A publication about the activities of the Centro Pro Unione “UT OMNES UNUM SINT” Digital Edition C ENTRO P RO U NIONE Semi-Annual Bulletin A Ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Centro Pro Unione Web https://bulletin.prounione.it E-mail bulletin@prounione.it In this issue 2532-4144 Digital Edition ISSN N. 85 - Spring 2014 E-book Twenty-nine Supplement (2014) `A Bibliography of Interchurch and Interconfessional Theological Dialogues 26 Donald J. Reece Mixed Salad Ecumenism: Is There a Future? `Centro Conferences 13 William Henn, ofm cap “Capturing the Reality in its Entirety” (Ut Unum Sint 38) Towards a Common Vision of the Church (Faith & Order Text 2013) `Centro Conferences 3 James F. Puglisi, SA `Letter from the Director 22 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin DIRECTOR'S DESK Centro Pro Unione Bulletin A semi-annual publication about the activities of the Centro Pro Unione The Centro Pro Unione in Rome, founded and directed by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, - www.atonementfriars.org - is an ecumenical research and action center. Its purpose is to give space for dialogue, to be a place for study, research and formation in ecumenism: theological, pastoral, social and spiritual. The Bulletin has been pubblished since 1968 and is released in Spring and Fall. IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the Director EDITORIAL STAFF bulletin@prounione.it Contact Information Via Santa Maria dell'Anima, 30 I-00186 Rome (+39) 06 687 9552 pro@prounione.it Website, Social media www.prounione.it @EcumenUnity CENTRO PRO UNIONE A Ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement N. 85 - Spring 2014 Fr. James Puglisi, SA – Director Centro Pro Unione James F. Puglisi, SA Director Centro Pro Unione Spring 2014, n. 85 / Digital Edition (Web) ›William Henn, OFM Cap ›Archbishop Donald J. Reece ›Bibliography of Interchurch and Interconfessional Theological Dialogues (Twenty-nine supp. / 2014) The Spring issue contains some of the lectures given at the Centro Pro Unione during the Fall of 2013 and Spring of 2014. The first of these is the text of the XVIth Paul Wattson/Lurana White annual lecture series. Prof. William Henn, OFM Cap gave a lecture entitled: Capturing the Reality in its Entirety’ (Ut Unum sint 38) Toward a Common Vision of the Church (Faith and Order Commission Text 2013). The main objective of his lecture was to present the ecclesiological project of the Faith and Order Commission approved at the General Assembly of the WCC whose theme was: God of Life, Lead us to Justice and Peace held in Busan, S. Korea 2013. This text is the long awaited continuation of the Lima or BEM (Baptism Eucharist Ministry) project of the Faith and Order Commission. Following the BEM document, the churches responded to this conversion text. The study of these responses convinced the Commission that there was need for follow-up with a very careful study of ecclesiology. Hence the text Toward a Common Vision of the Church was born. It is hoped that this text will meet with the same success as did the BEM text. Now it is up to each of the churches to respond to this text. Prof. Henn who was not only one of the Catholic members of Faith and Order but the key redactor of the text was the ideal person to present this text in a public lecture. I hope that our readers will be encouraged to obtain the ecclesiology text and study it since it is an important step on our common journey toward the full visible unity of the Church. The second text which I am pleased to present is the lecture of the retired Archbishop of Kingston, Jamaica, Donald Reece. The Archbishop has been actively engaged in ecumenical matters not only locally in the Caribbean but also internationally since he has been member of the Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity as well as one of the Bishop consultors of the same Pontifical Council. His lecture had an intriguing title: Mixed Salad Ecumenism: Is There a Future? In his talk the Archbishop illustrated the cultural complexity of the Caribbean. This complexity was at the heart of some of the struggles created in seeking valid ecumenical relations among the churches in this geographic zone. Moreover, this cultural “mixed salad” also provided some very important riches that aided in discovering a way forward together. Reece presented this situation of struggles and advances as a possible model that other cultural contexts might find helpful in working through their own difficulties. Is there a future? Reece believes there is but we need to be patient and use all the cultural resources available to each of our contexts. Following the Archbishop’s lecture the Centro Pro Unione, the Lay Centre at the Foyer Unitas and the Vincent Pallotti Institute sponsored an ecumenical prayer vigil in the context of the annual celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Rev. Willie McCulloch, minister of St. Andrew’s Church of Scotland in Rome presided while the homily was given by the Rev. Ken Howcroft, pastor of the Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church and Methodist Representative to the Holy See. Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, the Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York offered a lecture entitled: Sin and Atonement in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures. The text of the Rabbi has already been published and may be found in: “MORTAL SINS,” first published in Union Seminary Quarterly Review 44 (1990) 31-53, reprinted in B.L. VISOTZKY, Fathers of the World: Essays in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures (Tubingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1995) 41-60. Prof. Visotzky was the Russell Berrie lecturer at the Angelicum this Spring and his lecture was co-sponsored by the Centro and the John Paul II Interreligious Centre at the Angelicum. Finally Dr. Loredana Nepi presents the twenty-ninth supplement of the bibliography of interchurch and interconfessional theological dialogues. This Bulletin is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database, published by the American Theological Library Association, 250 S. Wacker Drive, 16th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606 (www.atla.com). I3 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 Introduction: Firstofall,mayIofferawordofthankstotheSo- ciety of the Atonement for the invitation to present to you this evening the Sixteenth Annual Conference in honor of Mother Lurana White and Father Paul Wattson, the found- ers of their community. The Atonement Sisters and Broth- ers have done so much in the century since their founding to promote Christian unity, as this very Centro is a noble and impressive symbol, that anyone devoted to the unity of the Church and familiar with their work would be grate- ful to them. I am greatly honored to be invited to give this lecture. But also I am very happy to be here to share with you a text which ecumenical leaders from Cardinal Koch, presidentofthePontificalCouncilforPromotingChris- tian Unity, to Brother Alois, the prior of the brothers at thecommunityofTaizé,havetoldmethattheyfindquite an important contribution. When on June 21 st of last year the members of the Standing Commission of Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches accepted by full consensus the con- vergence statement entitled The Church: Towards a Com- mon Vision in Penang, Malaysia, the members sponta- neously stood and sang the Taizé chant Laudate omnes gentes. That moment marked the conclusion of a process that had been going on for over twenty years, especial- ly after the Fifth World Conference on Faith and Order held in Santiago de Compostela in 1993. Shortly after the consensus was reached in Penang, the moderator of the commission, Metropolitan Dr. Vasilios of Constantia-Am- mochostos,wasquotedontheWCCwebsiteasremarking “that we have come to an important moment. This event does not happen often in Faith and Order. It happened in 1982 with Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. It just happened again.” 1 Those of you who know of the fame of the text to which Metropolitan Vasilios was referring will immediate- lyrecognizethesignificancethathewasassigningtothis convergence statement. Several months later, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Lancaster from the United Methodist Church in the United States, presented the text to the Central Com- mittee of the WCC, which was meeting in Crete in August and September of 2012; she explained its importance with these words: “if the churches understand the word ‘church’in…differentways,thejourneytowardstheunity of the church becomes … impossible. Accordingly, ecclesi- ology – the understanding of church – is a critical ecumen- icalquestion.”AtthatsameCentralcommitteemeeting, Metropolitan Prof. Dr. Gennadios of Sassima, one of the then Vice-Moderators of the WCC, commented that the two Faith and Order convergence texts on Baptism, Eucha- rist and Ministry and now The Church: Towards a Common Vision “provide our member churches with the necessary theological tools towards the full communion of our com- 1 Available at: 2 http://goo.gl/wVmzyV (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015). Hereafter the Faith and Order document Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry will usually be referred to as BEM while, at times, the The Church: Towards a Common Vision will be abbreviated to simply The Church. “Capturing the Reality in its Entirety” (Ut Unum Sint 38) Towards a Common Vision of the Church (Faith and Order Text 2013) William Henn, ofm cap - Professor of Ecclesiology, Pont. Gregorian Univ. and Member of the Faith & Order Commission Conference given at the Centro Pro Unione, Thursday, 12 December 2013 William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission XVI annual conference in honor of Fr. Paul Wattson and M. Lurana White ^William Henn, ofm cap4 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 mon fellowship.” 