Church Unity and the Papal Office: An Ecumenical Dialogue on John Paul II's Encyclical Ut Unum Sint

by Carl E. Braaten (Editor), Robert W. Jenson (Editor)

Overview

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802848024
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/22/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Carl E. Braaten is professor emeritus of systematic theology at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and former executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.


Robert W. Jenson is senior scholar for research at theCenter of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. Heis also cofounder and associate director of the Center forCatholic and Evangelical Theology and cofounder andcoeditor of Pro Ecclesia. Among his many other booksis the two-volume Systematic Theology (Oxford).

Read an Excerpt

Church Unity and the Papal Office

An Ecumenical Dialogue on John Paul II's Ut Unum Sint

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Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Copyright © 2001 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-8028-4802-8

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Introduction

CARL E. BRAATEN AND ROBERT W. JENSON

This book offers an ecumenically representative response to an important section of Pope John Paul II's 1995 Encyclical Letter, Ut Unum Sint, which deals with the "Ministry of Unity of the Bishop of Rome." Here John Paul II exhibits the kind of unremitting commitment to the ecumenical quest for church unity that has characterized his papacy from the beginning. An especially significant aspect of his ministry to full unity has been his pilgrimages to the various churches on different continents. He mentions in particular his visit to the headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, his ecumenical meetings with the primate of the Anglican Communion at Canterbury Cathedral, with the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, and with the Lutheran bishops and archbishops of the Scandinavian and Nordic countries (72). His apostolic visits have included joining in ecumenical celebrations with "churches and ecclesial communities that are not in full communion with the Catholic Church" (n. 42). For him they vividly express the new ecumenical awareness that, despite existing separations, "we all belong to Christ" (42). He speaks of communities that once were rivals and are now "consigning to oblivion the excommunications of the past" (42).

The pope'secumenical devotion to unity is based on Jesus' high-priestly prayer in Chapter 17 of St. John's Gospel: "This is truly the cornerstone of all prayer: the total and unconditional offering of one's life to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.... Christ's prayer to the Father is offered as a model for everyone, always and everywhere" (27). John Paul II expresses his confidence that if we would take Christ's call to unity to heart, "that all may be one," "every factor of division can be transcended and overcome in the total gift of self for the sake of the Gospel" (1).

The pope's encyclical letter aims to increase the unity of all Christians until they reach the goal of full communion, and he regards this as the "specific duty of the bishop of Rome as the successor of the apostle Peter" (4). But he does not shrink from acknowledging that "the Catholic Church's conviction that in the ministry of the bishop of Rome she has preserved, in fidelity to the apostolic tradition and the faith of the fathers, the visible sign and guarantor of unity constitutes a difficulty for most other Christians, whose memory is marked by certain painful recollections" (88). Then he adds, "To the extent that we are responsible for these, I join my predecessor Paul VI in asking forgiveness" (88). In this John Paul II echoes the words of Pope Paul VI, who said in 1967: "We are aware that the pope is undoubtedly the greatest obstacle in the path of the Oecumene."

The pope finds encouragement in the fact that the question of papal primacy has become a subject of many of the ecumenical dialogues, most notably in those with Anglicans, Lutherans, and the Orthodox, and that Faith and Order, a movement within the World Council of Churches, has pledged itself to "begin a new study of the question of a universal ministry of Christian unity" (89). Thus John Paul II's invitation to other church leaders and theologians to engage with him in a "patient and fraternal dialogue" on the ministry of the bishop of Rome has a history on which to build.

But what is there to discuss? The pope is not willing to start from scratch. He is convinced that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, that Peter's position of primacy among the Twelve was a direct appointment from Jesus, and that the bishop of Rome is permanently the successor of Peter. Still, he is willing to talk about 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." (95)

This volume is a kind of thanksgiving offering in appreciation of the pope's effort to promote the unity of all Christians and full communion between churches. The editors are especially pleased that His Eminence, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, accepted the invitation to deliver the keynote address at the theological conference on "Church Unity and the Papal Office" held at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 6-8, 1999. He underscores John Paul II's conviction that ecumenism is an organic part of the life and work of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, it must always be an ecumenism based on the truths of evangelical faith and catholic doctrine. He signals but does not resolve the paradox that the one to whom the ministry of unity has been entrusted continues to be a source of division and disunity within world Christianity.

