To the World Council of Churches (12 June 1984)
ShareOn Tuesday, 12 June 1984, the Holy Father addressed the World Council of Churches in Switzerland, saying, “The Catholic Church believes, in fact, that the bishop who presides over the life of the local Church fertilized by the blood of Peter receives from the Lord the mission of remaining the witness of the faith professed by these two leaders of the apostolic community and which, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, makes the unity of believers.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters ,
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1. I thank you for inviting me to visit you here at the Ecumenical Centre during my pastoral visit to the Catholics of Switzerland. It is particularly significant that we meet to pray together and to converse fraternally at this time of year when Christians throughout the world celebrate the event of Pentecost. Indeed, as Saint Irenaeus says, “at Pentecost the Spirit descended upon the disciples, with power over all nations to introduce them and open to them the New Testament, so it was in all languages that, animated by the same sentiment, the disciples celebrated the praises of God, while the Spirit brought back to unity the separated tribes and offered to the Father the first-fruits of all nations” (St. Irenaei, Adversus haereses , III, 17, 2). Pentecost, the gift of the Spirit, is for the Church the ever-life-giving source of her unity and the starting point of her mission. Our meeting coincides with these days.
The very fact of my presence here among you, as Bishop of Rome, fraternally visiting the World Council of Churches, is a sign of this desire for unity. Since the beginning of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, I have insisted on the fact that the commitment of the Catholic Church to the ecumenical movement is irreversible and that the search for unity is one of its pastoral priorities (Cf. Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Nuntius ad Secretarium Generalem Consilii Oecumenici Ecclesiarum missus , die 24 iul. 1983: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , VI, 2 (1983) 120). The new Code of Canon Law also expresses very clearly the obligation of Catholic bishops to promote, in accordance with the will of Christ, the ecumenical movement ( CIC , can. 755, par. 1).
2. Certainly, when the Catholic Church enters into the difficult ecumenical task, she does so with a conviction. Despite the moral miseries that have marked the lives of her members and even of her leaders throughout her history, she is convinced that she has kept, in all fidelity to the apostolic tradition and to the faith of the Fathers, in the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, the visible pole and guarantor of unity. Did not Saint Ignatius of Antioch already salute the Church “which presides in the region of the Romans” as the one “which presides over charity”, over communion? The Catholic Church believes, in fact, that the bishop who presides over the life of the local Church fertilized by the blood of Peter receives from the Lord the mission of remaining the witness of the faith professed by these two leaders of the apostolic community and which, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, makes the unity of believers. To be in communion with the Bishop of Rome is to visibly attest that one is in communion with all those who confess this same faith, who have confessed it since Pentecost and who will confess it “until the coming” of the day of the Lord. This is our conviction as Catholics, and our fidelity to Christ forbids us to renounce it. We also know that for most of you - whose memory is perhaps marked by certain painful memories for which my predecessor Paul VI implored your forgiveness - this constitutes a difficulty. But we will have to discuss it in frankness and friendship, with the seriousness full of promise that the work of preparing the document of “Faith and Constitution” on “Baptism, the Eucharist and the Ministry” has already manifested. If the ecumenical movement is truly carried by the Holy Spirit, this moment will arrive.
3. The Catholic Church and the member Churches of the World Council of Churches have a long history in common; we share painful memories of dramatic separations and mutual polemics that deeply wounded unity. It is a history during which we have not ceased to have in common many of the elements or goods by the whole of which the Church is built up and given life (Cf. Unitatis Redintegratio , 3). This history now becomes that of the rediscovery of the incomplete but real communion existing between us; all the elements that compose or should compose this communion are progressively placed in their true perspectives with all the consequences that this new perception entails for the collaboration between us and the common witness.
4. We first became aware of our common baptism and its significance. The statements of the Assemblies of New Delhi or Evanston express here the same conviction as the decree of the Second Vatican Council on ecumenism: “By the sacrament of baptism, whenever it is conferred as it is fitting according to the Lord’s institution and received with the interior dispositions required, man is truly incorporated into Christ crucified and glorified . . . Baptism is therefore the sacramental bond of unity existing between all those who have been regenerated by him” ( Unitatis Redintegratio , 22). Certainly, “it is, in itself, only the beginning and the starting point, for its entire purpose is to acquire the fullness of life in Christ” ( Ibid .). But, all baptized with a true baptism, we are all enveloped in the same and indivisible love of the Father, vivified by the same and indivisible Spirit of God, incorporated into the only Son. If, among us, we are divided, we are nevertheless seized by the same embrace, by what Saint Irenaeus called “the two hands of the Father” (the Son and the Spirit). This is what impels us to renew communion among ourselves. It is a question of accepting to be what we are for God, by virtue of “one baptism”, because of the “one God and Father of all who reigns for all, through all and in all” ( Eph . 4:6). If we are still divided, we are nevertheless all in the mystery of Pentecost overthrowing Babel. Our divisions thus contrast with the unity already existing; they are all the more scandalous.
