opinion poll: WHAT IS ECUMENISM?

[UKcatholicGuy]

Without reading any official teachings on the subject, what do you think the Church means by “ecumenism”?

 

[tom.wineman]

How can you come to an understanding without official teaching ?

The Catechism says this about that:

**816 **“The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . . This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.”

The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.” and

**821 **Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call:

• a permanent *renewal *of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity;
• conversion of heart as the faithful “try to live holier lives according to the Gospel”; for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ’s gift which causes divisions;
• prayer in common, because “change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;”’

-* fraternal knowledge of each other*;

• ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;
• *dialogue *among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities; - *collaboration *among Christians in various areas of service to mankind. “Human service” is the idiomatic phrase.

 

[Exporter]

The original post was, “Without reading any official teachings on the subject, what do you think the Church means by “ecumenism”?”

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What does the Church men by “ecumenism”?

1. To bring the Eastern and the Greek Churches back into the foal.
2. To contenue spreading the True Faith.
3. To strenghten the Roman Catholic Faith among the laity and the Priests.

 

[tom.wineman]

Exporter:

The original post was, “Without reading any official teachings on the subject, what do you think the Church means by “ecumenism”?”

---

What does the Church men by “ecumenism”?

1. To bring the Eastern and the Greek Churches back into the foal.
2. To contenue spreading the True Faith.
3. To strenghten the Roman Catholic Faith among the laity and the Priests.

Without official teaching opinions are so much B S.

 

[Deacon_Tony560]

There is one, who personified ecumenism-Our late pope-John Paul THE Great.

Deacon Tony

 

[Mystophilus]

How can you come to an understanding without official teaching ?

Well, students and scholars of all kinds seem to have been managing it for thousands of years, so I think that I might give it a shot. While re-inventing the wheel may be a waste of time, so too is researching the theory of gravity before dropping a ball.

 

[Mystophilus]

UKcatholicGuy:

Without reading any official teachings on the subject, what do you think the Church means by “ecumenism”?

I would suggest that it might be inaccurate to claim that the Church (as a whole) ever means anything. While the hierarchy may be capable of unified pronouncements (and even then see Cardinal Schonborn and Father Coyne on evolution), belief within the 1 000 000 000-strong Catholic population is not homogeneous.

What I hope that the Church (as a whole and in its parts) wants is genuine interfaith dialogue, with the understanding that, as mere humans, we are all very, very good at being wrong.

 

[TNT]

This is gonna cause some hate speech, which, if it occurs, I forgive you and or your ignorance.

Modern (since VAT II) Dialogue: Spiritual fornication
Modern (since VAT II) Ecumenism: Spiritual contraception aka Spiritual New Birth control.

The effect of this Ecumenism: The destructon of internal unity in the false hope of an undefined external unity.

Thank God that CA practices the OLD ecumenism…aka True conversion oriented apologetics.
I wonder how often the word “apologetics” is used in the past 40 years of Church documents relating to dialogue or ecumenism.
Same goes for “converts to the Church” phrase. Or “conversion to the Catholic Faith”. Or “return to the True Church”?
Finally, I wonder how often The last 35 years of popes even used the word “Catholic” in speeches and universal Encyclicals.

 

[TNT]

Exporter:

The original post was, “Without reading any official teachings on the subject, what do you think the Church means by “ecumenism”?”

---

What does the Church men by “ecumenism”?

1. To bring the Eastern and the Greek Churches back into the fold
   Utter Failure. (witness the diatribes of recent date by the EO “pariarchs”.)
2. To continue spreading the True Faith.
   Utter Failure. (Witness the comments by JPII & B16 on the Faith of European Continent in final twilight.)
3. To strenghten the Roman Catholic Faith among the laity and the Priests.
   Utter Failure. (Witness the loss of Church attendence, belief in Real Presence, disappearing priesthood, abusive “masses”, non-existent convents)

Therefore, Ecumenism means Utter Failure of it own professed goals.Or, at least the goals you listed.
The reason being is that these are not its goals at all, but mere camuflage to deceive the True Catholic.

 

[Jaypeeto2]

For a true view of ecumenism,

read the encylical MORTALIUM ANIMOS of Pope Pius the Eleventh. It is available at vatican.va

Love, jaypeeto2

 

[HagiaSophia]

A current news story on the subject:

Citing Pope Benedict XVI’s statement that moves towards Christian unity are irreversible, Parramatta Bishop Kevin Manning has cautioned those who regard themselves as model Catholics while “pay[ing] scant attention to the Church’s teachings on ecumenism”.

Bishop Manning has written in the August issue of the Dicoesan newspaper Catholic Outlook that hostility to Church teaching on ecumenism was highlighted recently when one of his priests reported that a parisioner had compained about his preaching on the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, in his Sunday homily.

The objection was: “We only want the true faith preached here!”

Bishop Manning commented: “Sadly, I found the objection not unique for there are people who wouldn’t dare ‘tell lies or be disobedient’, yet pay scant attention to the Church’s teachings on ecumenism.”

cathnews.com/news/508/74.php

 

[TNT]

HagiaSophia:

…Citing Pope Benedict XVI’s statement that moves towards Christian unity are irreversible, Parramatta Bishop Kevin Manning has cautioned those who regard themselves as model Catholics while “pay[ing] scant attention to the Church’s teachings on ecumenism”.
, Pius XI
Bishop Manning has written in the August issue of the Dicoesan newspaper Catholic Outlook that hostility to Church teaching on ecumenism was highlighted recently when one of his priests reported that a parishioner had complained about his preaching on the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, in his Sunday homily.

The objection was: “We only want the true faith preached here!”
[See Syllabus of Errors], BLESSED Pius IX
[Really, he was declared Blessed by JPII. Surely they were giving veneration to one of his more important ex-cathedra? writings]
[Also, Satis cognitum], Leo XII
Bishop Manning commented: “Sadly, I found the objection not unique for there are people who wouldn’t dare ‘tell lies or be disobedient’, yet pay scant attention to the Church’s teachings on ecumenism.”
, SAINT Pius X
cathnews.com/news/508/74.php

In addition:
Pius VIII
Pius XII
Clement V
Eugene IV
Church Doctors
Church Fathers
Scripture
And last but not least:
May St John the Baptist Protect Islam, JPII

 

[twiztedseraph]

I am under the distinct impression that Ecumenism in the Church’s understanding is to turn everyone Catholic.