![]() Paul uses to describe purgatory (see 1 Cor. ![]() In the past, theologians emphasized the cleansing fire of purgatory-understandably so, since that’s the image St. John XXIII stated in his opening address at the Second Vatican Council, there is a distinction to be made between the “deposit of faith” and “the manner in which these truths are set forth.” The second practical key for Christian unity is flexibility in the non-essentials.įor instance, there can be flexibility when it comes to articulation or expression of infallible teachings, since, as Pope St. The pope, therefore, is obliged by truth itself to maintain those teachings that the Church declares to be definitively true. He summed up this idea by concluding, “The obligation to respect the truth is absolute” (UUS 79). He writes that a “being together” that betrays the truth would thus “be opposed both to the nature of God…and to the need for truth found in the depths of every human heart” (UUS 18). In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God who is Truth” (UUS 18). John Paul made this clear when he wrote, “The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety. He must safeguard these at all costs, since there can be no unity if we’re not united in the truth. That’s to say, the pope cannot compromise when it comes to the infallible teachings of the Church. The first practical key is maintaining the essentials. So, what are some practical keys the popes in recent past have used to exercise their service of unity? Key No. Popes down through the ages have preferred this approach as well, referring to their ministry as that of servus servorum Dei-“servant of the servants of God.” For Jesus, the leader is the one who serves, just as he, the leader, served. Jesus tells the apostles they are not to lord their authority over their subjects as the Gentiles do. He lays out this model at the Last Supper (see Luke 22:25-27). But I think servant leadership is the better and more effective approach. I realize there are some who would like to see the pope do this. He could come in with a bat and start swinging, exercising his authority in an authoritarian way, accusing non-Catholics of heresy and making them stand barefoot in the snow to be reconciled with the Church. And, as we’ll see, they recommend them for us as well.īefore we get into the particulars, there are two general ecumenical approaches a pope could take. John Paul refers to the papal ministry as the “ministry of unity” and calls the bishop of Rome “the first servant of unity.” The bishop of Rome “must ensure the communion of all the churches” (UUS 94).īut how is he to go about doing this? I think we can identify six practical keys that the popes of recent past have utilized in their ecumenical work. The work of Christian unity is therefore an essential part of the pope’s job. Recall that Jesus gave Peter the command to “feed” and “shepherd” his sheep (John 21:15-17) and to strengthen the brethren (Luke 22:32). The bishop of Rome is not only the visible foundation of unity for God’s people, he must also work to bring about and maintain such unity. ![]() This teaching has its origin in Matthew 16:18-19, where Jesus makes Peter the foundational rock of his Church and gives him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. John Paul II’s encyclical Ut Unum Sint, he reiterated the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that God has established the bishop of Rome as the Church’s “perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity” (UUS 88, citing Lumen Gentium 23). The Group’s previous meeting took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in October 2022.In Pope St. The Saint Irenaeus Joint Orthodox–Catholic Working Group, established in 2004 at Paderborn (Germany), is composed of 26 theologians, 13 Orthodox and 13 Catholics, from a number of European countries, the Middle East, and the Americas. Reverend Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, official of the DPCU and member of the Saint Irenaeus Group, participated in the meeting. The reflections were summarized by the participants in a communiqué. The Working Group considered the history of attempts to resolve the schism between Catholics and Orthodox leading up to the Balamand Document, the document itself, as well as its subsequent reception. The program of the meeting focused on the topic “In Search of Union: Re-reading the Document of Balamand 30 years after”. The Saint Irenaeus Joint Orthodox-Catholic Working Group gathered for its nineteenth annual meeting from 21 to 25 June 2023 at the Orthodox Theological Faculty St John of Damascus in Balamand (Lebanon) to commemorate the 30 th anniversary of the Balamand Document.
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