Does it even matter whether you are Catholic or Orthodox?

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Prodigal1984

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The Church through Popes and Bishops more recently seem to refer to the east and the west as the two lungs of Christianity. If that is the case, does the Church no longer try to evangelize Orthodox? Is the Church in essence saying it really doesn’t matter if you are Orthodox and not Catholic?
 
Yes, of course. It’s against charity.
 
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Prodigal1984 said:
If that is the case, does the Church no longer try to evangelize Orthodox? Is the Church in essence saying it really doesn’t matter if you are Orthodox and not Catholic?
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Ecumenism has reunification as it’s goal.

Yes, it matters.
 
Prodigal1984 said:
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Both indifferentism and proselytism are to be avoided.
23. Catholics are invited to respond according to the directives of their pastors, in solidarity and gratitude with the efforts that are being made in many Churches and ecclesial Communities, and in the various organizations in which they cooperate, to reestablish the unity of Christians. Where ecumenical work is not being done, or not being done effectively, Catholics will seek to promote it. Where it is being opposed or hampered by sectarian attitudes and activities that lead to even greater divisions among those who confess the name of Christ, they should be patient and persevering. At times, local Ordinaries,39 Synods of Eastern Catholic Churches 40 and Episcopal Conferences may find it necessary to take special measures to overcome the dangers of indifferentism or proselytism .41

39 In this Directory, when, the term Local Ordinary is used, it also refers to local hierarchies of Eastern Churches in accordance with the terminology in CCEO.
40 The term Synods of Eastern Catholic Churches refers to the higher authorities of Eastern Catholic Churches sui juris as found in CCEO .
41 Cf. Conciliar Declaration Dignitatis Humanae (DH), n. 4: “In spreading religious belief and in introducing religious practices everybody must at all times avoid any action which seems to suggest coercion or dishonest or unworthy persuasion especially when dealing with the uneducated or the poor”. At the same time the Declaration affirms that “religious communities have the further right not to be prevented from publicly teaching and bearing witness to their beliefs by the spoken or written word” (ibidem) .
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http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...993_principles-and-norms-on-ecumenism_en.html
 
Prodigal1984 said:
If that is the case, does the Church no longer try to evangelize Orthodox?
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Read the Balamand Statement.
Prodigal1984 said:
Is the Church in essence saying it really doesn’t matter if you are Orthodox and not Catholic?
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The Church recognizes the Orthodox as True and particular Churches which have valid apostolic succession therefore a valid Eucharist. They are not “outside” of the Church just not in full communion with Rome.

ZP
 
Prodigal1984 said:
The Church through Popes and Bishops more recently seem to refer to the east and the west as the two lungs of Christianity . If that is the case, does the Church no longer try to evangelize Orthodox?
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When the Church speaks of two lungs, East & West, she is talking about Eastern Catholic (Byzantine) & Western Catholic (Latin).

Not the Orthodox Church(es).
 
When I read Ut unum sint it’s seems to me that JPII is speaking of the Eastern Churches in general.

ZP
 
Justin_Mary said:
When the Church speaks of two lungs, East & West, she is talking about Eastern Catholic (Byzantine) & Western Catholic (Latin).

Not the Orthodox Church(es).
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Do you have any sources to prove that?
The eastern lung makes up like 1% of Catholics. I hardly think that warrants a lung.
 
Londoner said:
Eastern Catholic doesn’t only mean Byzantine Rite. There are also Eastern Catholic Churches of the Alexandrian, Armenian, and East and West Syriac Rites.
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True. The point, my point is that the Eastern lung is not the Orthodox Church, but Eastern Catholic churches.
 
It’s more accurate to say that both the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox are in an imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. The fact that both those communions (Eastern and Oriental) have valid sacraments demonstrates that there is still some sort of communion. After all, sacraments simply can’t exist outside of the Church by definition.
 
ziapueblo said:
When I read Ut unum sint it’s seems to me that JPII is speaking of the Eastern Churches in general.
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Not in the same sense the original poster infers.
In this perspective an expression which I have frequently employed finds its deepest meaning: the Church must breathe with her two lungs! In the first millennium of the history of Christianity, this expression refers primarily to the relationship between Byzantium and Rome. From the time of the Baptism of Rus’ it comes to have an even wider application: evangelization spread to a much vaster area, so that it now includes the entire Church. If we then consider that the salvific event which took place on the banks of the Dnieper goes back to a time when the Church in the East and the Church in the West were not divided, we understand clearly that the vision of the full communion to be sought is that of unity in legitimate diversity.
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Prodigal1984 said:
Do you have any sources to prove that?
The eastern lung makes up like 1% of Catholics. I hardly think that warrants a lung .
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Read Orientale Lumen and try getting back to us with something consistent with Papal teaching 🙂 :roll_eyes:
 
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