2 It is the latter of these two texts about which I would like to speak this evening. Like BEM, it claims to be a “convergence” text, that is, according to its introduction, “a text which, while not expressing full consensus on all the issues consid- ered, is much more than simply an instrument to stimu- late further study. Rather the following pages express how far Christian communities have come in their com- mon understanding of the Church, showing the progress that has been made and indicating work that still needs to be done.” 3 This is very important because the aim and purpose of both the Faith and Order Commission and of the World Council of Churches as a whole is to serve the Churches as they “call one another to visible unity in one faith, one Eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and common life in Christ, through witness and service to the world, and to advance towards that unity in order that the world may believe.” 4 The new convergence text is very important pre- 2 These quotations from the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Crete were taken from: 2 http://goo.gl/2eHlS7 (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015) 3 “Introduction,” The Church: Towards a Common Vision, “Faith and Order Paper No. 214,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2013) 1. On the topic of consensus, see the excellent entry by L. VISCHER, “Consensus,” in N. LOSSKY et al., ed., Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2002 2 ) 246- 250. Vischer notes that consensus has two basic meanings: 1) the fundamental convictions, attitudes and behavior common to the members of a particular community, whose validity are generally unchallenged, and 2) an agreement in the form of a specific accord or common statement. “The two senses of consensus are intimately related and mutually interactive” (246) in a continually evolving process in which each new generation renews its accord in light of the ongoing changing circumstance of time and place (247). A convergence text is one that includes some expressions of consensus, but not that “full consensus” that the churches judge to be the necessary but sufficient condition for full communion. History shows that consensus is not to be equated with uniformity. Unity in faith includes legitimate diversity. Thus one may speak of a “differentiated consensus” in which agreement about fundamental truths and principles allows for different interpretations which are not contradictory since they are all legitimate interpretations of those fundamental truths and principles. 4 See “Appendix 3: By-laws of Faith and Order,” in J. GIBAUT, ed., Called to be the One Church: Faith and Order at Crete. Report of the 2009 Plenary Commission, “Faith and Order Paper No. 212,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2012) 236, and L.N. RIVERA-PAGÁN, ed., God in Your Grace: Official Report of the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2007) 448. ciselybecauseitclaimstomakesignificantprogressto- ward overcoming what many ecumenists believe to be the mostdifficultobstacletofullecclesialcommunion,that is, disagreements precisely about the nature, mission and unity of the Church. Shortly after the foundation of the World Council of Churches, its central committee found it necessary to clarify the meaning of membership in the council by distancing itself from any particular theological understanding of the Church. It stated: “The main problem is how one can formulate the ecclesiological implications ofabodyinwhichsomanydifferentconceptionsofthe Church are represented, without using the categories or language of one particular conception of the Church.” 5 Afterlistingfivecontrastingwaysinwhichdifferentcom- munities conceived the Church and its unity, the central committee concluded: “The whole point of the ecumenical conversation is precisely that all these conceptions enter into dynamic relations with each other.” 6 Another reason for the importance of The Church is the very extensive process that produced it. The preface to the document states: For twenty years, the delegated representatives of the Or- thodox, Protestant, Anglican, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic churches in a World Conference on Faith and Order (1993), three Plenary Commissions on Faith and Order (1996, 2004, 2009), eighteen meetings of the Stand- ing Commission, and countless drafting meetings have sought to uncover a global, multilateral and ecumenical vision of the nature, purpose and mission of the Church. The churches have responded critically and constructively to two earlier stages on the way to a common statement. The Commission on Faith and Order [now replies] with The Church: Towards a Common Vision, its common – or con- vergence – statement on ecclesiology. The convergence reached in The Church represents an extraordinary ecu- menical achievement. 7 Thus the present document is the culmination of an in- tense process of dialogue involving collectively hundreds 5 Available at: 2 http://goo.gl/ntV1qS (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015). The title of this document is “The Church, the Churches and the World Council of Churches.” The circumstances of its composition and its essential content are nicely summarized by M. WEST, “Toronto Statement,” in Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement,op. cit., 1137-1139. 6Ibid. These relations would include the theological dialogue conducted over the years by the members of the Faith and Order Commission which, as the fine “Historical Note” appended to The Church indicates, frequently took up the theme of ecclesiology. 