lord that we move toward unity.

The theme of the Week this year — as we heard — is taken from the First Letter to the Corinthians: “We Will All Be Changed By the Victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ” — His victory will transform us. And this theme was suggested by the large ecumenical Polish group I just mentioned, which — in reflecting on their own experience as a nation — wanted to underscore how strong a support the Christian faith is in the midst of trial and upheaval, like those that have characterized Poland’s history. After ample discussion, a theme was chosen that focuses on the transforming power of faith in Christ, particularly in light of the importance it has for our prayer for the visible unity of Christ’s Body, the Church. This reflection was inspired by the words of St. Paul who, addressing himself to the Church of Corinth, speaks about the perishable nature of what belongs to our present life — which is also marked by the experience of the “defeat” that comes from sin and death — compared to what brings us Christ’s victory over sin and death in His paschal mystery.

The particular history of the Polish nation, which knew times of democratic coexistence and of religious liberty — as in the 16th century — has been marked in recent centuries by invasions and defeat, but also by the constant struggle against oppression and by the thirst for freedom. All of this led the ecumenical group to reflect more deeply on the true meaning of “victory” — what victory is — and “defeat.” Compared with “victory” understood in triumphalistic terms, Christ suggests to us a very different path that does not pass by way of force and power. In fact, He affirms: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Christ speaks of a victory through suffering love, through mutual service, help, new hope and concrete comfort given to the least, to the forgotten, to those who are rejected. For all Christians, the highest expression of this humble service is Jesus Christ Himself — the total gift He makes of Himself, the victory of His love over death on the Cross, which shines resplendent in the light of Easter morning.

We can take part in this transforming “victory” if we allow ourselves to be transformed by God — but only if we work for the conversion of our lives, and if this transformation leads to conversion. This is the reason why the Polish ecumenical group considered particularly fitting for their own reflection the words of St. Paul: “We will all be changed by the victory of Christ, Our Lord” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

The full and visible unity of Christians for which we long demands that we allow ourselves to be ever more perfectly transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. The unity for which we pray requires interior conversion, both communal and personal. It is not simply a matter of kindness and cooperation; above all, we must strengthen our faith in God, in the God of Jesus Christ, who has spoken to us and who made Himself one of us; we must enter into new life in Christ, which is our true and definitive victory; we must open ourselves to one another, cultivating all the elements of that unity that God has preserved for us and gives to us ever anew; we must feel the urgency of bearing witness before the men of our times to the living God, who made Himself known in Christ.

The Second Vatican Council put the ecumenical pursuit at the center of the Church’s life and work: “The Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism” (Unitatis redintegratio, 4). Blessed John Paul II stressed the essential nature of this commitment, saying: “This unity, which the Lord has bestowed on his Church and in which he wishes to embrace all people, is not something added on, but stands at the very heart of Christ’s mission. Nor is it some secondary attribute of the community of his disciples. Rather, it belongs to the very essence of this community (Ut unum sint, 9). The ecumenical task is therefore a responsibility of the whole Church and of all the baptized, who must make the partial, already existing communion between Christians grow into full communion in truth and charity. Therefore, prayer for unity is not limited to this Week of Prayer but rather must become an integral part of our prayer, of the life of prayer of all Christians, in every place and in every time, especially when people of different traditions meet and work together for the victory, in Christ, over all that is sin, evil, injustice, and that violates human dignity.

From the time the modern ecumenical movement was born over a century ago, there has always been a clear recognition of the fact that the lack of unity among Christians prevents the Gospel from being proclaimed more effectively, because it jeopardizes our credibility. How can we give a convincing witness if we are divided? Certainly, as regards the fundamental truths of the faith, much more unites us than divides us. But divisions remain, and they concern even various practical and ethical questions — causing confusion and distrust, and weakening our ability to hand on Christ’s saving Word. In this regard, we do well to remember the words of Blessed John Paul II, who in the Encyclical Ut unum sint, speaks of the damage caused to Christian witness and to the proclamation of the Gospel by the lack of unity (cf. no. 98,99). This is a great challenge for the new evangelization, which can be more fruitful if all Christians together announce the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and give a common response to the spiritual thirst of our times.

