11E Ecumenism

8A: Five Key Differences between the Catholic Church and other Churches There are areas of belief where the Catholic Church differs from some other Churches and ecclesial communities.

Scripture, Tradition and AuthorityThe writers of the New Testament Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit, recorded and expressed the Church's faith. This faith had been lived and proclaimed by the believing communities in the early decades after Jesus' death and Resurrection. These Scriptures set the standard for the Christian faith. However, the Catholic Church believes that the Scriptures are not enough on their own, because the Scriptures arose from and expressed the living Tradition of the Church. Tradition is what was handed on by the apostles. It is made up of everything that serves to make the people of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way, the Church, in its doctrine, life and worship, keeps alive and hands on to every generation, all that the church is, all that it believes.

It was the Church itself which made a judgement as to which of the many writings that came from the time of the Apostles were to be regarded as inspired scripture and which were not. This final decision was not made until the end of the 4th century.

Scripture and Tradition form one source of divine revelation.

The Catholic Church seeks always to preserve the truths contained in Scripture and Tradition. It believes its bishops have the authority through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make this judgement, on behalf of the believing community. Most Christian communities do not recognise the connection between the Scriptures, Tradition and the authority of the Church which is empowered to interpret authentically the meaning of both.

TASKRead the text above and decide which of the following statements are true and which are false.

1 Scripture is a source of divine revelation. True /False

2 The early Church accepted all the writings that came down from the time of the apostles as ‘inspired' Scripture. True/False

3 The early Church did not take long to come to a decision about what was inspired writing and what was not. True/False

4 The Scriptures arose from and expressed the living Tradition of the Church. True/False

5 Some Christian Churches believe that Scripture is the only source of divine revelation. True/False

6 For Catholics, Tradition and Scripture together form one source or "deposit" of divine revelation. True/False

7 The Council of Nicea in 325AD affirmed that Jesus is truly God and truly man. True/False

ECCLESICAL COMMUNITIES

Ecclesial Communities: Christian groups which do not regard themselves as a Church, eg: Salvation Army

11E Ecumenism

Mary and the SaintsThe Catholic Church has always venerated Mary and given her a special place in the Church because she is the Mother of Jesus, the Christ. The Church also considers Mary to be the greatest of all the Saints because in her life she showed that she was a woman of faith. She responded fully to what God called her to be and to do. She lived the Christian life to the full. Mary is therefore an inspiration for the whole Church.

Like Mary, each Christian is also called to be a "Christ-bearer" to the world, to be a person of faith and holiness and to respond fully to God's love as Mary did.

Apart from the Orthodox Churches who have a great veneration for Mary, many other Christian denominations have reservations about some of the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning Mary and the Saints. Their genuine concern comes from the following reasons:

Other Christian Denominations The Catholic ResponseThey believe that Christians are not required to believe any teachings which are not explicitly taught in the Scriptures. In their view, many of the Catholic teachings about Mary and the Saints go beyond Scripture.

Scripture is not the only source of Revelation. There is also Tradition. We saw from our study of Scripture, Tradition and Authority, that the Church constantly seeks to grow in understanding of the true message in the Scriptures by reflection on the faith experience of the believing community (called to be saints). For example: In the Gospel of St Luke, God's messenger greeted Mary as "highly favoured". Over the years, the Church's growing understanding of what this really means regarding Mary is reflected in its teachings about Mary.

Some Christian denominations are also concerned that too much veneration given to Mary could take away the devotion that is due to Jesus, the Christ, who alone holds a supreme and unique place in the Church. Some people even believe that Catholics actually worship Mary

Only God may be worshipped and adored! Not Mary or any other created being. With regard to the relationship between Jesus and Mary, the Church teaches that the Mother cannot be dissociated from her son. This belief has been reflected in the lives of the Saints over centuries. Whenever the Church professes its faith in Mary, it is professing its faith in Jesus, the Christ, eg: Mary is called "Mother of God" reflecting the Church's belief that Jesus is fully divine and human. The Rosary is a meditation on the life of Jesus in union with Mary. Every other Catholic teaching about Mary is an affirmation about the Church's faith in Jesus, the Christ. The Vatican II Council Fathers called her "Mother of the Church" (the Body of Christ). Mary leads the believer to Jesus who is our way to God. Mary was never meant to replace, to overshadow or to obstruct the worship that is due to God alone in Jesus, the Christ.

