The Bishop Writes

(From the Jan. 13, 2000 edition of the Inland Register)

Jan. 18 begins once again the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. As we have begun a new millennium, we can renew our hope and fervor in this important task. The constant, ongoing conversion of heart in search of unity, both within our Catholic Church and with other Christian churches, is vital as we face the future.

Certainly Pope John Paul II has been a prolific writer of encyclicals. One of the strongest and perhaps most radical in its challenge is Ut Unum Sint – “That they May Be One,” published in 1995. This title is taken from the prayer of Jesus in John 17. The pope states that ecumenism is not an ”appendix” to the traditional activity in the Church but “an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does…. This unity, which the Lord has bestowed on his church and in which he wishes to embrace all people, is not something added on, but stands at the very heart of Christ’s mission. Nor is it some secondary attribute of the community of his disciples. Rather, it belongs to the very essence of community.” Clearly for us, ecumenism is not an optional activity.

In the encyclical, the Holy Father states that Jesus calls all his disciples to unity. “Believers in Christ … cannot remain divided…. Division openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the good news to every creature…. The Catholic Church knows that, by virtue of the strength which comes to her from the Spirit, the weakness, mediocrity, sins and at times the betrayals of some of her children cannot destroy what Good has bestowed upon her as part of his plan of grace.”

There is no question that advances in ecumenism have been made since the Second Vatican Council 35 years ago. Relationships at every level of the Church have changed considerably since that time and sometimes dramatically so. I can well remember when my mother asked permission of the pastor to go to a non-Catholic’s funeral. Such an action would be unthinkable today. These changes have occurred not only with other Christian Churches but also in the inter-religious relationships and dialogues with other faith communities as well.

At the grassroots level, there is much cooperation, sharing, and networking among churches – for example, in serving the needy. Sometimes there are common prayer services and even weekly reflections on the Scripture readings in preparation for the Sunday homily. For over 30 years, executives from the various mainline churches in the Spokane area, including myself, have met every Wednesday morning for breakfast at a local restaurant. Three times a year this group, “the Octet,” gets together for a day of prayer at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center, and for a social gathering before Christmas and a barbecue in the summer.

On the national level, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has the Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenism and Inter-religious Affairs. The committee meets only twice a year in Chicago, but there is much activity that continues between the meetings by both the staff in Washington D.C. and the bishop members. For example, at our last meeting, there were reports from various dialogues and meetings, such as the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue; United Methodist dialogue; Lutheran dialogue; Consultation on Church Union; Presbyterian and Reformed dialogue; Hindu-Christian dialogue; Evangelical and Pentecostal relations; regional Islamic-Catholic dialogues; Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter Group; and Catholic-Jewish events and relations.

In addition, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican promotes the work of ecumenism. So the church takes seriously the work of Christian unity through dialogue and relationship. As the Pope states in the encyclical, the Second Vatican Council emphasizes above all in the work of ecumenism the need for interior conversion. “There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart.”

The Holy Father concluded his message with the words from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, live in harmony, and the God of love and peace will be with you…. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

I hope and pray that we as church can make these words come alive in this new millennium. May God bless you and give you peace.

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