A lifestyle, not a task: the Vatican reminds the bishops of the ecumenical priority

The ministry of a Catholic bishop must reflect the Catholic Church's commitment to Christian unity and must give ecumenical commitment the same kind of focus as work for justice and peace, says a new Vatican document.

"The bishop cannot consider the promotion of the ecumenical cause as an extra task in his variegated ministry, which could and should be postponed in view of other, apparently more important priorities," the document states, "The bishop and the unity of Christians: an ecumenical Vademecum “.

Prepared by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the 52-page document was released on December 4 after its publication was approved by Pope Francis.

The text reminds every Catholic bishop of his personal responsibility as a minister of unity, not only among the Catholics of his diocese, but also with other Christians.

As a "vademecum" or guide, it provides lists of practical steps that the bishop can and should take to fulfill this responsibility in every aspect of his ministry, from inviting other Christian leaders to important diocesan celebrations to highlight ecumenical activities on the website diocesan.

And, as the head teacher in his diocese, he must ensure that the content of conferences, religious education programs and homilies at the diocesan and parish levels promotes Christian unity and accurately reflects the teachings of the church's partners in dialogue.

To demonstrate the importance of the document, the presentation online press conference saw not one, but four senior Vatican officials: Cardinals Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; and Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

With its explanations and concrete suggestions, Ouellet said, the booklet provides the tools to carry out "the ecumenical conversion of bishops and of every disciple of Christ who wishes to better embody the joy of the Gospel in our time".

Tagle said the vademecum reminds bishops of missionary lands that they must not import Christian divisions into new parts of the world and asks Catholics to understand how divisions within Christianity alienate people who "seek meaning in life, for salvation".

"Non-Christians are scandalized, truly scandalized, when we Christians claim to be followers of Christ and then see how we are fighting each other," he said.

But ecumenism does not seek a truce or a "compromise as if unity were to be achieved at the expense of truth", explains the document.

Catholic doctrine insists that there is a "hierarchy of truth", a priority of essential beliefs based "on their relationship with the saving mysteries of the Trinity and salvation in Christ, the source of all Christian doctrines."

In conversations with other Christians, the document reads, "by weighing the truths rather than simply enumerating them, Catholics acquire a more accurate understanding of the unity that exists among Christians".

That unity, based first on baptism in Christ and in his church, is the foundation on which Christian unity is built step by step, the document states. The passages include: common prayer; joint action to alleviate suffering and promote justice; theological dialogue to clarify commonalities and differences; and the willingness to recognize the way God worked in another community and to learn from it.

The document also dealt with the question of sharing the Eucharist, an issue that has long been a thorny issue in ecumenical dialogue as well as within the Catholic Church itself, as evidenced by the Vatican's recent efforts to warn the bishops of Germany. on issuing broad invitations for Lutherans married to Catholics to receive Communion.

Catholics cannot share the Eucharist with other Christians just to be "educated", but there are pastoral situations in which individual bishops can decide when "exceptional sacramental sharing is appropriate," the document states.

In discerning the possibilities of sharing the sacraments, he said, bishops must keep two principles in mind at all times, even when those principles create tension: A sacrament, especially the Eucharist, is a "witness to the unity of the church". and a sacrament is a "sharing of the means of grace".

Therefore, he said, "in general, participation in the sacraments of the Eucharist, reconciliation and anointing is limited to those who are in full communion".

However, observes the document, the 1993 Vatican "Directory for the Application of the Principles and Norms of Ecumenism" also states that "by way of exception and under certain conditions, access to these sacraments can be allowed, or even praised. , other churches and ecclesial communities “.

"The 'Communicatio in sacris' (sharing of sacramental life) is therefore permitted for the care of souls in certain circumstances," the text said, "and when this is the case it must be recognized as desirable and laudable."

Koch, answering a question, said that the relationship between the sacraments and the full unity of the churches is the "fundamental" principle, which means that in most cases Eucharistic sharing will not be possible until the churches are completely united. .

The Catholic Church, he said, does not see the sharing of the sacraments as "a step forward", as some Christian communities do. However, "for one person, one person, there may be an opportunity to share this grace in several cases" as long as the person meets the requirements of canon law, which says that a non-Catholic must request the Eucharist of his or her own initiative, "manifest the Catholic faith" in the sacrament and be "adequately disposed".

The Catholic Church recognizes the full validity of the Eucharist celebrated by the Orthodox Church and, with far fewer restrictions, allows Orthodox Christians to request and receive the sacraments from a Catholic minister.

Sandri, speaking at the press conference, said that the document "is a further affirmation that it is no longer legitimate for us to ignore the Christian East, nor can we pretend to have forgotten the brothers and sisters of those venerable churches that, together with us, constitutes the family of believers in the God of Jesus Christ “.