7 From the “Preface” to The Church: Towards a Common Vision, viii. William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission5 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 of theologians and church leaders over a good num- ber of years. This extensive pro- cess of dialogue remind- ed me of an encouraging comment made by Pope John Paul II in his encycli- cal letter on ecumenism, Ut unum sint, from which not only Catholics but all Christians might take heart: “…ecumenical dialogue, which prompts the parties involvedtoquestioneach other, to understand each other and to explain their positions to each other, makes surprising discov- eries possible. Intolerant polemics and controversies have made ‘incompatible assertions’ out of what was real- lytheresultoftwodifferentwaysoflookingatthesame reality.Nowadaysweneedtofindtheformulawhich,by capturing the reality in its entirety, will enable us to move beyond partial readings and eliminate false interpreta- tions” (paragraph 38). The Church: Toward a Common Vi- siontriestofindsuchaformulawhichismoreadequatein “capturing the reality in its entirety,” a phrase which I have chosen to use as the title of this talk. IntheremainderofmytalkIwill,firstofall,at- tempt to provide a brief account of the process and con- tent of the new Faith and Order agreement. Then I will seek to identify a number of important convergences about how we understand the Church, convergences which do a better job at “capturing the reality in its entire- ty” and thus help us to see that some of what we had con- sidered as “incompatible assertions” can be understood as differentbutneverthelesscomplementarywaysoflook- ing at the same reality. Finally, I will attempt to sketch out something of the importance of such convergences for our ongoing journey towards full communion. I. Process and Content of The Church: Towards a Common Vision: As with any writing, but especially with one that was drafted and re-drafted over a period of twenty years and which involved the contributions of many people, some knowledge of the process that produced the text is essentialifoneistoachieveanadequateunderstanding of it. While the text we are considering is rooted in the wholehistoryofFaithandOrder,itfindsitsproximateori- gin in the many responses to Baptism, Eucharist and Minis- try of 1982. By 1990, an analysis of these responses, which were mostly published in six volumes under the ed- itorship of Max Thurian, concluded that “… many re- sponsestoBEMrequested that ecclesiology be made a major study in future Faith and Order work. Such an ecclesiology in an ecumen- ical perspective must take into account the various ideas of the church which reflectthechurches’differ- ent self-understanding and their views on the nature of the church and its unity. Italsorequiresthesearch for basic ecclesiological principles, which could pro- vide common perspectives forthechurches’different ecclesiologies and serve as a framework for their conver- gence.” 8 The report proceeded to list several major ecclesi- ologicalthemesthatcouldprofitablybetakenupforfur- ther study: the role of the Church in God’s saving purpose; koinonia (or, in English, communion); the Church as a gift of the Word of God (creatura verbi); the Church as mystery or sacrament of God’s love for the world; the Church as the pilgrim people of God; and the Church as prophetic sign and servant of God’s coming kingdom. 9 Several years of work fashioning these six themes into a coherent state- mentresultedinafirststudydocumententitledThe Na- ture and Purpose of the Church (1998). It was sent to the churchesaskingthemtorespondtoaseriesofquestions, thefirstandperhapsmostimportantofwhichwas“how far can you recognize in this text an emerging conver- gence on the nature and purpose of the Church?” The re- sponses were certainly positive, acknowledging that much could be said in common, but also included constructive criticism, such as that the six chapters needed to be bet- ter integrated with one another, that some themes such as mission and authority needed to be given more explicit attention and that a certain degree of ambiguity seemed embedded in the text when sections which described commonly held perspectives tended to be contradicted byothersectionsdescribingremainingdifferences.These responses led to a second, revised version, published un- 8Baptism, Eucharist & Ministry 1982-1990: Report on the Process and Responses, “Faith and Order Paper No. 149,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1990) 147-148. 9 Cf. Baptism, Eucharist & Ministry 1982-1990, 148-151. ^Fr. J. Puglisi - Director of the Centro Pro Unione - introduces W. Henn, speaker of the Annual Conference in honor of the Atonement Friars Founder's - Servant of God Fr. Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White. William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission6 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 der the title The Nature and Mission of the Church (2005). Churches, ecumenical bodies and academic institutions re- sponded with positive appreciation of the improvements but also with further suggestions. Special help came from the plenary commission held in 2009 and a conference involving many Orthodox and Oriental churches in 2011. 