The Church’s journey, like that of all peoples, is in the hands of the Risen Christ, who is victorious over the death and injustice that He bore and suffered on behalf of all mankind. He makes us sharers in His victory. Only He is capable of transforming us and changing us — from being weak and hesitant — to being strong and courageous in working for good. Only He can save us from the negative consequences of our divisions. Dear brothers and sisters, I invite everyone to be more intensely united in prayer during this Week for Unity, so that common witness, solidarity and collaboration may grow among Christians, as we await the glorious day when together we may profess the faith handed down by the Apostles, and together celebrate the Sacraments of our transformation in Christ. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

[In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which begins today invites all the Lord’s followers to implore the gift of unity. This year’s theme – We Will All Be Changed By The Victory Of Our Lord Jesus Christ – was chosen by representatives of the Catholic Church and the Polish Ecumenical Council. Poland’s experience of oppression and persecution prompts a deeper reflection on the meaning of Christ’s victory over sin and death, a victory in which we share through faith. By his teaching, his example and his paschal mystery, the Lord has shown us the way to a victory obtained not by power, but by love and concern for those in need. Faith in Christ and interior conversion, both individual and communal, must constantly accompany our prayer for Christian unity. During this Week of Prayer, let us ask the Lord in a particular way to strengthen the faith of all Christians, to change our hearts and to enable us to bear united witness to the Gospel. In this way we will contribute to the new evangelization and respond ever more fully to the spiritual hunger of the men and women of our time.

* * *

I offer a cordial welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience. My special greeting goes to the Lutheran pilgrims from Finland. I also greet the group of sailors and marines from the United States. Upon all of you and your families I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings!

© Copyright 2012 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Zenit original: http://www.zenit.org/article-34139?l=english
Vatican original with video: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120118_en.html

Prayer for Christian Unity?

January 18, 2012 9:00 am / Leave a comment

One of the most well advertised annual events during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome has nothing to do with ecumenism.

At least, not explicitly.

Every night at 8:00pm during the WPCU, there is a liturgy at Santa Maria in Via Lata, just off the Via del Corso. Instead of inviting in the Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant communities in Rome to lead worship in rotation, every one of these liturgies is Catholic. The unique aspect of the series, however, is that each is celebrated according to a different liturgical rite, sponsored by different of the Churches sui iuris that make up the Catholic communion.

It is a great idea, but the question is whether it is appropriate for the week of prayer that is meant to focus on the restoration of unity with other Christians. Is it a celebration of the unity-in-diversity that already exists in a real but imperfect way in the Catholic Church? Does it smack of uniatism, or of Catholic imperialism? Is it enough to remind Roman Catholics that not all Catholics are Roman, that we do not all do things the same way, and therefore demonstrate a fundamental principle of ecumenism – that unity does not mean uniformity?

This year’s schedule includes most of the major liturgical traditions – though the East Syrian, or Assyrian/Chaldean rite is notably absent for some reason:

  • January 18: Byzantine Rite, Greek Catholic Church
    (organized by the Pontifical Greek College)
  • January 19: Byzantine Rite, Ukrainian Catholic Church
    (organized by the Basilian Fathers of St. Giosafat)
  • January 20: Byzantine Rite, Romanian Catholic Church
    (organized by the Pontifical Romanian College)
  • January 21: Maronite Rite, Maronite Catholic Church
    (organized by the Maronite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
  • January 22: Latin Rite, Roman Catholic Church
    (presided by Archbishop Piero Marini)
  • January 23: West-Syrian Rite, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
    (organized by the Pontifical Damascene College)
  • January 24: Armenian Rite, Armenian Catholic Church
    (organized by the Pontifical Armenian College)
  • January 25: Ge’ez Rite, Ethiopian Catholic Church
    (organized by the Pontifical Ethiopian College)

First, I have to say it is a great opportunity to celebrate the liturgical diversity of the Catholic Church. In a way it recalls Bl. John XXIII’s decision to open Vatican II in the Ambrosian Rite rather than in the Roman – a reminder that there is always more than one way to be Catholic.

It is also helpful for us Latins to remember that the Catholic Church is actually catholic, and not simply an extension of Latin-Roman/Western culture. All Roman Catholics are Catholic, but not all Catholics are Roman Catholic.

(It should go without saying the ecumenically obvious statement that not all catholics are Catholic, either, but that does not merit calling all Catholics ‘Roman Catholic’. Capisce?)

One caveat is that it can reduce the respective churches of the Catholic communion merely to their liturgical patrimony, as if the Catholic Church simply enjoys liturgical diversity in a single monolithic ecclesial entity, rather than in fact being a communion of churches.

Another is that such a celebration during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity could communicate an unintended model of unity, some kind of liturgical uniatism – or, as one my first ecumenical dialogue partners, an avid Trekkie, would put it, this model makes the Catholic Church out to be the Borg, with a simple message: “Your patrimony will be absorbed and added to our own. Resistance is futile.”

Certainly, that is not ecumenism according to the Catholic Church. (Though there is at least a hint of receptivity!)

Nevertheless, it is a celebration of Christian Unity – to be precise, of Catholic unity – to be able to celebrate the same Eucharistic mystery in such varied and ancient liturgical traditions, all of which are found within the Catholic Church. It just is not the kind of Christian Unity, or not the whole scope of the kind of unity, envisioned by the Week of Prayer.

