THE
P RTAL
June 2016
Page 6
Dangers
to true ecumenism
Fr Ian Hellyer contemplates the 600th anniversary of the Reformation
It would
be very easy to make His Eminence, Cardinal Müller, seem like a spoil sport and party pooper.
Cardinal Müller has said that Catholics have “no reason to celebrate” the beginning of the Reformation.
Though initially it might seem that the Cardinal is anti-ecumenical, in fact he is very concerned about the
dangers to ecumenism presented by these celebrations.
The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, has said “We
Catholics have no reason to celebrate October 31,
1517, the date that is considered the beginning of the
Reformation that would lead to the rupture of Western
Christianity.”
some do not. This means that in our ecumenical
groups and movements we need to be aware of these
differences between one another. We need to respect
them and not ignore them.
The celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation
next year will be a real test of the ecumenical movement
Those of us in ecumenical chaplaincy teams need to as it has developed. In my mind,the question is, is it truly
be prepared for this. Those catholic parishes which are ecumenical or is it essentially a protestant ecumenism
actively part of Churches Together also need to be that drives it? If Churches Together gets behind the
prepared. For the English especially, it will surely Reformation celebrations next year then it would seem
seem just ill-mannered to disagree with a celebration to suggest that essentially they have a protestant agenda.
in 2017, but in fact our ecumenical partners need to
If Catholics were to support the anniversary of
realise that it is the other way round! If they assume
that Catholics will just join in, then they are being ill- the Reformation, they would be essentially saying
that there can be good reasons to separate oneself
mannered.
from mother Church, that is, to be in schism. For that
Catholics join in with ecumenical movements on the is what the Reformers did. They did not create new
basis that their perspective will be respected and the churches, but, from the Catholic perspective, formed
Catholic perspective is that we are seeking visible unity church-like communities but communities that were
- that the unity that Christ wills is one visible Church separate from the Church. Most of them retained the
(or you might say one institution). We believe that just sacraments of baptism and holy matrimony, and so
as Christ is a unity in His humanity and divinity, so there is grace in those communities, but nevertheless
also the Church is a unity of the visible (institution) we Catholics believe their communion with Christ in
and invisible (spiritual). For us the Church is Christus the Church is incomplete, and that they are missing
Totus; the whole Christ, head and body. There cannot out on many gifts of grace that could be theirs.
be more than one visible Church because that would
For Catholics to support the Reformation would
be like saying there is more than one Christ. This
is the Catholic understanding of what the Church be also to promote relativism - that at the end of the
is (one can read more about this in the Vatican II day “my truth” and “your truth” are equally valid. This
document Lumen Gentium and the document on is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of this all. If we
embrace relativism, we sooner or later reject divine
ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio).
revelation (which of its nature is absolute truth).
Now of course our separated Christian brothers
We Catholics have to realise that being a “party
and sisters do not see it that way. The children of
the Reformation have tended to regard the Church pooper” next year is not endangering the movement
as predominantly a spiritual entity and that the for true ecumenism, but rather a positive contribution
outward visible institution is really secondary. So the to it. In fact, it is relativism that is the real danger for
outward visible institution can be altered without the ecumenical movement.
any real problems. Some children of the Reformation
The Catholic Herald article can be read in full here:
have bishops; some do not. Some have deacons
www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/03/31/
and priests; some do not. Some have sacraments;
reformation-is-nothing-to-celebrate-says-cardinal-muller/
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