10 Among the principal suggestions were 1) to integrate still further some of the material which remained in separate chapters, 2) to shorten the text and make it more dynam- ic and contextual, 3) to add references to other work of Faith and Order and of bilateral dialogues as evidence that some progress has been made toward a more commonly held understanding of the Church and 4) to reformulate sections describing remaining disagreements into invita- tions to seek further common ground. 11 The result is a convergence statement which be- gins with a short Introduction emphasizing the will of God for the unity of the church, but not merely in the usual negative key of stating that division is contrary to God’s plan. Rather the churches are invited to look together at the Word of God as handed on through the ages for pos- itive indications of the Lord’s will concerning the nature, mission and unity of the Church. This is followed by an entirely new first chap- ter, entitled “God’s Mission and the Unity of the Church,” which locates the origins of the Church in God’s design for the salvation of the world in the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit. This missio Dei gives birth to the Church and characterizes her entire history. This short chapter un- derlines the dynamic life of the pilgrim Church, proclaim- ing the gospel in various contexts throughout history and in the various cultures of any given epoch. It does not shy away from admitting failures in the evangelizing mission of proclaiming the Gospel, such as the complicity of mis- 10 An extensive account of the Faith and Order Plenary Commission’s discussion of and contribution to the process can be found under the title “Part V: The Nature and Mission of the Church” in Called to be One Church: Faith and Order at Crete, 147-193. News about and links to the pertinent reports from and contribution to the ecclesiology study from the forty representatives of Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches held in Cyprus in early March of 2011 can be accessed at 2 http://goo.gl/TDVfB3 (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015). 11 The addition of references to progress made in the various bilateral dialogues, as well as numerous other suggestions, were proposed by members of the standing commission of Faith and Order at its session in 2011, leading to the revisions that became part of the text finally approved in Penang in 2012. For details, see J. GIBAUT, ed., Minutes of the Standing Commission on Faith and Order meeting in Gazzada, Italy, 14-21 July 2011, “Faith and Order Paper No. 216,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2014) 10-13 and 20- 22. sionaries at times in the lamentable and unjust aggres- sion of colonialism. This determination to present both positive and negative aspects – both the lights and the shadows – of the history of the Christian community runs throughout The Church. Finally, the chapter underscores the need for unity among the churches, if their mission of proclaiming Christ is to be carried out in a credible and effectiveway.Quotationsfromearlierdialogueagree- ments appear throughout the text, such as the following one from Faith and Order’s ecumenical commentary on the creed, Confessing the One Faith (1991): “Christians be- lieve and confess with the Creed that there is an indissol- uble link between the work of God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit and the reality of the Church. This is the testimony of the Scriptures. The origin of the Church is rooted in the plan of the Triune God for human-kind’s sal- vation” (The Church, 3). 12 ThenappearsaquotefromWCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, concerning the mission of the Church as deriving from her being the Body of Christ: The mission of the Church ensues from the nature of the Church as the body of Christ, sharing in the ministry of Christ as Mediator between God and his creation. At the heart of the Church’s vocation in the world is the procla- mation of the kingdom of God inaugurated in Jesus the Lord,crucifiedandrisen.ThroughitsinternallifeofEucha- ristic worship, thanksgiving, intercessory prayer, through planning for mission and evangelism, through a daily life- style of solidarity with the poor, through advocacy even to confrontation with the powers that oppress human beings,thechurchesaretryingtofulfillthisevangelistic vocation (The Church, 4). 13 The second chapter, entitled “The Church of the Triune God,” contains a great number of biblical refer- ences and presents ecclesiological themes that had been well received in the earlier stages of the ecclesiological project. These themes include shared perspectives on the Church as koinonia (communion); as a prophetic, priest- ly and royal people; as the Body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit; as one, holy, catholic and apostolic; as sign and servant of God’s design for the world; as a community whose unity includes legitimate diversity; and as a com- 12 The citation is from paragraph 216 of Confessing the One Faith: An Ecumenical Explication of the Apostolic Faith as It is Confessed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381), “Faith and Order Paper No. 153,” (Geneva: WCC, 1991) 81. 