It might be more fitting, however, if the week included Anglican, Protestant, and Orthodox Eucharistic liturgies, in which it is precisely our inability to share communion that compels us to strive for the unity for which Christ himself prays. Or let us celebrate the rich diversity of the Catholic communion in the same manner, but in a different week: perhaps the Pentecost octave. Then at least we would have time to participate in both!

 

Settimana di Preghiera per l’unità dei Cristiani 2012 in Roma

January 17, 2012 3:11 pm / Leave a comment

If you ever thought that Rome was not interested in ecumenism, you should think again. The calendar below is an unofficial list of everything going on during these days that has been advertised in connection to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, or the preceding Day of Reflection on Jewish-Christian Dialogue.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
SETTIMANA DI PREGHIERA PER L’UNITÀ DEI CRISTIANI
ROMA + 18 – 25 JANUARY 2012

“Tutti Saremo Trasformati dalla Vittoria di Gesu Cristo, Nostro Signore”
“We will all be transformed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Tuesday, 17 January

1730     Giornata di Riflessione Ebraico-Cristiana: La Sesta Parola: «NON UCCIDERAI»
S. E. Mons. Benedetto Tuzia Commissione diocesana per l’Ecumenismo e il Dialogo
Ecc.mo Rav Riccardo Di Segni Rabbino Capo della Comunità Ebraica di Roma
Prof. Mauro Cozzoli Professore Ordinario di Teologia Morale, Pont. Università Lateranense
Pontificia Universitá Lateranense, Aula Pio XI

Wednesday, 18 January

1730      The Encounter of the African Traditional Religions, Islam and Christianity in Northeastern Nigeria:
Toward a Contextual Theology of Interreligious Dialogue
Doctoral Defense of Rev. John Bogna Bakeni, Russell Berrie Alumnus
Pontificia Universitá San Tommaso, Aula X

1830       The Venerable English College – Celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

1900      Celebrazione, Consulta delle Chiese Evangeliche Romane
Pastore Herbert Anders, Chiesa Luterana
S. E. Mons. Benedetto Tuzia Commissione diocesana per l’Ecumenismo e il Dialogo
Chiesa luterana, via Toscana 7

Thursday, 19 January

1600     Celebrazione ecumenica finlandese, festa di S. Enrico di Finlandia
S.E.R. Mons. Teemu Sippo, vescovo della diocesi cattolica di Helsinki.
Rev.mo Seppo Hakkinen, vescovo della diocesi evangelico-luterana di Mikkeli.
Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

1630      Impulses of the Spirit: Promotion of Human Rights, Justice, and Peace since Vatican II
Rev. Drew Christiansen, SJ, editor-in-chief of America Magazine
Ecumenical Celebration of the Word
Canon David Richardson, ChStJ, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See
Monsignor Mark Langham, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Centro Pro Unione, Via del Anima 30 (Piazza Navona)

1830       Veglia Ecumenica Diocesana di Preghiera
Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere

Friday, 20 January

1730      Vespri ecumenica
Rev.mo Seppo Hakkinen, vescovo della diocesi evangelico-luterana di Mikkeli
S.E. Teemu Sippo, vescovo della diocesi cattolica di Helsinki
S.E. Mons. Brian Farrell e Mons. Mathias  Türk.
Chiesa di S. Brigida, Piazza Farnese 96

Saturday, 21 January

1000      Abdullahi An-Na’im Human Rights Theory and Jacques Maritain’s Natural Law: A Comparative Study
Doctoral Defense of Dott.ssa. Paola Bernardini, Russell Berrie Alumna
Pontificia Universitá San Tommaso

Sunday, 22 January

1100      Catholic Eucharist with guest preacher,
Canon David Richardson, ChStJ, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See

Oratorio di San Francesco Saverio del Caravita

1830       Ecumenical Prayer Service/Churches Together in Rome
Prof.ssa Donna Orsuto, DSG, Preaching
Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church, Piazza di Ponte Sant’Angelo

Tuesday, 24 January

1245      Anglican Eucharist with guest preacher
Rev. Kenneth Howcraft, Methodist Representative to the Holy See
Anglican Center in Rome, Piazza del Collegio Romano 2

1830       Dialogo Interreligioso in Chiara Lubich e nel Movimento dei Focolari
Dott. Roberto Catalano, Centro Dialogo Interreligioso
Istituto Tevere – Centro pro Dialogo, Via di Monte Brianzo 82

Wednesday, 25 January

1730      Vespers at the Papal Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura
Pope Benedict XVI Solemn Closing of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

2000     Veglia di preghiera ecumenica
Mons. Charles Scicluna
Chiesa Santa Brigida, Piazza Farnese 96

Thursday, 26 January

1800      Chiesa Cattolica: Essenza – Realtà – Missione
Presentazione: Dott. Rosino Gibellini
Intervento: S.E.R. Cardinal Walter Kasper
Responso: S.E.R. Cardinal Kurt Koch
Centro Pro Unione, Via Santa Maria dell’Anima 30

Testing the Porvoo Agreement: An Ordination in Norway

January 9, 2012 11:35 am / Leave a comment

Stian Heggedal was an Anglican seminarian when he lived at the Lay Centre for his semester as a student in Rome in 2009. Today he is a priest of the Lutheran Church of Norway, ordained at Nidarosdomen, the Cathedral Church of Trondheim. Yet, he will have the faculties of an Anglican priest as well, and be able to serve in either church. His first pastoral assignment is with the Military Ordinariate of Norway, where he will begin as a chaplain lieutenant stationed near Lillehammer.