5. Together we have learned to commune in respect for the Word of God. Thanks to the renewal of biblical studies, in which exegetes of all Christian confessions have worked side by side, some old controversies that have set us against each other for centuries have become futile. How can we not mention here Cardinal Bea, who devoted the last ten years of a long life devoted to the study and teaching of Sacred Scripture to the service of unity? When the Second Vatican Council states: “All ecclesial preaching, like the Christian religion itself, must be entirely nourished and governed by Sacred Scripture” ( Dei Verbum , 21), it is only expressing a common certainty. Increasingly, the Word of God is also understood in reference to the life and witness of the ecclesial community animated by that Spirit of whom Jesus said: “He will teach you all things”, “he will make known to you the whole truth” ( Jn 14:26; 16:13). How, even if we are not yet in full agreement on the interpretation of certain important points of this Word of God, can we not underline the positive significance of this growing unanimity?
6. There is another aspect of the Christian mystery that unites us more than in the past. Together we have learned to understand better the full role of the Holy Spirit. This rediscovery - marked by the renewal of the Catholic liturgy - has made us sensitive to new dimensions of our ecclesial life. The Spirit is the source of a freedom that allows us to renew in fidelity what we receive from the generations that have gone before us. He knows how to invent new paths whenever it is a question of walking together towards a unity that is both founded in truth and respects the rich diversity of truly Christian values that have their source in a common heritage (Cf. Unitatis Redintegratio , 4).
7. Because of this new attention to the presence of the Spirit, our prayer has taken on a particular emphasis. It has become more open to thanksgiving, in which we detach ourselves from our own concerns to fix our gaze on the work of God and the wonder of his grace. This gaze makes us more aware of God's plan for his people, in the certainty of the primacy of divine initiatives. We are no longer content to implore together and intercede; we now tend more to bless God for the work of his grace.
Prayer holds a special place in our concerns. Although it is not yet possible for us to celebrate the Eucharist of the Lord together by sharing communion at the same table, we are increasingly keen to make common prayer the centre of our meetings, even when they are austere work meetings. It is significant in this respect that the Vancouver Assembly last summer was dominated by this reality of common prayer, carried out daily with dignity and fervour, and that the Prayer Tent became the symbol of this ecumenical event of such great importance. Is it not also in prayer that we meet today? This common progress in fidelity to the Apostle's command: "Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" ( 1 Thess. 5:17-18), is the unmistakable sign of the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in our search. It indicates that we are on the right track.
8. In this way, advancing together, drawing closer to one another in this experience of prayer, it has become possible for us to develop that real “fraternal solidarity” of which Pope Paul VI spoke (Pauli VI, Nuntius ad Secretarium Generalem Consilii Oecumenici Ecclesiarum missus , die 20 Nov. 1975: Insegnamenti di Paolo VI , XIII (1975) 1306), with the Ecumenical Council and its member Churches. A multifaceted collaboration has thus developed. First of all in the serious and persevering theological research of “Faith and Order”. This is a fundamental ecumenical work, because unity in the profession of faith conditions the outcome of all the efforts made in common; but these in turn are an important means of progressing towards this unity in faith.
9. Indeed, a common service to humanity in the name of the Gospel is a necessary way of making the truth and thus of moving towards the light (cf. Io . 3, 21). It is no accident that the declarations of the Uppsala Assembly on the service of creation and those of the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on the Church in the Modern World overlap on several points. The research of the Ecumenical Council on the subject of justice and peace, its commitment to the service of the poor and the unfortunate, its incessant work for the defence of freedom and human rights join the constant concern of Catholic communities.
Indeed, the defense of man, of his dignity, his freedom, his rights, the full meaning of his life, is a major concern of the Catholic Church, she strives, wherever she can, to contribute to promoting the conditions necessary for the development of his existence as a being created and redeemed by God, convinced that “this man is the first road that the Church must travel in fulfilling her mission” (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Redemptor Hominis , 14). By intervening in favor of man, whatever the political regime of the country, she wishes to mark the distinction and relative autonomy of the Church and the State. It respects the noble and difficult function of those who have charge of the common good, it maintains with them a dialogue and even stable relations by mutual agreement to advance peace and justice, while considering that it is not its role to intervene in the modes of government that men give themselves for temporal things nor to advocate violence to change them. But it invites its lay members to take an active part in the management and orientation of these according to evangelical principles, and it retains its freedom to judge from an ethical point of view the conditions which favor the progress of individuals and communities or on the contrary which seriously harm the rights of individuals, civil and religious freedom ( Gaudium et Spes , 42. 75).
On this last point, the Catholic Church hopes that other Churches and Christian Communities will raise their voices with it so that citizens' authentic freedom of conscience and worship may be guaranteed, and the freedom of the Churches to train ministers and to provide themselves with the means they need for the development of the faith of their faithful. Many people of good will and international institutions understand today the importance of this fundamental right; but, given the gravity of the facts, it seems to me necessary that all Christians and Christian communities - when they have the opportunity to express themselves - should here bear their common witness to what is vital for them.
