October 23, 2012      Martin Mallon  (Ireland)      Martin's previous articles

 

                                       Vatican II Success Story?

 

In his Apostolic letter, of 11 October 2011 , announcing the Year of Faith, which began on 11 October 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI writes that he has asked:  

the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to draw up a Note, providing the Church and individual believers with some guidelines on how to live this Year of Faith in the most effective and appropriate ways, at the service of belief and evangelization.  

This Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith can be read here  

The recommendations given in this Note come under four different headings, but the one that concerns us here is included in the Recommendations to the Universal Church and reads as follows:  

During the Year of Faith, in cooperation with the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, various ecumenical initiatives are to be planned, aimed at “the restoration of unity among all Christians” which
“is one of the principal concerns of the Second
Vatican Council.”( Vat. II, Decree, Unitatis redintigratio, n. 1.) In particular, there will be a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all of the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ.  

This is a real fruit of Vatican II which opened the Catholic Church to ecumenical dialogue with the Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintigratio. The last sentence of the above paragraph is striking “there will be a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all of the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ.” It is also something beautiful and meaningful as it is answering a direct request of Jesus “May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.” John 17:21.  

This is also fulfilling the vision of the Church in Lumen Gentium No 15:  

The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter.  For there are many who honor Sacred Scripture, taking it as a norm of belief and a pattern of life, and who show a sincere zeal. They lovingly believe in God the Father Almighty and in Christ, the Son of God and Saviour. They are consecrated by baptism, in which they are united with Christ.  

No 31 relates in a similar way:  

These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.  

It is clear from reading Lumen Gentium that baptism unites all Christians in Christ. (A tautology, but worth stating). The full text of Lumen Gentium can be found here  

Effective ecumenism is one of the greatest unused tools of evangelisation. Imagine if the Christian Churches could be, and seen to be,  united on many issues, how Christ’s request in John 17:21, that “May they all be one”, would demonstrate that Christians do practice Christianity and are united in Christ. What a wonderful witness of Christ for the rest of humanity. Let us hope there will be many similar events.  

It appears that the date, venue and format of this particular ecumenical event has yet to be announced. It will be a step towards the Church as envisioned by Vatican II, let us all pray and do what we can to ensure that it will be a huge success. Come Holy Spirit. 

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