Subversive Christian Unity

Interesting blog post from L'Espresso My reflection: The pope may not feel he has delegitimized China's underground Catholics, but that is exactly how the Beijing government will look at it in time to come. Losing and gaining face is an inscrutable concept lost on the popularity pope. 'via Blog this'

No impediments remain to full communion, Pope tells Orthodox Patriarch : News Headlines | Catholic Culture : November 30, 2015  "In a message to the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Pope Francis wrote that 'there is no longer any impediment to Eucharistic communion which cannot be overcome through prayer, the purification of hearts, dialogue and the affirmation of truth.' The Pope’s message to the Ecumenical Patriarch was timed for November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Constantinople see. Each year the Holy See sends a delegation..." This is another of the species of pronouncement I have dubbed "Francisism." The Pope says something that sounds really agreeable to his audience of the moment. When carefully considered, the words mean less than they seem to . Is there any impediment, anywhere, to anything, that cannot be overcome by "prayer, the purification of hearts, dialogue and the affirmation of truth"?...

Pope Francis has veered  all over the place in his public statements, making some remarks that are later walked back by his church. These statements have been, in general, political ploys, to garner headlines and popularity: about gays, about socialism, about capitalism, and so on. Here, though, he is not playing to the grandstand of political opinion but speaking on a spiritual topic. He is here addressing Catholicism's Charismatic Renewal in remarks made earlier this month. I do not think this one will need walking back. Read his full remarks at the link below; I have quoted the parts I find most interesting with respect to this blog's mission and focus. Pope's Address to Charismatic Renewal | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome : (Excerpt) "There is another strong sign of the Spirit in Charismatic Renewal: the search for unity of the Body of Christ. You, Charismatics, have a special grace to pray and work for Christian unity, because the current of grace go...

"I am convinced it won't be theologians who bring about unity among us. Theologians help us, the science of the theologians will assist us, but if we hope that theologians will agree with one another, we will reach unity the day after Judgement Day." --Francis Read the complete transcript of the Pope's remarks here:  http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/text-of-pope-s-videomessage-for-day-of-christian-unity-in-us It still appears to me that the Roman communion has no ecclesial mechanism toward unity besides conversion of others to Roman Catholic. Thus, as this pope has done before, in other matters such as accommodating gays and affirming atheists, he may sound like he is signalling something beyond what his Church is ready to deliver. We see the durable old Roman attitude toward other churches--my way or the highway--in the 'concession' to Anglicans through the Ordinariate. Anglicans may become Roman Catholics who happen to have something resemblin...

. . . the distressing spectacle of a Jesuit trying to do public relations. . . I've noticed something about the current pope that I do not find engaging and clever, though doubtless he means it so. I find it disturbing instead. I refer to his habit of making broad and sweeping statements that put the friendliest, worldliest face possible on Catholicism. He then leaves it to others to backtrack a bit, and do his explaining for him. The problem is in what he leaves unsaid. I reported some time ago on his remarks seeming to suggest universalism--the belief that everyone gets saved in the end, non-Christians, atheists, everybody. What he was talking about is a rabbit hole in Catholic theology, one that leads to the conclusion that the Church cannot say positively who is not saved. It is an uninteresting corollary to the idea that God can do whatever he wants and has not told us everything he does. While seeing their way clear to say who is truly in heaven, the Church cannot...

Some remarks by Pope Francis, widely reported in the press, have alarmed many Christians in and out of the Catholic Church. It seemed like he was endorsing universalism, the idea that, somehow, everyone gets saved in the end. He did not quite say that. Instead, Francis was echoing a certain strain in Catholic thought that is not quite universalism. The view was given a clear explanation by Avery Cardinal Dulles, in his article " The Population of Hell ." It has since been given a popular treatment by YouTube's Father Barron, in his video "Is Hell Crowded or Empty?" Read the article and watch the film for fuller particulars. My short synopsis is that here is a way to assert that we may not say for certain who is not saved, and may at least hope that all will be saved, even non-Christians, and even those non-Christians who decline the gospel. It begins by saying that anyone might be saved, and proceeds from there to the idea that everyone could be--holdi...

Matt. 20:25-28 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We have failed at this, as abjectly as we have failed at unity. Theories of who has authority in the church are as numerous as church denominations. Of course it is a point church leaders are unwilling to debate. Their own authority and prestige are at stake, so it's quickly on to another topic when this one comes up. The Pope using for an official title "Servant of the servants of God" is unconvincing to Protestants, especially so because the phrase sometimes has prefaced declarations not very servant-like. There is no cause and no need to single out ...

The pope has retired, in a move that is unusual but not unprecedented. It is certainly right to pass on the mantle to another when you know you have given all you can, your efforts are flagging and your own exhaustion limits your effectiveness. I've felt that way too, and as one of fewer years and much narrower responsibilities. I wish him a blessed and peaceful retirement. I hope he will be able to do some writing. I would like to read more from him, particularly on Christian unity. He surprised me by taking a profound interest in the matter. I was expecting that Joseph Ratzinger, the hard line theologian, would be rigidly doctrinaire as pope. But as Benedict he opened his arms outward and acknowledged, to a degree that surprised me, that there is one Lord, of faith, one baptism. My Latin is so appallingly bad that at first I misread the title of the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus , thinking it concerned English rocketry. Fortunately there is an English translat...