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- Title
The impact of the Decree on Ecumenism on church relations in Germany.
- Authors
Besier, Gerhard
- Abstract
In contrast to the endeavours undertaken by the Protestant and Orthodox Churches, reaching back into the nineteenth century to overcome the manifold divisions between Christian churches, corresponding efforts on the part of the Roman Catholic Church really only began with the pontificate of Pope John XXIII (1958-1963). The Second Vatican Council and the Decree on Ecumenism in particular, were aimed at achieving the restoration of church unity. The reality is that the Second Vatican Council did not change the Roman Catholic Church alone but also affected its relationship to the other churches and the Christian community as a whole. It emphasised the fact that the unity of the Church, founded by Christ himself, is not lost, and that baptised Christians, who were born into their Christian community, are incorporated into the body of Christ and are ultimately, children of the Roman Catholic Church. In this way, a »baptismal ecumenism«exists however, the fullness of unity is certainly lacking. In order to overcome the divisions and to incorporate the separated groups into the Catholic ecumenical movement the Roman Church is prepared to recognise »the genuine Christianity of the separated groups«, to begin a »dialogue,« and to do these things with »wisdom and patience. «Nonetheless, all serious attempts to reconcile the parties over the past 50 years have come to nothing as the Roman Catholic Church has consistently maintained an expectation that the Protestant Churches would make a binding commitment to teachings that directly correspond to the current form of Roman Catholic doctrine. As a result of this insistence, the Protestant Churches drew the direct conclusion that the Roman Catholic Churchs understanding of ecumenism was not compatible with the assumptions and the goals of the ecumenical movement within the Protestant Churches. For Protestants, the ecumenical objective implicit in the theological concept of the Church community was of prime importance, as had been decided in the Leuenberg Agreement in 1973. Furthermore, there has been a clear shift in the focus of attention in the meantime. The challenge of overcoming the rift within Christianity is no longer considered to be the primary concern. Instead, the issue of how the proclamation of the gospel around the world can credibly be made possible under these circumstances is far more pressing. A further current-day problem lies in the relationship between the theological unity debates and the sociological-cultural sensitivities of the empirical church. Both theologians and churchmen are being confronted by an increasing lack of understanding within congregations when they seek to articulate the essence of the divisions. This overriding lack of theological education, on the one hand, together with the clear and evident erosion of the church environment, on the other hand is causing the scandal regarding the divisions within the Church to appear to be mere phantom pains. Moreover the question is ultimately being asked within tradition-conscious church circles as to whether the reforms instigated by the Second Vatican Council have, realistically, actually been a key contributory factor in the process of secularisation.
- Subjects
PROTESTANT-Catholic relations; VATICAN Council (2nd : 1962-1965); ECUMENICAL movement
- Publication
Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte: Internationale Zeitschrift für Theologie und Geschichtswissenschaft, 2016, Vol 29, Issue 2, p264
- ISSN
0932-9951
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.13109/kize.2016.29.2.264