Ecumenical Charter Hoping to Reduce Tensions
Episcopal News Service. September 14, 1999 [99-135B]
(ENI) Europe's churches are being asked to agree to an "Ecumenical Charter" to help improve relationships among denominations and boost ecumenical work in Europe.
Copies of a draft of the charter have been sent this month to all member churches of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) -- which represents more than 120 Orthodox, Anglican and mainstream Protestant churches -- and to national Roman Catholic bishops' conferences across Europe. The charter is intended to deal with issues such as "proselytism" (the poaching of church members by other denominations), the link between religious identity and national or ethnic identity, and what some observers believe is a growing gap between eastern and western Europe.
The draft charter, which has been drawn up by representatives of CEC and of the Council of European (Roman Catholic) Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), states that "until we reach the goal of full church communion, we intend to act together in all matters in which no deep differences compel us to act separately," a principle which "shall be valid for all levels of the life of the churches in Europe."
The commitments that churches are being asked to make include:
- to promote the "unity of Europe in all its cultural, ethnic and religious diversity;"
- to promote democratic processes in Europe and social justice among all peoples;
- to ban every form of nationalistic exclusivity and marginalization, when love of one's own country leads to oppression of other peoples or of national minorities;
- not to induce people to change their church membership and never to use physical force, moral constraint, psychological pressure or material incentives to motivate people to conversion;
- in cases of controversy, especially with regard to ethical questions which threaten to split the ecumenical fellowship, to continue their dialogue together;
- to strengthen cooperation between CEC and the CCEE;
- to defend the rights of minorities and help to reduce misunderstanding and prejudice.
Churches have been asked to respond to the text by September 2000 so that a final version can be presented shortly after Easter 2001 at an Ecumenical Encounter of European churches.