The ecumenical achievement that makes this possible is the Porvoo Communion, which was established by the signing of the Porvoo Common Statement, twenty years ago in the very same cathedral where Stian received his presbyteral ordination.

As early as 1938, work began towards a closer union between the established churches of northern Europe, which are variously Anglican or Lutheran. The church of Norway was one of the first handful of signatories in 1992, with the Church of Denmark being the latest to join, in 2010. It includes 14 member churches and some observers, consisting of the Anglican and Lutheran churches in the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Baltic states and the Iberian peninsula.

The churches are all episcopal in structure, rather than congregational or presbyterian, and most are established state churches. An ordained priest or pastor in one can serve in another, and in theory at least, it does not matter anymore which church you are ordained into. An Anglican seminarian can be ordained by a Lutheran bishop, and still be validly Anglican.

Yet in practice, it did not quite work that way. Stian had to officially join the Lutheran Church of Norway about two weeks before his ordination. Finance, personnel, and administration seem to delay what theology and sacramental practice have already allowed to happen!

As for the ordination itself, i am sorry to report that my camera died, which was only discovered at the end of the weekend. However, i will note that i was surprised at how small the attendance was. Family members and friends, and a few church officials, but for two ordinands, there were about 50 people present, including three of us who had studied with Stian in Rome – myself, Eveline from the Netherlands and Cosima from Germany. The presiding bishop of the Church of Norway was present, but served as neither the presider at Eucharist nor the principal minister of ordination. In fact, one ordinand offered the homily and the other offered the Eucharist.

On a personal note, i have to say that i liked Norway for the fact that it was the first time in my life i was up before the crack of dawn every day. Granted, dawn cracked at about 10:00am, and sunset was at 2:00pm, but still… It was a very good trip!

 

Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim

January 8, 2012 5:45 pm / 2 Comments on Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim

In January, i was in Trondheim, Norway for the ordination of a friend of mine as a pastor in the (Lutheran) Church of Norway. More about that in another post, but here’s something about the Cathedral, which was for centuries the northernmost cathedral in the world.

Located at about the same latitude as Fairbanks, Alaska, the city that is now called Trondheim was founded as Nidaros by King Olaf I Tryggvason, in AD 997 – that would be the same King Olaf who received Leif Eriksson and introduced him to Chrstianity, just before the latter made his famous voyage to establish “Vinland” – modern-day Newfoundland, Canada.

The diocese was erected by St. Olav (King Olaf II Haraldsson) in about AD 1030 and elevated to metropolitan see in 1153 with suffragan sees in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. The cathedral was constructed during the later part of the 11th century and the entirety of the 12th. In the mid-1530s the Church of Norway came under the influence of the Lutheran reformation, and, like the Church of England, broke communion with Rome, and became an established church. For four centuries there was no official Catholic presence there, until a mission was re-established in the 1930s; now the de-facto Catholic cathedral of the Territorial Prelature of Trondheim sits just across the road from Nidarosdomen, in a squat temporary building. (A capital campaign is underway to build a new Catholic church there.)

Nidaros Cathedral houses the remains of St. Olav, patron of Norway – though the exact whereabouts have been unknown since a 16th century iconoclasm. The only known relic of St. Olav is his arm, which is located in the (Catholic) Cathedral of Oslo.

Next to the Cathedral one can still find the archbishop’s palace, though there is no longer an archbishop. The (Lutheran) Bishop of Nidaros has his offices there, and hosted us for an intimate reception after the ordination. The presiding bishop of the Church of Norway also officially has some offices there, as Nidaros is the primatial see of Norway, though she spends most of her time in Oslo, the national capital.

Year in Review

December 31, 2011 11:59 pm / Leave a comment

As the Year of Grace 2011 ended, I reviewed my “to write” file for the blog, and found no less than 22 pages of notes on events and ideas I had not had time to develop into full posts. Here is a list of some highlights from the last year, with links to posts if I have them and as I develop them!

