M
Mickey_Jackson
Guest
Reading about Pope Benedict’s recent efforts, God bless him, to achieve reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, I’m wondering why a similar approach cannot be used to achieve unity with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In the 1980s, then-Cardinal Ratzinger came very close to signing an agreement with the SSPX, stipulating that the Society would return to Communion with Rome and be allowed to retain its own Bishops and priests. A committee comprised of, I believe, seven Vatican theologians and two SSPX priests would then sit down and hash out the doctrinal disagreements between Catholic doctrine and the ideas of the SSPX. The idea, as I understand it, was that since the SSPX had valid priests and Bishops and thus valid sacraments, it would be permissible to return them to full Communion with the Church even with unresolved doctrinal issues.
Now, we know that the Eastern Orthodox Churches have valid Bishops and priests, and we know that their Sacraments are valid. The sole reasons for the separation between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, then, are issues of doctrine, most prominently the filioque clause. Wouldn’t it seem like a good idea, then, to do the same thing with them as with the SSPX? Of course, the Orthodox would have to agree to this; there is a strong possibility that, like the SSPX, they will reject even this moderate and prudent solution. Indeed, if memory serves, the Council of Florence came exceedingly close to achieving unity with a compromise statement on the filioque (the Catholic and Orthodox representatives agreed to stipulate that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son), but the Orthdox said no to it it at the last minute. Still, isn’t it worth a try?
What are your thoughts?
In the 1980s, then-Cardinal Ratzinger came very close to signing an agreement with the SSPX, stipulating that the Society would return to Communion with Rome and be allowed to retain its own Bishops and priests. A committee comprised of, I believe, seven Vatican theologians and two SSPX priests would then sit down and hash out the doctrinal disagreements between Catholic doctrine and the ideas of the SSPX. The idea, as I understand it, was that since the SSPX had valid priests and Bishops and thus valid sacraments, it would be permissible to return them to full Communion with the Church even with unresolved doctrinal issues.
Now, we know that the Eastern Orthodox Churches have valid Bishops and priests, and we know that their Sacraments are valid. The sole reasons for the separation between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, then, are issues of doctrine, most prominently the filioque clause. Wouldn’t it seem like a good idea, then, to do the same thing with them as with the SSPX? Of course, the Orthodox would have to agree to this; there is a strong possibility that, like the SSPX, they will reject even this moderate and prudent solution. Indeed, if memory serves, the Council of Florence came exceedingly close to achieving unity with a compromise statement on the filioque (the Catholic and Orthodox representatives agreed to stipulate that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son), but the Orthdox said no to it it at the last minute. Still, isn’t it worth a try?
What are your thoughts?