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Ecumenism (OSV Encyc. 1997)
The term "ecumenical" comes from the same root as "Catholic". We speak of Ecumenical Councils because of their universal composition; they gather together the bishops of the whole Church. "Ecumenism" or the "ecumenical movement" refer to the efforts to restore the unity among Christians which was broken especially in the tenth century, with the separation of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and in the sixteenth with the emergence of Protestanism. Behind the ecumenical movement is the conviction that Christ founded one Church as the only universal means of salvation, and that therefore the split of his followers into different groups and sects cannot be his will.
Christ's will or not, these splits took place. But it is surely his will now that they not be left as simple historical facts. What is important now is not just to explain them, and less still to apportion blame, but to try to repair them. This must be first of all a matter of prayer. All Christians should imitate Christ in his petition; "there shall be one flock, one shepherd" (Jn 10:16), and his particular prayer at the Last Supper for all those who believe in him, "that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee" (Jn 17:20-21). In praying, offering sacrifices, and working for church unity, all Christians can be sure they are praying and working for something that God himself wants (cf. CCC 820-822).
Apart from prayer, two principles must guide all ecumenical work if it is to be fruitful: charity and clarity. Truth and Love: "speaking the truth in love", as St. Paul says (Eph 4:15).
Charity embraces everyone. It is open to all, welcomes all. Charity can and should be lived without limit. There is no obstacle to it but our own personal self-centeredness. Everyone is to be loved; everyone, without exception, to be treated as a brother or sister. No person can be outside the scope of our love. Even those we consider to be in error have the right to be loved. They need it; we also need to love them, and we have the duty to do so.
Faith however cannot embrace everything. Its object is not persons but truth, as God has revealed it and entrusted it to men. Even those who are in error are to be loved. But error itself is not to be loved. Real love for those in error is first of all shown precisely in the desire to see them free from error, and rejoicing in the full possession of the truth. Our Lord does not want his followers to be deceived, however sincerely, in their belief.
Therefore ecumenical contacts and dialogue must be clear. We cannot gloss over differences; that would be a lack of truth and sincerity. And unity is not brought about by deception. While the goal of the ecumenical movement is unity, this cannot be reached as the result of compromise. No one in the ecumenical dialogue can compromise, or be asked to compromise, with what he or she is convinced is the truth.
Convictions are not an impediment to dialogue. If two persons had no convictions they could have no interest in arriving at the truth. People of convictions, who in particular are convinced that Christ is God and that he wanted only one Church - one body of followers - can gradually come together.
Hence the need for clarity and sincerity in examining differences: to see not if they can be reduced to a compromise formula, but if they can be overcome by means of a deeper grasp of Christ's plan of Redemption, of his Revelation, of his mind and will for his followers down the ages.
The Second Vatican Council insists that unity is a blessing which our Lord wishes his followers to have, and which is only to be found in full communion with the one Church he himself founded and accompanies down the ages. "Our separated brethren are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those to whom he has given new birth into one body... For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (UR, 3)
Unity is the ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement. Humanly speaking, its achievement may seem remote and almost impossible. Yet no one should doubt that if human good will joins God's will, it can be accomplished.
Official ecumenical endeavors and contacts at the local level, must be under the bishop's direction. But each Catholic, by the witness of his or her love for the Church and knowledge of the Church's teachings, with a readiness to carry on a dialogue of charity and clarity with all those Christians of other denominations, is already doing a profoundly ecumenical work.