Earle Simpson, ContributorTHE POST-MODERN society in which we live does not require us to entirely agree. It simply requires us to disagree where we cannot agree. But "can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). To agree is "to have the same opinion about something." (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition). Post-modern interpretation has taken the meaning of this word, as it has many other concepts, to its most ridiculous if not asinine conclusion. Can two have the same opinion about not having the same opinion? Clearly this is going to present some difficulties. Nothing, though, that post-modern pluralism will not accommodate.
When Jesus prayed to His Father "that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:22), He was clearly not praying for His Disciples to agree to disagree. Acts 2:1 says that on the day of Pentecost, the Disciples reached the "accord", this harmony, for which Jesus prayed. Today we can have the assurance that we are included in the oneness for which Jesus prayed. (John 17:20). We can further be assured that it is quite different from that of which Pope John Paul II describe as "unity in legitimate diversity." (Ut Unum Sint, para. 57). To bring home his point, the Pope quotes John 17:22, but obviously this is a pretext to his more ambitious concept of ecumenism.
Pope John Paul II says that "to believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church." (Ut Unum Sint. p.9). But are not all Christians a part of the church? Not according to the Papacy. Prior to the Second Vatican Council (November 21, 1964), the church of Christ was the Catholic Church. Now, and in the spirit of ecumenism, "this Church constituted and organised in the world as a society, 'subsists in' the Catholic Church." (Lumen Gentium. Para. 8). Therefore, a desire for unity is a desire for the Catholic Church.
Ecumenism, then, is a call by the Catholic Church for the "other churches" to unite under the Magisterium of the Roman Church. It is, according to Cardinal Walter Casper, in his prolosio to the 2000 session of the Pontifical Council for promoting Church Unity, "the open and shared Catholic identity...the significance of Catholicity in the profound sense of the term." Up to the point of the Second Vatican Council, the quest to quench the insatiable thirst for Christian unity seemed elusive. This elusiveness became the fuel that drove both the formation of and the work of Vatican II. "At Vatican II, the Catholic Church committed herself irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture..." (Ut Unum Sint, p.3).
The objectives of ecumenism, the Pope states in his ecumenical Encyclical, Ut Unum Sint, are: (1) a full understanding of "the relationship between Sacred Scripture...and Sacred Tradition." (p.79), (2) accepting that "the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ...and the sanctifying outpouring of the Holy Spirit." (p.79), (3) accepting "Ordination as a Sacrament, to the threefold ministry of the episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate." (p.79), (4) accepting "the Magisterium of the Church, entrusted to the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him..." (p.79), and (5) societies. Implied also in the meaning of this concept is the intention both to respect differences and to identify what we share.
As a result of the pluralism concept, the job of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has been made easy. The WCC, without difficulty was able to get most if not all denominations to agree to waive the different doctrines and teach only those beliefs that are common. However, careful scrutiny of this compromise shows that it is one sided. While the other Christians are teaching the common beliefs, the Catholic Church extends its doctrinal reach by infiltrating her uncommon beliefs in the schools of theology. According to the Pope, "...in schools of theology where future ministers are trained, courses in the history and significance of the liturgy are beginning to be part of the curriculum in response to a newly discovered need." (p.45). News to which he delightfully exclaimed, "a century ago who could even imagine such a thing?" (p.45)
With the communities and churches now concentrating on teaching the common doctrines, the problem of the diversity could then be properly looked at. The interpretation of the word of God is the origin of these diversities. To avert a reversion a common translation must be had. "Anyone who recalls how heavily debates about Scripture influenced divisions...can appreciate the significant step forward which...common translations represent." (p.44). The council recognised this and so urgent and serious work was done along this line.
Organisations such as the Catholic Bible Federation, the United Biblical Societies and the Universal Biblical Alliance, co-ordinate the work on the "ecumenical translation" of the Bible. Several books of the Bible including the entire New Testament (Parola del Signore) have already been interconfessionally translated and distributed in large numbers.
To be continued...