13 Taken from paragraph 6 of “Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation,” in J. MATTHEY, ed., You are the Light of the World: Statements on Mission by the World Council of Churches 1980-2005 (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2005) 8. William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission7 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 munion of local churches. New are an opening section on discerning God’s will for the Church and the integration of material that received wide, even if not unanimous, approval in the responses to BEM. Speaking of the need for the Church to be governed by the Word, it presents Mary as a woman of faith (Lk 1:45) who “pondered in her heart” (Lk 2:19) the events surrounding her Son Jesus. 14 The chapter also includes a strong statement about the relation of the Church to Christ (as His body) and to the Spirit,whovivifiesitandbestowsanabundanceofgifts and charisms. These and other passages about Christ and the Holy Spirit should appeal to all Christians, but hopeful- ly in a special way also to both Pentecostals and Evangel- icals. Thus, the overall tone of chapter two is to highlight the fact that Christians from various communities hold in common many of their most important convictions about the Church. A typical passage illustrating the formulation of this chapter is one concerning Scripture and tradition as sources for our understanding of the Church: ll Christians share the conviction that Scripture is normative.SubsequentinterpretationwithintheChurch, seeking always to be faithful to biblical teaching, has pro- duced an additional wealth of ecclesiological insights over the course of history. The same Holy Spirit who guided the earliest communities in producing the inspired biblical text continues, from generation to generation, to guide later followers of Jesus as they strive to be faithful to the Gospel. This is what is understood by the ‘living Tradition’ of the Church (The Church, 11). Chapter Three instead addresses some of the dif- ficultecclesiologicalissuesthathavedividedChristians in the past, taking as an explicit method the attempt to show how ecumenical dialogue in recent decades has made progress in convergence about such issues. Because of such a method of illustrating progress, this chapter in- cludes many footnotes to earlier agreed statements, such asquotationsorparaphrasesfromtheLimastatement Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, as well as from the many bilateral dialogues which increasingly have taken up eccle- siological topics in recent decades. In addition, paragraphs in italics highlight areas where disagreement persists and were formulated in such a way as to invite the churches to further conversation about such issues, now within the 14 Here The Church refers to Faith and Order’s Church and World: The Unity of the Church and the Renewal of Human Community, “Faith and Order Paper No. 151,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1990) 64, along with the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission’s “Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ,” Growth in Agreement III, “Faith and Order Paper No. 204,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2007) 82-107, and the GROUPE DES DOMBES, Mary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of Saints: Toward a Common Christian Understanding (Mahwah (NJ): Paulist Press, 2002). contextofthesignificantecclesiologicalconvergences that appear throughout The Church: Towards a Common Vision. The chapter begins with a paragraph about the Church as a pilgrim people and the ecumenical movement as an ongoing pilgrimage towards the unity that God wills for this people. Immediately it suggests a convergence regarding what has often been a tension between Chris- tians,thatis,theirdifferentperspectivesregardingthe holiness of the Church. The text notes that: As a pilgrim community the Church contends with the re- ality of sin. Ecumenical dialogue has shown that there are deep, commonly-held convictions behind what have some- timesbeenseenasconflictingviewsconcerningtherela- tion between the Church’s holiness and human sin (The Church, 35). Someaffirmthat,asthebodyofChrist,theChurch cannot sin; others consider it appropriate to speak of the Church as sinning, since the members of the Church do sin and sin may even become systemic within the community. The convergence text then adds: Christ’s victory over sin is complete and irreversible, and byChrist’spromiseandgraceChristianshaveconfidence that the Church will always share in the fruits of that victo- ry. They also share the realization that, in this present age, believers are vulnerable to the power of sin, both individ- ually and collectively. All churches acknowledge the fact of sin among believers and its often grievous impact. All recognize the continual need for Christian self-examina- tion, penitence, conversion (metanoia), reconciliation and renewal. Holiness and sin relate to the life of the Church indifferentandunequalways.Holinessexpressesthe Church’s identity according to the will of God, while sin stands in contradiction to this identity (The Church, 36). Thus the contrasting formulations (Church cannot sin/Church does sin) obscure the fact that there is a funda- mental consensus both that the Church shares in Christ’s victory over sin and that believers are in need of continu- al conversion. I believe that these passages illustrate the truthofJohnPaul’saffirmationthatecumenicaldialogue can better capture the reality as a whole and so dispel what once had seemed to be incompatible assertions. Chapter Three is then organized around what have sometimes been individuated as the three essential William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission8 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 elements of communion: faith, sacraments and ministry. 