TASKWrite an article for a youth magazine that presents what Catholics believe about Mary. Use images and quotes from Scripture to support your case.

11E Ecumenism Ordained MinistryAccording to Catholic tradition, the Bishop has the authority to act in the name of the Church and in turn to empower others as priests with this same authority. The Church believes that Christ himself gave this authority to the apostles and their successor, the Bishops, through the ages until today. This "handing on" of the authority to act in the name and person of Christ from Bishop to Bishop is called "apostolic succession". This is rather like inheriting a special gift from our ancestors which we then hand on to our descendants.

In the Catholic Church, no individual can take on the authority to act and speak in the name and person of Christ in this special ministry unless he is called to it by the Church through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Candidates attend a seminary for priestly training which takes about seven years.

A candidate is ordained when the Bishop lays his hands on him and prays over him for the descent of the Holy Spirit during the special prayer of ordination. He thus "hands on to the priest" - "tradition" - Christ's power and thus the authority to act and speak in the person of Christ.

Everyone who is baptised already shares in the priesthood of Christ. Their special role as a consecrated, priestly people is to worship God, to live holy lives and to share in the Church's mission.

As an ordained priest acting in the name and person of Christ, the priest’s special ministry is to gather the community's worship into unity. He is also given the authority by the Church to preside over this worship; he is to preach the Word and to ensure that Christ's word is made present in the midst of the community. For example: He is authorised to speak in Christ's name ("This is my Body ..," "Your sins are forgiven"). He is also called and authorised to supervise and co-ordinate the gift of others in the Church.

The commitment that the priest made to Christ and to Christ's Body, the Church, on his ordination day requires that he remains unmarried. Although some of the apostles were married (eg: St Peter) there has been a long tradition in the Latin Church to have unmarried (celibate) priests in imitation of Christ himself. They undertake this "for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven" (see Matthew 19:12). This discipline however has not the status of a dogma and so could be changed at some future stage of the Church's life.

TASK1. Record six main points about ordained ministry in the Catholic Church. 2. Read I Corinthians 12:4-11. Complete a mind-map showing how different gifts in the Church are exercised and by whom.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lordand there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

The Authority of the PopeThe visit

of Ordained Ministry and Other Christian Traditions

Not all Christian Churches and ecclesial communities see the necessity for ordained ministry, as does the Catholic Church. The Orthodox Churches share the same ordained ministry, as the Catholic Church. Anglicans are closer to the Catholic position than most and maintain a three-fold ministry of Bishop, priest and deacon. Lutherans believe that ordination is a rite where a qualified person is declared a minister of sacrament and word. They do not believe that ordination is a sacrament. The Presbyterians require a person who has done the necessary studies and licensed by his/her presbytery, to be called by a congregation before such a person is ordained. The evangelical position is that ordination is not necessary. Any member of the Church can be designated to minister to others.

11E Ecumenism Pope John Paul II to New Zealand in 1986 was a major event in the Church in this country. Catholics as well as other people turned out in large crowds to see this person who held such an influential position not only in the Church but in the world scene as well. Some came out of faith and others, out of curiosity. The question might well have been asked: How did this man get to be Pope and why is he so important in the Catholic Church? The Pope is a bishop like other bishops. He is elected to the position of "Bishop of Rome" by a conclave of Cardinals representing many countries, called "The College of Cardinals".

As Bishop of Rome, the Catholic Church sees him as having the same role among the Bishops of the Church as Peter had among the apostles. This belief is rooted in the Scriptures and the early life of the Church. Peter's role as the centre of unity for the Church continued to matter even after his death. Some of the Scripture passages recorded between 65AD-9OAD and which relate to Peter, were written after his death:

Matthew 16:17-18 - “You are a rock.. .on which I will build my Church" Luke 22:32 - Jesus prays for Simon Peter.. .in turn Peter is to strengthen his brothers and sisters John 21:15-17 - Jesus asks Peter to take care of his (Jesus') sheep.

The Pope's main role is as teacher in service to the unity of the Church and as support to local Bishops.

During the Eucharist, which is the central prayer of the Church, Catholics pray for the Pope and their local Bishop as a sign of their unity with the universal Church. Some of the Eastern Churches who are not in communion with Rome, view the role of the Bishop of Rome differently. They recognize the Pope only as a "first among equals" and as one who gives moral leadership.

