ECUMINISM

[HagiaSophia]

In discussing ecumenical relations I found a piece written by Peter John Vere, JCL/M (Canon Law) in which he attempts to reconcile what the council fathers meant, the differences with regard to specific faiths, and defines ecumenism as:

"To address the issue, of course, we first have to understand how the Church defines ecumenism. Basically, ecumenism is the spiritual dialogue and activity in which the Church engages with other Christians. “Other Christians” in this context is understood to mean validly baptized non-Catholics.

This means, for example, that Catholic-Orthodox dialogue or Catholic-Anglican dialogue constitutes ecumenism, because both Anglicans and the Orthodox are validly baptized non-Catholic Christians. But ecumenism doesn’t cover Catholic-Islamic dialogue or Catholic-Hindu dialogue, because Muslims and Hindus don’t baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity. The Church describes this kind of spiritual activity with non-Christian religions as “interfaith dialogue.”

While we’re defining terms, we should note that when dealing with common worship among Catholics and other Christians, we must distinguish between communicatio in sacris (sharing in the sacraments), and the more general communicatio in spiritualibus (sharing in common prayer)…"

catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?RecNum=6056

 

[bengal_fan]

thank you for saying it. i have noticed also that some have been confused by the term “ecumenism”.

 

[HagiaSophia]

bengal_fan:

thank you for saying it. i have noticed also that some have been confused by the term “ecumenism”.

Including yours truly , it seems to be like “the spirit of Vatican II” - used to cover any and all contingencies, when in fact it has a very specific meaning in church documents and statements. I was glad to find it so I can use it for future reference.

 

[Easter_Dates]

Take a small step towards Christian Unity.

There is a petition to unite the Dates of Easter at www.onedate.org that Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox would celebrate this Feast of Feasts all on One Date.

 

[bpbasilphx]

There is a petition to unite the Dates of Easter at www.onedate.org that Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox would celebrate this Feast of Feasts all on One Date.

Since the computation of Pascha for the Orthodox (and I might add, many Eastern Catholics as well) is dependent upon rules laid down by an Ecumenical Council, as far as the Orthodox are concerned, nothing less than another Ecumenical Council can change it–if at all.

 

[Easter_Dates]

The Orthodox have acknowledged the Pope as being the first amongst equals in the Ravenna document, as Catholics we should build on this and give them the Easter Date!

It would be an act of humility on our part and help to build trust.

 

[w_stewart]

How does the Church engage with the Jehova’s Witnesses, Mormons, the cultic Iglesia ni Cristo founded by Manalo in the Philippines? Is the Church having dialogues with these groups?

 

[Alexius]

The Orthodox have acknowledged the Pope as being the first amongst equals in the Ravenna document, as Catholics we should build on this and give them the Easter Date!

It would be an act of humility on our part and help to build trust.

Yes, first among equals, which is exactly what they believed before…It’s a good motive, but I do not think it would help much…

Prayers and petitions,
Alexius

 

[bpbasilphx]

I caught an ecumenicist; I kept him in my yard.
I kept him fed on sugar beets, with olive oil and lard.

And so it goes (with such cute words as “ecumeniquivocation”) and ends

But every time I turned occurred another cataclysm:
My ecumenicist had bred another ecumenischism.

 

[Eric_Hyom]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

We are stuck with one God and that means the God who created me and gave me a faith through Catholicism, also created people who are atheist, Hindu Muslim etc. If God loves every one as a Father loves a son then we are all brothers and sisters together despite our differences.

So how do we love people of other faiths as we love ourselves? Do we call this ecumenism or interfaith relations, how should we relate to people of other faiths who are each created by the God who created me?

In the spirit of praying for peace on Earth

Eric

 

[peary]

"To address the issue, of course, we first have to understand how the Church defines ecumenism. Basically, ecumenism is the spiritual dialogue and activity in which the Church engages with other Christians. “Other Christians” in this context is understood to mean validly baptized non-Catholics.

RecNum=6056

Ecumenism is actually another term for ‘apologetics’, in my opinion.

 

[mardukm]

Dear brother Basil,

Since the computation of Pascha for the Orthodox (and I might add, many Eastern Catholics as well) is dependent upon rules laid down by an Ecumenical Council, as far as the Orthodox are concerned, nothing less than another Ecumenical Council can change it–if at all.

It’s changed before. It can change again. Of course, I really don’t care that Christians celebrate it on the same day. Church history since Pope St. Victor indicates that the Churches can get along quite well without having the same date as Easter.

Of course, if an ecumenical council ever does change the dates, I would readily submit.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[bobzills]

There is a petition to unite the Dates of Easter at www.onedate.org that Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox would celebrate this Feast of Feasts all on One Date.

Since the computation of Pascha for the Orthodox (and I might add, many Eastern Catholics as well) is dependent upon rules laid down by an Ecumenical Council, as far as the Orthodox are concerned, nothing less than another Ecumenical Council can change it–if at all.

This is a good idea, but why not just adopt the Orthodox method of calculation and that will solve the problem, won’t it?