The fruits of 40 years

“It is a clear response to the unfounded claims, present also within Rome’s Curia, that ecumenism with Protestant Communities hasn’t yet produced fruits, and that it left us empty-handed”. On October 15 Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity presented in the Vatican the book entitled, “Harvesting the Fruits. Basic aspects of Christian Faith in Ecumenical Dialogue. Ecumenical Consensus, Convergences and Differences”, “not only official opinions – the Cardinal told journalists – but also “rumours”, that here are “proven wrong”. The book is the result of two years of intense efforts. Cardinal Kasper summarizes the results of the Catholic Church’s official dialogue with Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist Churches over forty years with an aim to “create a positive and receptive atmosphere for ecumenical dialogue with the Protestant communities”. “Over the past 40 years – His Eminence said – a new generation of ecumenists, laymen and priests, professors and students was born. They are unaware of the achievements of the dialogue. We don’t want the richness of the achieved results to be forgotten” nor that these documents “end up in dusty bookshelves”. Looking towards the future, the Cardinal said, “a certain degree of tiredness is felt nowadays, along with a certain degree of disappointment”. However, “the new sobriety that has taken grounds could signify greater maturity that acknowledges the importance of reality”, His Eminence declared. The current state of dialogue brings out also “changes within the ecclesial communities of our partners in the dialogue, that sometimes don’t stay the same”. “Even in the Catholic church – he added – there have been changes. At times our documents are hard to understand for our partners”. In pointing out this point to the journalists the cardinal mentioned “Dominus Jesus”, but simply because “our partners in the dialogue often refer to this document. Perhaps they would have preferred a formally more gentle approach. Indeed, Dominus Jesus conveys the basic tenets of the social doctrine of the Church and clarity is an important contribution to ecumenism”. Another document that “was received with surprise” in Protestant environments was the “motu proprio” on the extraordinary Mass rite in Latin. “But these are questions which pertain specifically to the Catholic Church and involve small groups of faithful. It must also be said that it is part of a unity within the multiple-unity of our Church, and as such is deserves being respected”, the Cardinal explained.The “High season” of ecumenism. The Vatican dycastery in charge of dialogue with Christian Churches has a full agenda. During the presentation Cardinal Kasper announced the Pope’s visit to the Lutheran Church in Rome, and a symposium, due to be held in February 2010, which, taking the text of this book as its starting point, will discuss “the future of Western ecumenism”. Appointments with the Ecumenical Council of Churches will follow suit. At the end of October the tenth anniversary of the joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification will be celebrated in Augsburg; the Centenary of the World Missionary Conference, which in 1910 marked the beginning of 20th century ecumenism, will be celebrated in Edinburgh in 2010 while the dycastery is engaged in 16 bilateral dialogues. Moreover, Cardinal Kasper concluded, “it can’t be said that we’re experiencing an ‘ecumenical winter’. On the contrary, ours is high season, it’s full summer and with this book we are reaping the first rich fruits. It’s a good harvest and – we hope – a strong impulse and thrust for the continuation of dialogue”.The document. For the first time it was decided to highlight the results of bilateral dialogue with four partners (historical Protestant Churches, namely, Lutherans, Reformed, Anglicans and Methodists) in a comparative manner, put together according to the themes to enable a comparison and clearer view of the scope of the achievements of the past 40 years of dialogue. “The purpose – explained Mark Langham, who edited the book for the Pontifical Council – was to present an effective and accurate picture of ecumenical convergence areas that could promote the reception of results across the different Churches”. A draft of the publication (that was approved by Cardinal Levada, Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) was sent to Church theologians and communities. The text is divided into four chapters. These are: “The foundations of our common faith”; “salvation, justification and sanctification”; “the Church”; “Baptism and the Eucharist”.