Catholic leader says yes to unity, justice and peace
-14/05/05
A leading Vatican official has declared that Catholics are ìfully in the ecumenical movementî and has identified the World Council of Churches (WCC) as a vital partner. ìWe are here to listenî, said Bishop Brian Farrell, the senior figure in the Catholic delegation at the thirteenth Conference on World Mission and Evangelism meeting in Athens, Greece.
The WCC is a fellowship of over 340 mainly Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches across the world. In the years following the Second Vatican Council (1963-65), which opened the Catholic Church to the modern world, Catholics began to attend WCC events as observers.
As a next step the Catholic Church became a full partner in the WCC Faith and Order Commission and in the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.
For a decade, the WCC and the Vatican have also undertaken important justice and peace-making work through a shared body on society, development and peace (SODEPAX).
ìFor us, the World Council of Churches is an essential partner in the wider ecumenical movementî, explained Bishop Farrell. ìThere is nowhere else where so many strands of the modern ecumenical movement have come together. But it is no secret, I think, that we have had criticisms of the WCC that are also shared by some others… We continue to look to the strengthening of Faith and Order as key to the life of the WCC and its member churches, as well as to the Councilís understanding of other issues such as justice and peace.î
Faith and Order involves Christians of different traditions exploring the nature and organization of the Church. It is something of vital importance to Catholics – though less eagerly appreciated by newer churches, fresh expressions of church in the North and missionary initiatives springing up from churches in the South.
Such newer church movements have been less prominent than they could have been at the World Mission Conference, some participants have told Ekklesia
Bishop Farrell, an executive member of the Joint Working Group between the Vatican and the WCC, is secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He and his colleagues have been encouraged by the ecumenically minded pronouncements made by Pope Benedict XVI since his election last month.
Explained Bishop Farrell: ìWe are full of hope in everything weíve heard regarding ecumenical relations. The pope is totally supportive. And he has been deeply involved in dialogue since he was a young theologian in Germany engaged in discussion with Lutherans, and he has been a prominent figure in dialogue with Orthodox theologians.î
Arrangements are being made for the upcoming visit to Rome by WCC general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, as reported on Ekklesia on Wednesday.
The increased representation at the CWME conference of Pentecostals as well as Catholics suggests an alteration in the ecumenical configuration. Bishop Farrell says that Catholics and Pentecostals are coming to know each other better in many parts of the world.
In Latin America Pentecostal churches are thriving and the number of Catholic charismatics is also rising, despite a significant drop in Catholic membership across the continent.
Commented Bishop Farrell: ìThe rise of Catholic charismatics is not a strategic response to Pentecostalism, but a spontaneous movement of the Holy Spirit. This may be a point of contact where dialogue can become more sensitive as each side comes to appreciate the other. It can provide a language and framework for mutual understanding.î
Latin America will be the venue of the WCCís ninth general assembly, to be convened in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006. The Brazilian national conference of churches, which includes the Catholic and assorted Pentecostal churches, will act as co-host on the campus of the Pontifical Catholic University.
Asked how the churches can more effectively work together for unity, mission and justice, Bishop Farrell reflected that ìpersonal contact is all-important. This is a profound theological truth that must not be forgotten.”
He concluded: “Jesus Christ became a human being, and he chose individual people as his followers. Christian communication is personal. It canít be accomplished through a printed manual alone nor by systems of mass distribution. In the end, someone has to reach out and put a hand on you and say, ëReceive the Holy Spirit!í”