December:

November:

October:

September:

August:

  • Short visit home in the Pacific Northwest
  • Cascade Covenant Church
  • Helping my sister move: 16 hours on the road, 45 minutes unpacking the truck
  • My brother’s new house

July:

  • Netherlands: visiting Eveline, Clare
  • New York/New Jersey: visiting Courtney, Liam, Rob
  • Lay Centre 25th Anniversary Colloquium: My paper on the laity and ecumenism

June:

  • Archbishop Sartain of Seattle in Rome for Pallium
  • EuroPride in Rome – monastic perspectives from the hill

May

  • Notre Dame Chorale Concert at Sant’Ignazio: Michael and Kerri Castorano
  • Eucharistic Procession with Cardinal Marc Ouellet
  • Notre Dame Glee Club and Fr. Michael Driscoll in Rome
  • Lay Centre alumnus Theodosius Kyriakidis debuts his documentary film on Greek Christians in Asia Minor; another alumnus Mustafa Cenap Aydin of Turkey responds
  • Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald and Leijla Demiri present on Interfaith Dialogue of life
  • Beatification of JPII

April:

  • Fr. Michael Casey, O.Cist. visits Lay Centre
  • Assisi and Florence with Courtney and co.
  • David Ford and Stephen Kepnes: The Future of Theology
  • Annual JPII Lecture David Ford on Scriptural Reasoning
  • Paschal Triduum  in Rome
  • Culture Week in Rome
  • Meeting with Fr. Norbert Hofmann

March:

Earlier unwritten posts:

  • Cardinal Levada visits the Lay Centre
  • Springtime of Faith Summit in Rome – local presenters include two cardinals, two professors, and me!

Ideas, ongoing or upcoming:

  • Liberal and Conservative in the Church (see june 26, Feb 2)
  • Nostra Aetate, Dabru Amet, and Common Word
  • ARCIC III and Personal Ordinariates
  • Clericalism and Anti-clericalism
  • Laïcite, laity, secularism, and secularity
  • Vocations: discernment or recruiting office?
  • Catholic Education beyond parochial schools
  • “Catholic” vs. “Roman Catholic”: What’s in a Name?
  • The Bologna Process and Pontifical Universities
  • Papal honors as ecclesiological indicator
  • Liturgy Wars: Episode V – The New Translation
  • Call for a Common Easter
  • The Big Sort
  • Ecumenical Updates: Where have we got with all this dialogue?
  • Wikipedia as Courtyard of the Gentiles: A call for biographical articles on great ecumenists and other theologians
  • A Parable: The Kingdom of God is like the Electromagnetic Spectrum and it is Easier for a Colorblind Man to Pass Through 400-789 Terrahertz than to Enter it…
  • Upcoming article in Koinonia
  • Upcoming article and presentation for Assisi 2012: Ecclesiological Investigations Network conference

And finally: “The Diaconate in the International Ecumenical Dialogues: Toward an Understanding of the Deacon as Minister of Unity.” a tesina to be submitted for the License in Sacred Theology…

Cascade Covenant Church

July 24, 2011 2:14 pm / Leave a comment

I had reason when I was home last summer [2011] to visit Cascade Covenant Church, a short walk from my mother’s house, where she, though a lifelong Catholic, helps with the Snoqualmie Valley’s only Sunday school for children with special needs. The pastor’s wife is also a colleague of hers in special education at the public schools, and they worked together to develop the ministry.

Given how little encounter with, and regularly innacurate assumptions about, Protestants and protestant worship that many of my Catholic colleagues have in Rome, especially regarding the small denominations and the nondenominational movements, it was interesting to reflect on a few of the liturgical and pastoral or administrative aspects of this community.

Many Catholic parishes are named for a patron saint. Cascade Covenant has instead a patronal verse:

“I have come to give you life – life in all its fullness.” -John 10:10

The elements, if not the order, of worship should be quite familiar for the liturgically oriented:

  • Worship music
  • Opening prayer by the music leader/associate pastor
  • More music
  • Announcements (with a video clip)
  • Communion
    •  Served from three tables with bread, juice, and water.
  • Preaching in breakout sessions
    • Digging into the Bible
    • Understanding the Facts of Christianity (apologetics)
    • Spiritual Formation 101: Reflections on authentic growth and transformation
    • A Time for Prayer

The music included not only popular Christian worship songs, but also the Sanctus and the Gloria. During Communion, people processed up to the tables, and were invited to use the water to bless themselves in some way, such as a sign of the cross on the forehead, in remembrance of their baptisms.

The community was celebrating baptisms later that day, and was the cause for this additional element at the communion table. While describing Baptism, it was referred to as a sacrament, but not as conversion which is said to be separate. Baptism was a sign of new life in Christ, and would take place at the river that afternoon.

Instead of a single sermon or homily, people were invited into breakout sessions for preaching, and from these concluded separately. I got the impression this was an experimental approach being used over the summer to see how it worked.