InfallibilityWhenever a dispute or doubt about faith or morals arises in the Church for example: regarding the Scriptures, creeds, liturgy and prayer life of the Church, the Catholic Church teaches that the Pope who will naturally consult others, may teach infallibly and hence definitively what is true. This is what is meant by saying that the Pope is infallible. This applies only when the Pope, as supreme head and pastor of the Church, makes a deliberate pronouncement on a matter of faith or morals and, in so doing, clearly intends to bind the whole Church in a definitive way.

The Teaching Authority of the ChurchChrist promised the Church that he would preserve it in the truth, and the responsibility of teaching the truth lies ultimately with the body of Bishops, called the "magisterium". Those who teach must also learn from the whole Church: from the Church of the past as well as from the Church of the present.

It is the responsibility of every- one in the Church to strive for the truth and to reflect on their own life experience and to evaluate all this in the light of Christian revelation. However, the Pope and the bishops have a special role to play in discerning how the truth of Scripture and Tradition apply to the life of the whole Church in today’s world.

The Catholic Church remains open to ecumenical discussion, not on the Popes role which is a reality of faith with its roots in the role given by Christ to Peter, but on how it may be exercised today in a way that may be closer to the style of the Gospel.

TASK1. Read John 21:15-19 - Appearance on Shore of Tiberias, Matthew 20: 24-28 - Leadership with Service, Matthew 16:13-20 -

Peter’s profession of Faith. a. Describe what the gospels say about the kind of leadership and service Peter and those who succeed him should

exercise.b. Write a letter to the Pope telling him what you would like to see changed in his role to make it closer to the style of

the Gospel 2. Read Acts 15. Compare the role of Peter as leader in the early Church, to the role of the Pope in the Church today. For

example The Pope often takes the initiative in making statements for the well-being of the world’s peoples.

Eucharist

11E Ecumenism Everything the Catholic Church believes about the Eucharist hinges on the risen Christ being really present in the sacrament. Catholics gather to celebrate Jesus' presence and, in communion, to receive him into their lives. Or, more correctly, it is the Holy Spirit who gathers them into union with Christ to share in his relationship with "the Father".

It is through baptism that Christians enter into this new relationship with God. The Eucharist helps this relationship to grow.

For Catholics, Eucharist is the sacrament of real union with Christ. Real union presupposes Christ's real presence.

Through being one with Christ, Christian worship becomes acceptable to God. Through union with Christ, Christians become his Body, the Church. Through union with him whose Body was "given up" and whose blood was "poured out", Christians are committed to being given up and poured out "for others".

The Eucharist has been the subject of misunderstanding and division amongst Christians since the Reformation. The Protestant emphasis on the word of God was often neglected among Catholics, while the Catholic emphasis on the presence of Christ in the sacrament tended to be neglected by Protestants. But both emphasised the presence of Christ in the hearts of believers.

For Catholics, Christ's presence in the Eucharist does not depend on the faith of the individual that Christ is present. Christ is present through the power of the Sacrament itself. However, there is a life-giving encounter only when the Body of Christ really, truly and substantially present in the Sacrament, is received in faith.

“Protestant Christians emphasised that the Eucharist was a meal; Catholics emphasised that it was a sacrifice. To separate these two aspects is to miss the point. The idea of "covenant" helps us to understand: the Eucharist is a sacrifice precisely because it is the meal through which we take part in "the new covenant", which was brought about by Christ's death. Through this meal, we are united with Christ and with His mission of giving life to all."

Bishop Cullinane TASKA In your Workbook answer True or False eg: 1 (T)

1. Without Christ’s Resurrection there would be no Eucharist.

2. The Eucharist is not a community celebration. It involves primarily an individual and his/her personal relationship with God, through Christ.

3. Catholics believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist.

4. The Eucharist, which is a symbol of unity, has always been a means of bringing Christians together.

5. In the Eucharist, Christians share in the relationship which Christ has with the Father.

6. The Eucharist means attending Mass. It has nothing to do with one’s daily living.

7. The Eucharist nurtures the relationship with God which Christians have through Baptism

B. A non-Christian asks you what the following statement means. Explain as simply as you can, giving some concrete examplesto illustrate your answer.“Through union with Christ (in the Eucharist) Christians become his Body, the Church. Through union with him whose Body was “given up” and whose blood was “poured out”, Christians are committed to being given up and “poured out”, Christians are committed to being given up and poured out “for others”.

C. Read 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:23-27. Make a poster illustrating an idea from the readings.