10. We should also find ourselves increasingly together in all areas where man, because of the weight of his environment, experiences great difficulty in living according to the dignity of his vocation, on the social, ethical and religious levels. There are so many human values that are obscured in the lives of individuals and families: fairness in relationships, authenticity of love, fraternal and generous openness to others! Despite our separations and our often different methods of action, on the level of thought and social action, we often come together and bear witness to the same vision based on the same reading of the Gospel. It does happen, of course, that we diverge on the means. Our positions on ethical matters are not always identical. But what already unites us allows us to hope that we will one day arrive at a convergence on this fundamental ground.
Yes, the desire to “follow Christ” in his love for those in need leads us to act together. However temporary it may be, this communion in evangelical service gives us a glimpse of what could be, what will be, our total and perfect communion, in faith, charity, the Eucharist. It is therefore not a purely accidental encounter, inspired only by pity in the face of misery or reaction to injustice. It is part of our journey together toward unity.
11. We also meet in our concern for the future of humanity. Our faith in Christ brings us together in the same hope to confront the forces of destruction that assail humanity, erode its spiritual foundations and lead it to the brink of the abyss. God's creative and redemptive work cannot be swallowed up by all that sin kindles in the human heart, nor can it be definitively thwarted. But this leads us to a keen awareness of our own responsibility as Christians before the future of man and also to an awareness of the gravity of our divisions. To the extent that they obscure our witness in a world that is rushing to suicide, they constitute an obstacle to the proclamation of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
12. Our communion in action is in fact based on the sharing of a common concern for evangelization. It is no mere coincidence that you, Dr. Potter, were invited to speak to the bishops gathered in Rome for the Synod of 1974, whose profound reflection on evangelization in the modern world is contained in the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Nuntiandi”. You explained to the Synod the way in which the Ecumenical Council understood the missionary task. Already on that occasion it had become clear that the great questions of the urgency of evangelization and its methods, of dialogue with other religions, of the relationship between the Gospel and culture, were posed to all Christians, and that they invited them to a new fidelity in the mission.
Our meetings and discussions on this subject have shown us that we all agree that “there is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom, the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, are not proclaimed” (Pauli VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi , 22). But we also recognize that “it is impossible to accept that the work of evangelization can or should neglect the extremely serious questions, so agitated today, concerning justice, liberation, development and peace in the world. If this were to happen, it would be to ignore the doctrine of the Gospel on love for our neighbor who suffers or is in need” ( Ibid ., 31).
13. For the Catholic Church, it is the bishops who have the responsibility to guide and coordinate all aspects of the effort of evangelization; to help it to maintain its authentic inspiration, to respect the essential freedom of adherence to faith and to prevent it from degrading into proselytism or becoming subservient to the ideologies of the moment. The harmonious development of collaboration with the Catholic Church requires that account be taken, with regard to the mission of the bishop, of this conviction, which is also shared by several of the member Churches of the Ecumenical Council.
14. Just 15 years ago, my predecessor Pope Paul VI visited you and welcomed the development of relations between the Ecumenical Council and the Catholic Church. I wish to express my desire, as I have done several times before, that this collaboration between us will increase and intensify wherever possible. The Joint Working Group between the Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Council of Churches has an important task to accomplish. It must be inventive in finding ways that will enable us from now on “to consciously unite in the great mission of revealing Christ to the world” (Ioannis Puli PP. II, Redemptor Hominis , 11). It is by making his truth together that we will manifest his light. This effort towards a common witness is one of the priorities assigned to the Joint Working Group. This will require a new effort of ecumenical formation and doctrinal deepening. Our witness, in fact, can only be truly and completely common when we have arrived at unity in the confession of the apostolic faith.
15. Today, before God and Christ Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can give thanks for the progress we have made together on the path to unity. This progress forbids us from turning back. In thanking you for all that, since its beginnings, the Council has done for its part to help us grow together, I can only remind you of the firm determination of the Catholic Church to do everything possible to ensure that one day the light of restored koinonia shines. And how could we do this without striving to continue to grow in mutual respect, reciprocal trust, and the common search for the one truth? The road is long. We must respect its stages. But we have faith in the Spirit.
Ah, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, like my venerable predecessor Paul VI at the beginning of the Second Session of the Second Vatican Council (29 September 1963) at the very moment when he was addressing the serious question of unity, I would like to be among you a humble adorer and servant of Christ, of Christ in majesty as he is represented in our splendid churches of the East and the West! It is he who, in the glory he shares with the Father, stands above our assembly of believers and blesses it. We, to whom so many tasks for the Church are entrusted, turn to him and to his Father, imploring - in order to bear witness better and serve the salvation of men - the light and strength of the Holy Spirit. A little like the apostles and the first disciples gathered in the first Upper Room, with Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is Christ the Redeemer who is our principle, our way and our guide, our hope and our goal. May he grant that his Church on earth may be more and more, in its mystery and in its visible unity, an epiphany of the Love which unites the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