Compared to many Catholic churches, both ancient and modern, the facility was better suited to the many needs of a parish community. They had a fireside room/library ideal for a medium group of adults, a multipurpose worship center, classrooms and meeting rooms that were used by Sunday school and others. There were classrooms for all ages from preschool to adult, including space for a dedicated program to children with special needs, and it was clear these could be used for a day school program, but not dominated by it.

A welcome center described on the front of the bulletin invited people to receive a free gift, arrange to meet one on one with one of the pastoral staff. There was also additional ministry information, and several of the staff were circulating regularly through both of their morning services.  It was clear throughout that there was a great emphasis on mission and service to the greater community, both local and international.

On the negative side, though, the sanctuary was really a multipurpose room that could easily have served as a banquet hall or conference room as it could a worship space. The center of focus seemed to be the band, rather than altar or pulpit – just a modernized version of churches dominated by the old pipe organs. Despite being in an ideal location, they had not made use of the spectacular view of the local mountain with large windows, which may have been structurally necessary, but was aesthetically disappointing.

The annual budget for the parish was $800,000. The pastoral staff included a Lead Pastor, an Associate Pastor/Worship Director, a Welcoming Ministry Leader, Children’s Ministry Director, and Ministry Leaders for High School, Middle School, Elementary, and Pre-K. Support staff included a Facilities Director and an Administrative Assistant.

Cascade Covenant is part of a communion called the Evangelical Covenant Church, founded in 1885 by Swedish Lutheran immigrants, and now has 800 congregations in the United States and reports 180,000 Sunday worshipers (but only 125,000 members!). This makes their average parish congregation one with 225 people on Sunday, and just over 150 of which are members. The denominational headquarters are in Chicago, IL.

By comparison, the Catholic Church in the U.S. has about 68 million members in 18,992 parishes, of whom about 31 million attend Sunday liturgies. This makes the average parish congregation one with 1640 worshippers on Sunday, but about 3580 members.

The parish tagline was “No Perfect People Allowed! Come as you are and grow in new ways!” with a motto or theme of “Fully Alive”.

The Evangelical Covenant Church describes itself as

  • Evangelical, but not exclusive
  • Biblical, but not doctrinaire
  • Traditional, but not rigid
  • Congregational, but not independent

Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

April 24, 2011 12:00 pm / 1 Comment on Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Is there anyone who is devout and a lover of God?
     Let them enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.

Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
     Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Is there anyone who is weary with fasting?
     Let them now receive their wages!

If anyone has labored from the first hour,
     let them today be justly rewarded!

If anyone has come at the third hour,
     let them with thanksgiving join the feast!

If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour,
     let them have no doubt; for they shall suffer no loss.

If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour,
     let them come without hesitation.

If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour,
     let them not fear on account of their delay!

For the Master is gracious and receives the last even as the first;
      He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, 
          just as to him who has labored from the first.

He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first;
      to the one He gives, and to the other He is gracious. 
          He both honors the work and praises the intention.

Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord!
     Whether first or last, receive your reward.
          O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy!
O you ascetics (sober) and you negligent (slothful), celebrate the day!
     You that have kept the fast and you that have not, rejoice today!
          The table is rich-laden: feast royally, all of you!
The calf is fatted: let no one go away hungry! 
     Let all partake of the cup of faith.
          Let all receive the riches of His goodness!

Let no one lament their poverty,
     for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that they have fallen again and again,
     for forgiveness has risen  from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it!
     He descended into Hades and took Hades captive!
         He embittered it when it tasted His flesh!
                  Anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: 
“The nether world is all astir, embittered as it prepares for your coming!”

 Hell was embittered, for it was abolished!
     It was embittered, for it was mocked!
          It was embittered, for it was purged!
              It was embittered, for it was despoiled!
                   It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

Hell took a man, and came upon God!
     It took earth, and encountered Ηeaven!
          It took what it saw, but crumbled before what it could not see!

O Death, where is thy sting?
     O Hades, where is thy victory?

 Christ is Risen, and you are overthrown!
     Christ is Risen, and the demons are fallen!
          Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
              Christ is Risen, and life reigns free!
                   Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead!

For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen!

[Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom of Constantinople, Trans. Deacon Mark Baker, Andre Levergne, et al. Edited by A.J. Boyd]

Syro-Malankara Catholic bishops at the Angelicum

March 25, 2011 4:51 pm / 4 Comments on Syro-Malankara Catholic bishops at the Angelicum

The bishops of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church were in Rome this week for their ad limina visit “to the threshold” of the shrines of Peter and Paul, and to meet with their successor, Benedict XVI. There are a total of 13 of them, including the Major Archbishop-Catholicos, symbolically representative of Christ and the Twelve. (Also symbolizing Christ and the Twelve are the distinctive headcovering with thirteen stitched crosses, one large and twelve small.)

