Doctrine Lives Forward
Fr. Al Kimmel made an intriguing comment in a discussion on the Anatasis Dialog Blog here
"What the Catholic Church can do, though, is to reinterpret her dogmatic definitions in light of a greater whole, as Balthasar notes. This is precisely what happens in the history of dogma. An ecumenical council may speak a definitive word, yet not a final word. Doctrine lives forward. Ephesus needed to be followed by Chalcedon, lest it be misunderstood; and Chalcedon needed to be followed by the second and third councils of Constantinople."
and then went on to quote a most interesting statement from then Cardinal Ratzinger:
"Yet ... there is a "yet" and therein lies the ecumenical hope. If there were no "yet," Cardinal Ratzinger could not have tendered his startling 1982 proposal:
"Rome must not require more from the East with respect to the doctrine of primacy than had been formulated and was lived in the first millennium. … Reunion could take place in this context if, on the one hand, the East would cease to oppose as heretical the developments that took place in the West in the second millennium and would accept the Catholic Church as legitimate and orthodox in the form she had acquired in the course of that development, while, on the other hand, the West would recognize the Church of the East as orthodox and legitimate in the form she has always had."
How I wish I could ask Pope Benedict to elaborate upon this passage."
Comments?
posted by Sherry W @ 10:13 AM
2 Comments
Links to this post
2 Comments:
The idea of reinterpreting Catholic "dogmatic definitions in light of a greater whole," is certainly attractive. The document from Ravenna is a good step in that direction. I think looking for a larger vision is a better approach then trying to resolve things by looking at the past.
At the same time, and this is clear reading through the comments in response to Fr Kimmel, there is a great deal of work to be done pastoral to help people embrace that greater vision. Not only must this work be done in our respective communities, but also between our communities. Given the internal challenges both Churches are facing (at least in the US), I'm not sure how much interest there is in doing this pastoral work.
Both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are struggling with issues of basic Christian commitment in not only our lay people, but even our clergy (and I suspect our bishops, but that's another story). I wonder, might not what we are calling "spiritual ecumenicism," might not a way forward?
Anyway, a good post by Fr Kimmel. That's for bringing it to our attention.
In Christ,
+FrG
In response to Fr. Jensen's comment above, that the internal challenges are keeping both East and West from doing the pastoral work necessary to embrace that larger vision--
I wonder if we were to face the external challenges together more often than not and intentionally so, we would not only resolve some of our internal challenges,
we'd also be embracing the larger vision! I think Papists and Eastern Orthodox have so much more in common, and the world is suffering for our lack of unified witness. If we placed more emphasis on fighting moral relativism together and less emphasis on our more divisive tenets, we'd begin to work/preach/love more collaboratively, and that would begin to heal so many wounds without and within.
I think what Ratzinger proposed in 1982 was simply the simplicity of reunion. It's not as untenable as we lead ourselves to insist. It requires that we think more expansively, which can be fearsome when done without the Eucharist. But it is not outside the realm of possibilities. We choose to continue making it so on both sides. There is an ease in Ratzinger's tone I've always appreciated.
If we could at least stand together, initially indifferent to the nature of our stance, in opposition to the forces of Evil-- that at least would begin to define qualitatively the nature of our stance.
I think that's happening. I'm especially thankful for Cardinal Sean's pilgrimage to an Orthodox patriarch. They stood as brothers, which they are. Let's pray more often for each other. Easy.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home