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Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Archives
Christian Unity Index
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Priesthood in Christian Unity One of the most heartening features of the ecumenical movement among Christians separated from Rome is their re-examination of the status of the priesthood in the full concept of the Church, and their sincere desire to restore something of that priestly heritage which they lost at the time of the Reformation. |
| Catholic Ecumenism in Russia The need for ecumenism goes back to the first century of Christianity. Within a generation of Christ's establishment of the Church by His death on the cross, there were divisions among His followers. One letter of St. Paul after another is eloquent witness to the growing dissension among those who call themselves Christians. Among these divisions, the first in magnitude and consequences was the separation of the Eastern Christians from union with the Bishop of Rome. |
| Ecumenism and Higher Education: What Future? We may define the ecumenical movement with the Vatican Council as "the initiatives and activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity." The essence of ecumenism, then, is the promotion of Christian unity. And no one with a spark of faith or after a moment’s reflection would desire anything but an end to this scandal of Christian division. What is less obvious is the exact meaning of disunity, and the corresponding effort to change a divided Christianity. |
| Evanston and Rome The Evanston Assembly of the World Council of Churches might have been expected to take a stand regarding the Catholic Church. From the earliest years, the shadow of Rome hovered over the first beginnings of the Council. In 1919 when the founders of the future Council were canvassing for member churches, they called on the Holy Father and invited his co-operation, which he courteously declined. |
| Evanston and Church Disunity For the sake of convenience we shall limit our study to a single document, the most important issued by the Evanston conference, which was drafted by the Committee on Faith and Order, voted on by the delegates and "commended to the Churches for appropriate action." Condensed into four thousand words, it is the only strictly theological statement emanating from the 1954 World Council, and deals specifically with the core problem of the ecumenical movement under the title, "Our Oneness in Christ and Our Disunity as Churches." In order to do it full justice; we shall first summarize, with quotations and without comment, the main ideas of the Evanston declaration, and then give a critical evaluation of its doctrine on church unity from the Catholic standpoint. |
| Catholic Librarians and the Ecumenical Movement We know that Christian reunification on any large scale is only a dim possibility. Nine centuries of separation from Rome for the Eastern Churches and four centuries for the Protestants cannot be erased in a decade. Time, patience, prayer and sacrifice will be needed, and always an apostolic zeal that responds to the prayer of Christ, "that they all may be one," even to the point of heroism—knowing that the salvation of souls is at stake.…We have been reared in this tradition of pluralism and, although our Catholic conscience tells us otherwise, the atmosphere we breathe urges preservation of the status quo and suspects any effort to change in the direction of uniformity as a threat to the national culture. This is part of the problem we face if we would be responsive to the Holy Father whose call for unity, also directed to the United States, is only an echo of the Incarnation, whose purpose was to bring all men to Christ, in the union of His Body which is the Church. |
| Towards an American Baptist - Roman Catholic Dialogue Any approach to a dialogue between the American Baptist Convention and the Roman Catholic Church should begin with some understanding between the two traditions. Without such mutual understanding, there is a risk that the intended dialogue might become a disputation, or, at the other extreme, might never come to grips with those essentials to which we are deeply committed as Christian communities.…I have decided to do the brave thing and presume to state briefly what I consider the fundamentals of Baptist faith and polity, which I will then examine in the light of Catholic thought. My hope is that in this way we shall have some common ground for further discussion, building on principles that are of common concern to all Christians interested in religious unity. |
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