15 In each case, important consensus among Christian com- munitiesisfirstindicatedpriortoinvitingthemtofurther reflectionaboutremainingdivisiveissuesinlightofsuch consensus. Thus, concerning faith, The Church notes that all Christiancommunitiesagreeonthenecessityoffidelity to the apostolic faith as expressed in Scripture and in its faithful interpretation over the course of the centuries. Almost all would agree that the Nicene-Constantinopoli- tan Creed is in fundamental continuity with the apostol- ic faith handed down from the earliest generations. All wouldagreethatthisfaithneedstofindexpressionina way that speaks to the women and men of each new gen- erationandculture.Differencesremainastotheprocess- es by which the Church arrives at a faithful contemporary interpretation (for example, the respective roles of the 15 This triad of faith, sacraments and ministry as “essential elements of communion” is supported by the following quotation which appears in paragraph 37 of The Church: “The ecclesial elements required for full communion within a visibly united church – the goal of the ecumenical movement – are communion in the fullness of apostolic faith; in sacramental life; in a truly one and mutually recognized ministry; in structures of conciliar relations and decision-making; and in common witness and service in the world.” These words are taken from a report of the Joint Working Group of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church entitled “The Church: Local and Universal” (1990), paragraph 25, and published in J. GROS, FSC et alii, ed., Growth in Agreement II, “Faith and Order Paper No. 187,” (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2000) 862-875 at 868, which also includes in its paragraphs 10-11 and 28-32 various references showing that its understanding of unity enjoys wide acceptance from communities involved in ecumenical dialogue. The Church adds further references in support of this triad in its long footnote 2 attached to paragraph 37. laity, theologians and clergy) and the extent to which any post-biblical doctrines can enjoy a normative status. Regarding worship and sacramental life, much agreement was registered in the responses to BEM con- cerningthefirsttwoofitsthemes:BaptismandEucharist. Recent dialogue has also suggested that those consid- ering these rites as “ordinances” and those who think of them as “sacraments” may not be as distant from one an- other as is sometimes thought. The “ordinance” position usuallydoesnotdenythatsomethingsignificantoccurs in these rites, while the “sacramental” position sees their celebration as done in response to the command or ordi- nanceofJesus.BothviewsfindsupportinScriptureand thus it may be possible to see them as compatible and complementary. Churches are invited in light of these con- vergences to consider anew such persisting divisive issues suchasthequestionsofwhomaybebaptized,whomay preside at the Eucharist and whether the community may live without such rites, as proposed, for example, the Soci- ety of Friends or the Salvation Army. Regarding ministry, agreement is registered in affirmingthedoctrineoftheLettertotheHebrewscon- cerningtheuniquepriesthoodofJesusChrist,inlooking to the New Testament as a source for discerning God’s will for ministry and in seeing an essential role of ordained ministersaspromotingfidelitytotheapostolicfaithand William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order Commission ^A friendly exchange of views… From left to right: William Henn, ofm cap (speaker of the conference), Bishop Brian Farrell, LC (Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and Prof.Turid Karlsen Seim (Director of The Norwegian Institute in Rome)9 Centro Pro Unione Bulletin CENTRO CONFERENCES N. 85 - Spring 2014 practice. Earlier, Chapter Two had already registered a convergence concerning the topic of ministry: “… agreed statements are making it clear that the royal priesthood of the whole people of God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9) and a special or- dained ministry are both important aspects of the church, and not to be seen as mutually exclusive alternatives” (The Church, 20 of Chapter Two). Now Chapter Three, focus- ingonremainingdifferences,adds:“AlmostallChristian communities today have a formal structure of ministry. Frequentlythisstructureisdiversifiedandreflects,more or less explicitly, the threefold pattern of episcopos-pres- byteros-diaconos. Churches remain divided, however, as to whether or not the ‘historic episcopate’ … is some- thing intended by Christ for his community (The Church, 47).Theministrywhichwouldbeexercisedbythefirstof these three Greek terms (episcopos) has been taken up by dialogue partners as a ministry of oversight (episkopé). 