Brian Daley, a Jesuit teaching at Notre Dame, offers a tightly woven historical review of the rise of the papal office. That the Petrine ministry came to be centered in Rome derived from the leadership roles of Peter and Paul. Tracing the history of the papacy during the first millennium, Daley's essay offers grist for the kind of creative thinking on primacy for which Ut Unum Sint calls.

Stephen Sykes, a bishop of the Anglican Communion, focuses on the issue of power in relation to church leadership, whether episcopcal or papal. The modern church is allergic to the concept of power, looking for euphemistic substitutes. The reality of power is socially unavoidable; it is grounded in a proper theology of creation. It is time for the church to find positive and constructive ways to exercise power.

Geoffrey Wainwright is eminently qualified to speak of Ut Unum Sint in light of his work with Faith and Order, where he has played a significant theological role for many years. He offers many ideas to advance the non-polemical style of fraternal dialogue for which the pope's encyclical calls, suggesting that the pope should take the lead in inviting churches to join with him in formulating a new statement of faith to be addressed to the world. Such a process would provide the occasion for the pope to exercise his ministry of unity.

Other contributors enrich the conversation with a variety of approaches. Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, offers a candid response from an evangelical perspective. The topics of papal primacy and full, visible church unity are not high on the agenda of evangelicals, but they are discovering common ground with Catholics on social issues and missions to the world. David Yeago develops a Lutheran understanding of the papal ministry based on the Lutheran-Catholic dialogues in the United States and those sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation. George Weigel, a Roman Catholic layman and author of a new biography of John Paul II, comments on the struggles in American Catholicism arising from tensions between the hierarchical constitution of the church, dominically authorized, and the American experience, democratically founded. Joseph Augustine DiNoia gave the banquet address on "Ecumenism and the New Evangelization in Ut Unum Sint," showing how closely ecumenical work is linked to a passion for evangelization.

(Continues...)

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Table of Contents

	Contributors	vii
	Introduction	1
	Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspective	10
	The Ministry of Primacy and the Communion of Churches	27
	The Papacy and Power: An Anglican Perspective	59
	Ut Unum Sint in Light of "Faith and Order"--or "Faith and Order" in Light of Ut Unum Sint?	76
	The Papal Office and the Burdens of History: A Lutheran View	98
	The Problem of Authority in Evangelical Christianity	124
	The Church's Teaching Authority and the Call for Democracy in North Atlantic Catholicism	142
	Ecumenism and the New Evangelization in Ut Unum Sint	159

Editorial Reviews

Harding Meyer
"Never has a Roman pontiff gone so far as Pope John Paul II in inviting other churches to a 'patient and fraternal dialogue' concerning his office. Here is one of the very first and most stimulating responses to that invitation, wide in range and with excellent contributions. It merits the careful attention of all those who are troubled by or interested in this crucial ecumenical problem."

Timothy George
"A thoughtful, engaging symposium on the most important ecumenical document of our time. Both ecumenically serious and theologically honest, this book is a signal contribution to the ongoing quest for Christian unity."

Worship
"The essays in this fine book testify to the richness of the conversation. The editors describe Church Unity and the Papal Office as 'a kind of thanksgiving offering in appreciation of the pope's effort to promote the unity of all Christians and full communion between the churches'. The contributors should be thanked for a frank dialogue, and the editors for ensuring that it continues. "

Religious Studies Review
"An interesting read for those fascinated by history, ecumenism and the Christian future."

Gabriel Fackre
"A 'must read' for understanding the ecumenical commitments and direction of the Vatican."

Francis Cardinal George
"As Pope John Paul II and his predecessor Paul VI have said, understanding the Petrine ministry of the Bishop of Rome and how it might be exercised in the future is key to the search for Christian unity. Only honest dialogue about where we stand on this question and a sincere openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit will allow progress in fidelity to Christ's will for his people. This book offers an important ecumenical contribution to the present status of the question and careful exploration of possible avenues into a shared future."

New Theology Review
"Braaten and Jenson, well-known ecumenists and theologians in the Lutheran tradition, have edited this impressive collection of essays. . . . The volume is substantive beyond its size and ample beyond its explicit focus. It will be of interest not only to ecumenists but to all concerned with fundamental issues of ecclesiology. . . All in all this is a provocative and rewarding collection that I highly recommend."

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