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has about 500,000 members, predominately in Kerala state, India. It follows the west-Syrian Rite and the liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem, and forms part of the Thomas Christians who trace their initial evangelization to the Apostle Thomas in about the year 52 AD. From at least the 8th century, the Metropolitan of the autonomous Thomas Christian Church was a hierarch in the Assyrian Church of the East, their closest ecclesiastical neighbors. The Thomas Christians held that communion was maintained, if communication lost, with the Catholic/Orthodox world until the arrival of Tridentine-era Portuguese missionaries at the end of the 15th century, who began a program of Latinization. Resistance to the imposition of western culture and ecclesiology culminated in 1653, the symbolic date for the breaking of communion and the eventual breaking of the once-unified Christian Church in India into its current situation, divided among those in communion with the Assyrian Church of the East, the Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church (Anglican), the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. The latter traces its origin to the corporate reunion of some Malankara Orthodox Syrian bishops and faithful starting in 1930.

The bishops met with Pope Benedict XVI this morning, and this afternoon were gathered at the Angelicum for a lecture offered by one of their number, Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios, entitled, “New Evangelization: The Mission and Role of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church”. The text is basically a synopsis of the lineamenta prepared for the first-ever Major Archiepiscopal Assembly scheduled for later this year. Thiers will be the first episcopal conference or church sui iuris to address the theme of the New Evangelization in plenary.

Before the beginning of the lecture, His Beatitude Major Archbishop Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis greeted the assembled students and guests, and made a special point to recognize his dissertation director, Fr. Fred Bliss, SM, from his days as an Angelicum student. As I sat surrounded almost entirely by Indian Catholics, the chanted prayer that began the seminar was one of the more moving spiritual moments I’ve experienced in recent weeks (I am not even sure if it was Hindi or one of the other languages, such as Tamil or Malayalam, I should ask).

Questions and challenges to be addressed in the new evangelization noted by Bishop Thomas included the relationship of evangelization and interreligious dialogue, individualism and secular culture (referred to as a “darkness”), the success of genuine inculturation, the necessity of Christian unity for effective evangelization, and the obstacles to freedom placed before the church both by the Indian state and the Roman curia (an issue which we were assured Pope Benedict had promised this morning to take under serious consideration). Pastoral lethargy was also noted as a challenge, “Communities should be shaken from their present slumber of maintenance to a renewed consciousness of mission.”

[The text of the Holy Father’s address to the bishops can be found at Vatican Radio here]

Chanted Prayer with Syro-Malankara bishops

Colloquium on Anglican Patrimony in light of the Apostolic Constitution: A Canon Law Perspective

March 4, 2011 3:19 pm / 3 Comments on Colloquium on Anglican Patrimony in light of the Apostolic Constitution: A Canon Law Perspective

After class on Friday, my professor and I walked down the hill from the Angelicum to the Anglican Centre in Rome to join a group of canon lawyers from the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church engage in a presentation and a conversation on the nature of Anglican Patrimony in light of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.

In the wake of the 2009 apostolic constitution making provision for the establishment of personal ordinariates, questions have been raised about the exact nature of the “Anglican Patrimony” which is named in the text of the constitution and its appended general norms. Cardinal Levada’s answer to the inquiring Anglicans was, “we are hoping you can tell us!” To begin answering that question, the Anglican Centre in Rome is coordinating a series of meetings this year on the theme Anglican Patrimony in light of Anglicanorum Coetibus.

There were 22 participants in the workshop: Three lay women, four lay men, and fifteen priests – Most of the participants were members of the standing colloquium of Anglican and Catholic canonists, who chose to have their annual meeting in conjunction with this workshop.

Questions raised and observations made included the following:

What exactly is “patrimony”? Canonically the term is used in the Latin code only in reference to the charism of religious orders and the particular customs of local churches in the formation of priests. In the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches, it more clearly refers to the liturgy, theology, spirituality, and discipline of a particular church (CCEO 28, 39, 405). If the model of religious order charism is an example, it was noted by a Franciscan friar present that it took Clare 40 years to get the rule she wanted approved by Rome, a constant give and take, debate and discussion between the founder’s vision and the hierarchy’s presumptions – and we are only 16 months from the announcement of the Apostolic Constitution and six weeks from the establishment of the first actual Ordinariate. We may not know for some time what this received Anglican Patrimony will actually be.

There was some discussion that the ordinariates are apparently not limited to Anglicans and former Anglicans. [Though, in rereading the text, it does seem to be limited] Indeed, many of the traditionalist Anglicans attracted to it are former Catholics – canonically still considered Catholic by the Latin code. But does this mean that Lutherans, Baptists, et al. can join the Catholic Church as part of the Ordinariate? What/who defines an “Anglican group” that can corporately join the Ordinariate? Four of the provinces of the Anglican Communion are in fact united churches, local ecumenical unions between Anglicans, Reformed, and other denominations. Could a Presbyterian elder of one of these united churches join and become an Anglican Ordinariate priest? Many of these members of united churches are part of the Anglican Communion but do not think of themselves as Anglican.

