FightingFat:
…I suppose discension is human, but why would God allow such confusion?
Frustrating!!
I believe that it is an absolutely fatal flaw on our part to think in terms God allowing such confusion. He does not allow it…
we do. In His infinite mercy, He has given us all the tools we need to combat discension amongst ourselves, most important being our free will.
We decide whether we employ His tools or not. So far, we’ve not been very good at it. We’ve managed to grasp onto the tools of the evil one instead - pride, fear, ignorance, anger, and so on - and allowed these things to influence the way we think of unity, or our lack thereof. We cannot choose to allow the influences of the evil one to cloud our free will, and then turn around and blame God for our confusion.
Perhaps we need to re-examine what we mean by the word “unity.” We have an existing model of what “unity” can be already in place within our Catholic Church, yet I cannot help but feel that many Catholic faithful don’t
truly accept what we enjoy within our Church as being an example of “unity.”
Let me explain…
It’s been pointed out many times over on this forum that the Catholic Church is, in actuality, an assembly of 23 separate Churches, each with its own heierarchy, Code of Canon Law and liturgical rites and traditions. We all share a common theology but differ, sometimes rather greatly, in how that theology is expressed. Despite our differences, we are all unified under the pastoral care of the Successor of Peter, JPII the Pope of Rome. Each member of each of these 23 Churches can legitimately claim to be “just as Catholic” as any other member.
This relationship amongst our own Catholic Churches has been referred to as “unity without uniformity” Unity, in this case, does not necessarily imply “doing things the same way.” It means sharing our core Catholic beliefs within the context of our own liturgical traditions… it means not merely
tolerating our differences, but actually
relishing them as an example of the true universal nature of our Church… it means abandoning the mindset that “my way is the
only way to be a Catholic.”
I’ve noted that more than one response in this thread has referred to the thought that
Roman Catholicism and its rites and traditions would be the
only acceptable end toward unification efforts. My friends, what does this say about the nature of our Catholic Church today? To me, it implies a belief that those other 22 Churches that call themselves “Catholic” aren’t
really Catholic. To me it says we’d be better off without them because they don’t do things the “right” way. To me it says that since there are so many of us and so few of them, they should do things our way if they want to call themselves “Catholic.”
It is utterly preposterous to believe that we will ever be able to achieve true Christian unity without first abandoning this mindset. My friends, if we cannot accept and relish in the diversity
already present within our Catholic Church, how can we ever hope to enjoy unity with any of our separated brethren?
If and when unity occurs, it will mean the
expanding of the rich liturgical fabric of our Church,
not the narrowing down of it to one set of rules and forms of theological expression - it will mean unity without uniformity.
Let me give my Latin brethren a very concrete example…
In the Roman Catholic Church, you recite the filioque as part of the Creed - in my Byzantine Catholic Church I do not, *with the full blessing and approval of Rome! * Now, as contrary to your personal beliefs as this may be, I defy you to tell me that I am not a Catholic! Given this, how will you be able to accept that an Orthodox brother or sister seeking unity with our Church will, in all likelihood, continue to recite the Creed sans filioque when I,
who am already a Catholic, do not recite it either?
Please, PLEASE remember, my friends - we’re seeking
unity,
not uniformity.
a pilgrim
God Bless. P/S I understand you want to join us for some tea. That would be great. Dont forget to bring the crumpets. 
