Protestant Church Leaders Cautiously Welcome Pope's Encyclical on Ecumenism
Episcopal News Service. June 8, 1995 [95-1133]
(ENS) In his new encyclical letter on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sing (That They May Be One), Pope John Paul II has asserted that the search for Christian unity is "a duty of the Christian conscience enlightened by faith and guided by love," and an "organic part" of the life and work of the church.
In his 12th encyclical, the pope addressed one of the most divisive issues in ecumenical relations -- the role of the pope. While making it clear that the authority of his office as absolute and supreme is a mandatory article of faith within the Roman Catholic Church, he said that he feels a special responsibility to promote unity among all Christians.
In his role as the successor of St. Peter, he expressed a new openness "to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation."
It was that openness that elicited a positive response among church leaders who may be sympathetic to the symbolic possibilities of the papal office. Bishop Frank Griswold of Chicago, co-chair of the dialogue between Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in the United States, said that he found it "extremely heartening that he would raise the question of reform of the papacy."
Pointing out that the pope speaks of himself as the bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter and the servant of the servants of God, Griswold said that the pope was demonstrating a "sensitivity to the ecumenical community." He sees in the encyclical an invitation "to participate in a rethinking of the papal office."
Prof. William Franklin of the General Theological Seminary in New York, a participant in the dialogue with Roman Catholics and a member of the church's Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, said that the pope "put his finger precisely on the point where the problem lies in this country -- the bishops." In the last decade Roman Catholic bishops in the United States "have created the impression that ecumenism is a very low priority in an era of rapid religious transformation." That has led to what one theologian has called "the twilight of ecumenism," Franklin said. "If the U.S. bishops are faithful, they must now take immediate and concrete steps to put a stop to the ecumenical decline."
The pope has "perceived the decline, wishes to halt it, and directed the bishops to do so," Franklin added. "They must do so because the pope gives the highest priority to ecumenism, states that the Roman Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the full communion of all baptized Christians, and makes the important new proposal in this encyclical of joint, common and mutual recognition of baptism."
Franklin also expressed disappointment that the encyclical did not take note of full agreement with the Anglicans on the Eucharist or recent scholarship that supports recognition of the validity of Anglican ministry.
"The encyclical itself is a testament to the very spirit of Christian unity which we seek," said the Rev. Joan B. Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches. She said that it is the pope's "pastoral touch and tone that give the encyclical its decisive character."
Campbell said she is convinced that the encyclical will serve as "the basis for further discussion and dialogue broadly within the Christian community in the United States," as "new grist" for the lively dialogues at the time of the Second Vatican Council.
By reaffirming Rome's ecumenical commitment and adopting a conciliatory tone, the encyclical may actually "relieve the heightened tensions" with Protestant churches, said Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation.