Introduction

In the 1880s, Ellen White predicted that at the end of time, the Roman Catholic Church would become a powerful political establishment and that many Protestants would join her to impose certain religious restrictions on the world.¹ In a surprising statement she stated, "And [Catholicism] is the religion which Protestants are beginning to look upon with so much favor, and which will eventually be united with Protestantism. This union will not, however, be effected by a change in Catholicism, for Rome never changes. She claims infallibility. It is Protestantism that will change. The adoption of liberal ideas on its part will bring it where it can clasp the hand of Catholicism."²

Contextually, in the 1880s, such a prediction appeared to be unbelievable. At the time, the Catholic Church was far from being a political superpower and had lost much of its prestige and political strength. In general, people did not believe that the Catholic Church could one day dominate the world. In fact, at the time, the Catholic Church lived in isolation and refused contacts with other religious organizations. The Protestant world for its part was entrenched in an unyielding anti-Catholic rhetoric that undermined any attempt at any resurgence of power for Catholics in countries where the population was predominantly Protestant.

How did the Catholic Church move from such isolation to become today a dominant force in the ecumenical movement?

Before addressing this question, two other points should be made. The first has to do with the traditional self-understanding of the Catholic Church. The relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to all other Christian churches and to the ecumenical movement is regulated by the belief that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ, witnessed to in the Creeds, and governed by the successor of Peter subsists in its fullness only in itself. This self-understanding claim was certainly made at the time of Ellen White and has not changed since then.³ Therefore, all church unity depends upon the recognition of this claim either by individual adhesion or by the corporate reconciliation of whole groups of people or churches to the Catholic Church.

A second point to keep in mind is how the Roman Catholic Church has related to dissent and other Christian religious groups through the centuries, and how this has changed in the last century or two. In the centuries when the Catholic Church was a dominant political power its general reaction to theological dissent was persecution of perceived offenders and isolation of groups from the social fabric of their communities. Its intended goal was to keep opponents or challengers from having full participation in the social, political and economic life of a country or region. This is basically what happened with medieval groups such as the Knights Templar, the Albigenses, and the Waldenses.

Once the Catholic Church lost much of its political power in the 18th and 19th centuries, it isolated itself from other Christian groups and basically looked upon other Christians as heretics, emphasizing that they needed to return to the Catholic Church if they ever dreamed of being saved by God. Such an approach, well into the 20th century, was called an ecumenism of return. After Vatican II, however, much of the prior centuries’ approach to other Christian groups (persecution, isolation and ecumenism of return) changed drastically and the Catholic Church began to emphasize a form of reconciliation with other churches based on an ecumenism of fellowship (koinonia), no longer requiring a complete return to Rome, but one that would at least accept its basic self-identity claim.⁴

It is therefore fascinating to study this transformation of the Roman Catholic Church’s attitude toward the ecumenical movement. This paper will continue with a historical description of how the Roman Catholic Church related to the beginning of the ecumenical movement before Vatican II, what changes were initiated at Vatican II, and what has happened since then. From an attitude of isolation from other Christians, the Roman Catholic Church has now become the dominant entity in the ecumenical movement and sees its participation in the movement as a form of witness and evangelism.

Early Twentieth Century

The years before Vatican II exemplify the Roman Catholic attitude of isolation from all other churches. The only type of ecumenical relationship it could consider is an ecumenism of return.

World Missionary Conference (Edinburgh, 1910)

The birthplace of the modern ecumenical movement came as an unassuming result of the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910. Although the conference was a meeting of representatives of missionary societies to learn from each other how to do a better work in spreading the gospel to all the world, the goodwill and generous association exemplified by these various leaders of different church communities deeply touched a large number of attendees. And although discussions on the unity of the church had not been the intent of the conference, it nonetheless came up during the conference.

Following the Edinburgh Conference, three developments occurred that furthered the development of the modern ecumenical movement. Typically, three pathways or avenues prepared the way for the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948. Some of the delegates at the Edinburgh Conference believed that their work on missiology should continue and they formed the International Missionary Council which held its first congress in Lake Mohonk, New York, in 1921. Other delegates believed in the formation of an organization that would discuss practical questions of social issues facing the churches at the time. Thus began the Life and Work Commission which held its first conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1925.

A third pathway to the formation of the World Council of Churches, and the one that concerns us most in this paper, was the formation of the Commission on Faith and Order to study doctrinal questions between churches. Its first conference was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1927.

Benedict XV (1914-1922)

As the ecumenical movement grew in the first half of the twentieth century, after the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, the Roman Catholic leadership’s initial reaction to the movement was one of antipathy and aversion. It considered itself as the only expression of the true Church of Christ and did not intend on discussing the unity of the Church with religious groups that had caused its rupture. Between 1910 and the early 1950s, popes repeatedly refused to even consider sending observers to meetings of the Commission on Faith and Order and to the first two assemblies of the World Council of Churches.⁵

Following Edinburgh, a few Anglican bishops took to heart the formation of a Conference on questions of faith and church organization and inquired into the level of the interest of other churches in this endeavour. These leaders contacted the Vatican as well to invite the participation of Roman Catholic representatives.

In the summer 1914, Robert Gardiner, secretary of the Joint commission to prepare the first Conference on Faith and Order, wrote to Cardinal Gasparri to inform him and Pope Benedict XV of the proposed conference and to invite them to name some representatives. In his response, Benedict XV expressed his appreciation for this invitation and wished the conference much success while emphasizing that the Pope, the one to whom Christ has entrusted his flock, is the source and cause of the unity of the church. In other words, thank you for the invitation but Roman Catholic participation won’t be possible.

The beginning of World War I interrupted the preparation for this Conference. After World War I, the organizers of the first Conference on Faith and Order again called on Benedict XV again and invited Roman Catholic Church participation. In May 1919, during a visit at the Vatican, the Pope again made clear that the Roman Catholic Church could not participate in this project. His response clearly assumed an ecumenism of return.

The Holy Father, after having thanked them for their visit, stated that as successor of St Peter and Vicar of Christ he had no greater desire than that there should be one fold and one shepherd. His Holiness added that the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the unity of the visible Church of Christ was well known to everybody and therefore it would not be possible for the Catholic Church to take part in such a Congress as the one proposed. His Holiness, however, by no means wishes to disapprove of the Congress in question for those who are not in union with the Chair of Peter, on the contrary, he earnestly desires and prays that, if the Congress is practicable, those who take part in it may, by the Grace of God, see the light and become reunited to the visible Head of the Church, by whom they will be received with open arms.⁶

Pius XI (1922-1939)

When Pius XI became pope in 1922 the same isolation from other churches persisted. While final preparations were being made for the first Conference on Faith and Order in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the summer 1927, he issued a decree in which he categorically forbade Roman Catholics from attending the event.

A few months after the Conference, Pius XI published the encyclical Mortalium Animos (1928) reiterating the same position. With this encyclical, the Pope sent a cold breeze on the ecumenical hopes of churches. It seemed that the heretical movement of modernism, condemned by papal decree in 1907, was now reappearing in Protestant disguise in the ecumenical movement. Catholics were warned to take no part in ecumenical activities. The tone was uncompromising.

Asserting the claim that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true Church, the encyclical states, "it is clear that the Apostolic See can by no means take part in these assemblies, nor is it in any way lawful for Catholics to give to such enterprises their encouragement or support. If they did so, they would be giving countenance to a false Christianity quite alien to the one Church of Christ."⁷

Pius XII (1939-1958)

In 1939, Pius XII became Pope and began his papacy with the same approach as his predecessors. In preparation for the first assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in 1948, the general secretary of the preparation committee wished for some Roman Catholics to attend as unofficial observers. A few days before the assembly convened, he also prohibited participation in this event.

Yet, a thawing was about to happen. In the years following World War II, most of central Europe needed to be rebuilt. Not only were numerous cities laying in ruins but the social fabric of many communities were also needing to be rebuilt and the Christian clergy of many denominations felt the need to join their efforts to accomplish this. Protestants and Catholics were of necessity needing to join their efforts to reconstruct a destroyed world. The Pope realized this as well.

In December 1949, Rome published an “Instruction to Local Ordinaries” (bishops), Ecclesia Catholica, in which the Pope acknowledged that discussions between Roman Catholics and other Christians do, and will, take place on matters of faith and morals and therefore lays down the conditions for them. In the document, mixed gatherings are not then forbidden outright, but they are not to be held without the previous sanction of the competent ecclesiastical authority. Local bishops were to supervise such gatherings and authorize who could represent the Catholic Church. Within a decade the wall of isolation was about to be cracked even more.

Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)

John XXIII (1958-1963)

Soon after John XXIII was elected Pope in 1958, he made the most surprising announcement that a second Vatican Council would be held to review many of the teachings and practices of the Church. This announcement would transform the Church’s relationship with the ecumenical movement. In contrast to prior popes and their perspective on the modern (i.e. Protestant) ecumenical movement, John XXIII and many cardinals and bishops saw things differently. If the Holy Spirit was guiding Protestant Christians to discuss the unity of the church, how could the Catholic Church, if it claims to be led by the Holy Spirit, not be part of this conversation?

Simply the calling of the Council had an ecumenical impact. Since the First Vatican Council (1870) Protestants had felt that there would be no more councils of the Roman Catholic Church. With an infallible pope at the helm of the Church, Protestants believe that the pope could make all future decisions and would no longer need any councils to establish or change religious beliefs and practices. Most had essentially forgotten that the Catholic Church had always believed (more or less) in the principles of collegiality between bishops and to some forms of conciliar approach to the life of the Church.⁸

After stating that the council's most pressing topics would be "those which concern the spread of the Catholic faith, the revival of Christian standards of morality, and the bringing of ecclesiastical discipline into closer accord with the needs and conditions of our times”, the Pope stated that he hoped that “in itself [the Council] will provide an outstanding example of truth, unity and love. May those who are separated from this Apostolic See, beholding this manifestation of unity, derive the inspiration to seek out the unity which Jesus Christ prayed for so ardently from his heavenly Father."

In preparation for the Council, John XXIII established the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity which he entrusted to Cardinals Augustin Bea and Jan Willebrands, responsible for drafting the three statements on ecumenism, on religious liberty, and on relationship with the Jews. In a surprising development, he also allowed five Catholic observers to attend the third assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1961 in New Delhi, India. At the same time, he invited a number of Protestant and Orthodox observers to attend the Second Vatican Council. A new climate of ecumenical relationship was inaugurated.

Paul VI (1963-1978)

In between the first (October 13 to December 8, 1962) and the second session (September 29 to December 4, 1963), Pope John XXIII died and was replaced by Paul VI who completed the work of the Council.

At the end of the third session (September 14 – November 21, 1964), the Council adopted the Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio. This document marked a conversion moment in the Catholic Church and forever changed the face of the ecumenical movement. From apathy toward the movement the Catholic Church came to see the movement as an opportunity for witnessing and fulfilling the will of God for the Church. The Decree made many important key points: it recognized that the Holy Spirit had been active in the life of other ecclesial communities and that many elements of the gospel are found in Protestant churches.⁹ Thus, Protestants could no longer be considered heretics but “separated brethren”— true brothers and sisters since baptism unites all Christians in Jesus Christ and in one people of God regardless of the differences that divide them. The Decree went one step further and recommended a number of principles and steps for active participation in the ecumenical movement.¹⁰ One of these steps was an encouragement to enter into dialogue with Protestant communities and the first “separated brethren” to benefit from this new overture to the ecumenical movement were the Lutherans.¹¹ Henceforth, the Roman Catholic involvement in the ecumenical movement was slow yet sustained and persistent.

Since Vatican II

John Paul II (1978-2005)

After his election in 1978, Pope John Paul II continued the same emphasis on reconciliation with other churches and Catholic documents have emphasized the concept of fellowship (koinonia) instead of an ecumenism of return. In 1993, the publication of the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism offered clear guidelines for ecumenical activities.¹²

But it was John Paul II’s encyclical On Commitment to Ecumenism Ut Unum Sint, in 1995, that made a lasting contribution to the Roman Catholic involvement in the ecumenical movement. In the encyclical, he stated forcefully that for Catholics engagement in the ecumenical movement is imperative. “At the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church committed itself irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture, thus heeding the Spirit of the Lord, who teaches people to interpret carefully the ‘signs of the times.’”¹³

Beyond reiterating some of the same ideas given in the Decree on Ecumenism, John Paul II identified five areas of further study to reach a true consensus of faith: (1) the relationship between Scripture and Tradition; (2) the Eucharist; (3) ordination and apostolic succession; (4) Magisterium of the Church; and (5) the role of Mary in the plan of salvation.¹⁴ What perhaps surprised people the most in this document was his open invitation to begin a discussion of the role of the papacy in a future unity of the church – an invitation that generated a flurry of papers and conferences among scholars and churches.¹⁵ For about a decade this invitation revitalized the ecumenical dialogues between Catholics and Protestants, and between Catholics and Orthodox.

During John Paul II’s papacy, it was clear that a major lasting change of attitude had happened in the Roman Catholic relationship to the ecumenical movement, now seen as a form of evangelism and witnessing.

Benedict XVI (2005-2013)

The papacy of Benedict XVI brought only a few developments in the Catholic participation in the ecumenical movement. Already in 2000, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had produced the document Dominus Iesus, which reiterated and explained the Roman Catholic claim as the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church” of the Creeds in all its fullness. The document had upset many Protestants at the time of its release but seemed to have been forgotten fairly soon.

Benedict XVI had the same interest in the ecumenical movement but offended many people after he presented a few speeches on topics of interreligious dialogue. Another offending decision was his “Instructions to Bishops on the conversion of Anglicans” (2009) in which he outlined how Anglicans could become Roman Catholics without having to abandon their Anglican rites. By many, the decision was perceived as form of endorsement of the old ecumenism of return approach to Christians of other denominations and churches.

Perhaps the long lasting contribution of Benedict XVI to the ecumenical movement may be seen only in a decade or so from now. In February 2010, Walter Cardinal Kasper announced the preparation of an ecumenical catechism. This long-term project will be prepared in consultation with other churches to identify, reinforce and deepen common doctrinal foundations of the Christian faith.

Francis (2013 to the present)

Most commentators and observers will agree that Francis is a different pope from any of his immediate predecessors. Since 2013, he has not yet written extensively on the ecumenical movement,¹⁶ but as archbishop in Argentina he was known to build bridges with other Christians, Jews and Muslims. His genuine interest in people is probably making the most important contribution to ecumenical activities, but what he is most known for are his informal and spontaneous “spectacular gestures” toward Evangelicals and Pentecostals Christians.

His impromptu personal appeal to Pentecostal church leaders in January 2014 though the Evangelical Anglican bishop, Tony Palmer, received wide notoriety. Less known was the visit to the Vatican of many of these Pentecostal leaders a few months later. Francis’ genuine interest in people and human social issues and concerns is likely his most important contribution to the ecumenical spirit. His is an ecumenism through encounter.

Conclusion

Time will tell to what extent the Roman Catholic Church will continue to give leadership to the ecumenical movement. There is no doubt that since the 1960s, Vatican II has fostered a spirit of understanding and has provided a new impulse in ecumenical dialogues. In fact, the Catholic Church has held bilateral dialogues with every major Christian tradition, and many of them have produced some remarkable documents, leading people to have a new understanding of each other’s faith and witness, and even for some to declare that the Protestant Reformation is over.¹⁷

Roman Catholic ecumenism continues to build on “the premise that all baptized Christians are in real but imperfect communion, that all are equally called to unity, and therefore Catholics reach out to all Christians and all churches in ecumenical seriousness.” The Catholic understanding of church unity rests “on the dialogue of truth, which is oriented toward a common confession of the Apostolic Faith, common sacramental life, common structures of communion, and common witness in the world.”¹⁸