One of the hall marks of the papacy of John Paul II is his continuing effort to reach out to our fellow Christians and even to those of other religions. To begin this discussion on Ecumenism, we first must be clear on our definitions. Ecumenism is the dialogue that is going on between the separated Christian Traditions. Interfaith dialogue is that which occurs between persons of different religions. In other words, ecumenical dialogue is that which goes on between Roman Catholics, Eastern Catholics and Protestants. Interfaith dialogue is that which goes on between Christians and other religions such as Judaism, Islam and such. For our discussion here we will talk only about ecumenism, the dialogue between the separated brethren of Christ.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes the call of the Second Vatican Council for a renewed spirit of ecumenical dialogue. This spirit of ecumenical dialogue is nowhere more perfectly illustrated than in the actions of our Holy Father. The Church calls us to an ever increasing cooperation with our separated brothers and sisters, especially in the area of human service, and to continue to seek out avenues of shared prayer. We worship the one true God and accept the salvation won for us by the Passion of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. By virtue of baptism, all Christians are united as one. Baptism is the sacramental bond that unites even those who are no longer united under the banner of Rome. So effective is this sacramental bond that those who are baptized into one of the Protestant denominations, and who subsequently seek full union with Catholic Church are not baptized again. They are one with us through baptism and their initiation is concluded through the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist.
In our happy desire for ecumenical dialogue, however, we must be careful to not allow a superficial unity to replace true faithfulness. We have seen this type of false ecumenism in the writings and discussions of those who seem to think the only way to ecumenical dialogue is to disallow doctrines that tend to divide us in favor of those that unite us. Therefore, devotion to Mary, Eucharistic discipline, and even the disciplines of Holy Orders must be compromised to further our ecumenical dialogue. True ecumenism, however, can only occur when we are most faithful to our own calling as Catholics. We cannot even begin a dialogue with other Traditions unless we are faithful to our own. We build trust and understanding by learning more about others and allowing them to learn more about us. We cannot learn from one another if we are not willing to explain and uphold those beliefs and practices that most divide us. The church’s call to ecumenical dialogue is not a call to be less Catholic. It is first and foremost a call to be authentically Catholic and allow others to be authentically who they are.
This caution falls most sharply on our Eucharistic discipline. There are those who wish to foster more unity by allowing those not fully one with us to nonetheless share in our most central action, the Eucharist. Far from building bridges of dialogue with our separated brothers and sisters, such an action pretends a unity that is not a reality. The most intimate action of worship we do as Catholics should not be made so inconsequential that those who are not in union with us may still participate in it. This holds true as well with everything else that makes us uniquely Roman Catholic. My devotion to the Mother of God in no way prevents me from earnest ecumenical dialogue. Nor does my faithfulness to Rome prevent me from embracing Christians of other denominations as my true brothers and sisters in the Lord. Rather, it is because of my strong foundation in Catholic teaching and frequent reception of the sacraments, as well as my dependance on the compassionate love and care of the Blessed Virgin, that I am able to allow the love of Christ to move me beyond the very real separation that exists.
True ecumenism demands that we grow in faithfulness to Christ and his Church. To pretend ecumenical dialogue by denying who we are leads only to mere humanism and not to unity. By becoming less of who we are as Roman Catholics we are less able to build the necessary bridges to unity. If we deny the very tenants of our faith we have nothing to bring to the table of dialogue. Ecumenism does not demand that we change who we are. It demands that we open our hearts to others while allowing them to be who they are.