16 Authority within the Church is presented as service, need- ing to be faithful to the teaching and example and Jesus himself. Oversight needs to be exercised in ways that are personal,collegialandcommunal,reflectingthenatureof the Church as conciliar and synodal. In light of such conver- gencesthechurchesareinvitedtoreflecttogetherabout questionsconcerningwhichthereisstillalackofagree- ment, such as, the nature of ordination, the appropriate- ness of speaking of the ordained as a priest, the necessity of the historic episcopate and the ordination of women. Thefinalchapterof The Church returns to the theme of the mission of the Church in the world, thus tak- ing up and forming a kind of inclusion with the opening chapter which gives the origin of the Christian communi- ty precisely in God’s design for the healing and salvation of a broken world, scarred by sin. Now the focus is more on drawing out the social implications of the message of Christ and urging believers to committed action in society. Jesus’ proclamation of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God is the context for the Church’s activity on behalf of justice, peace and the protection of creation. In keep- ing with the gospel, the Church is to be a moral witness andteacherand,whilenotobscuringitsdifferencesfrom other religions, needs to collaborate with them in those 16 A ministry of episkopé is discussed in BEM, Ministry, paragraphs 21-23, which includes the statement “… a ministry of episkopé is necessary to express and safeguard the unity of the body [of the Church]” (paragraph 23). See also the “Faith and Order Study No. 102” entitled Episcope and Episcopate in Ecumenical Perspective (Geneva: ECC, 1980). A contribution by a famous Catholic exegete on the term episkopé is R. BROWN, “Episkopé and Episkopos: The New Testament Evidence,” available at: 2 http://goo.gl/V4FZ0f (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015) [accessed March 7, 2014]. The ecumenical discussion of this theme has been significant, as an internet search of the term “episcope/ episkope” will show. ways where cooperation is possible for the promotion of human dignity. The opening words of this chapter give a sense for the tone which runs throughout it: The reason for the mission of Jesus is succinctly expressed in the words: “God so loved the world that he gave his onlySon”(Jn.3:16).Thusthefirstandforemostattitude of God toward the world is love, for every child, woman and man who has ever become part of human history and, indeed, for the whole of creation. The Kingdom of God, which Jesus preached by revealing the Word of God in par- ables and inaugurated by his mighty deeds, especially by the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection, is the finaldestinyofthewholeuniverse(The Church, 58). II. Some of the Convergences Several convergences have already been point- ed out, such as seeing a fundamental harmony between Scripture and Tradition, as agreeing that the priesthood of the faithful and ordained ministry are compatible and thatonecanaffirmboththeholinessoftheChurchand the need for continual reform and conversion. The Report ontheBEMprocesscalledfortheidentificationoffunda- mental ecclesiological principles – principles which could facilitate greater convergence about still divisive ecclesi- ologicalquestions.DoesThe Church: Towards a Common Vision register progress in identifying such principles? I would like to suggest four such convergences. First of all, this text employs with new emphasis the important ecumenical and ecclesiological methodol- ogy of basing its vision of the Church solidly on the will of God as made known in revelation and experienced by Christian communities in various times and places throughouttheages.TheefforttodiscerntogetherGod’s will for the faith and order of the Church is underlined by affirmingexplicitlythatourvisionshouldnotbebased upon what we want for the Church but on what we can agree that God wants. In addition the more than 160 ref- erences to Scripture and to ways that Scripture has been faithfully interpreted in witnesses from the tradition, es- pecially those prior to any division between Christians, un- derline this methodology of seeking together God’s will in the sources of our common faith. 17 A second gain is a result of this reliance on the Word of God: the text has a strongly Trinitarian under- standing of the Christian community. The very origin and 17 Here The Church is quite similar to the Methodist-Roman Catholic agreement “The Word of Life: A Statement on Revelation and Faith,” in Growth in Agreement II, 618-646. But see also the synod of Catholic bishops on the Word of God and Benedict XVI’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation to that synod, Verbum Domini, which can be found at: 2 http://goo.gl/KjSnKS (URL Retrieved: March 20, 2015). William Henn, ofm cap – Pontifical Gregorian University and Member of the Faith & Order CommissionNext >