Why was the model of the pastoral provision not simply adopted more widely? (Where personal parishes would be set up allowing for use of Anglican rites and lead by former Anglican clergy) In this case it was thought that the patrimony would not be sufficiently preserved, and Pope Benedict finds the Anglican patrimony to be worthy of preservation within the Catholics Church, not just by the Anglican Communion. (This observation lead to an entire conversation about the locus and determiners of Anglican patrimony).

What would be the approved liturgical use in the Ordinariate, and would this be up to each Ordinariate individually? Someone had heard the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which had been approved for use by the Episcopal Church in the US but rejected by Parliament for use by the Church of England, would be the model. This was unconfirmed, and others noted that most Anglo-Catholics, in England especially, are already using the Roman rite anyway and would likely continue to do so.

This lead to the speculation that there could be an Anglican Ordinariate in which no particularly Anglican Eucharistic rite was celebrated, somewhat ironic when one considers that most people probably think of Anglican patrimony in primarily liturgical terms.

Why not establish an Anglican Catholic Church sui iuris, like the Eastern Catholic Churches? The thought here was the mention in the constitution of seeing the Anglican Church as a particular expression of the Latin Church, its rites as variation of the Roman rite – as well as not wanting to do any more to appear to be bringing back uniatism as a form of ecumenism, something which has been rejected by the Catholic Church in its agreements with the Orthodox.

Since the Anglican Communion officially recognizes two sacraments, how will the other five be celebrated in an Anglican Ordinariate, since the Catholics Church accepts seven? This question was ‘corrected’ as someone else noted that the Anglicans do, in fact, recognize all seven sacraments and both churches, as agreed in ARCIC I, recognize a hierarchy of sacraments – the two dominical sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist holding a pride of place among the seven sacramental acts, for both churches, though this is expressed differently in parts of the Anglican Communion than others.

Candidacy for ordination, in the personal ordinariates, will be determined by the Governing Council – but this is neither Catholic nor Anglican, for both communions currently put this decision in the hands of the ordaining bishop, though with appropriate consultation.

Some noted that there had been popular speculation that the exception to celibacy would only be granted pro tempore, however, this would have been made clear in the text if that was the intent. Each will be appealed on a case by case basis, as celibacy remains the ideal for those who were not already ordained in the Anglican church, but it remains a real, practical possibility.  

Married bishops are a part of Anglican Patrimony, based on scripture, yet the Official Commentary on the Apostolic Constitution, written by Jesuit Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, Rector emeritus of the Gregorian, has “absolutely excluded” the possibility of married bishops “given the entire Catholic Latin tradition and the tradition of the Oriental Catholic Churches, including the Orthodox tradition…” The VIS communiqué on 15 January announcing the erection of the first Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for England and Wales, went so far as to say, “For doctrinal reasons the Church does not, in any circumstances, allow the ordination of married men as bishops.”

Given all of that, the question was asked, how much a part of the Anglican patrimony are married bishops, and what reasons could there be to exclude them? It was noted that despite the VIS announcement, there are no doctrinal reasons for not ordaining married men to the episcopate, only disciplinary reasons. It is suspected, given the wording of Fr. Ghirlanda’s commentary, that this could be out of ecumenical concern for our relations with the East – but also noted that the traditions of Latin and Eastern and Oriental churches have always differed, and the Orthodox would likely not be concerned whether we had a different discipline in the West vis a vis married bishops or not. Strangest of all, some noted, was that though the married former Anglican bishops would only be ordained to the presbyterate, especially those serving as ordinary are still allowed the use of pontificals, the symbols of episcopal office such as the pectoral cross and ring.

What will the role of priest’s wives be in the Ordinariate, if any? What role do Anglican clergy spouses have now? This varies in the Anglican Communion, depending on the cultural context, and would likely vary as well in the Ordinariates.  In some places the priests wife is treated as the ‘first lady’ of the parish, and the bishops wife even called “mama bishop” and treated as the first among these. In others, they have no role unless they are also a theologian or minister in the church, or volunteer like any other parishioner.

Final comments came from two Anglicans. The first shared that he had initially thought this “pastoral response” was anything but ecumenical, but as he reflected on it, the idea formed that the Anglican patrimony to be received by the Catholic Church in the Ordinariates was the people themselves. In this way, by receiving them, we are receiving some part of Anglicanism, and this may eventually turn out to be one more way in which the ground was prepared for the full-scale reception of each other in full communion down the road.

The other, who also stated considerable concern, shared that he was afraid that this would in fact have some rather negative ecumenical results, again by reason of the people received through the Ordinariate – the Anglicans may be all to happy to see them go, and he fears we Catholics may not be all that happy to receive them, once we get to know them!

On that note, we broke for drinks.

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