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In this courageous journey towards unity, the transparency and the prudence of faith require us to avoid both false irenicism and indifference to the Church's ordinances. Conversely, that same transparency and prudence urge us to reject a halfhearted commitment to unity and, even more, a prejudicial opposition or a defeatism which tends to see everything in negative terms--Id.
At one point in his spiritual journey, Newman believed that he had found in the Anglican communion a "middle way" ("via media") between the errors of Rome on the one hand, and the errors of Protestantism on the other. Eventually, he found that he could find truth only in the historic Catholic Church, and so he left the Anglican Church and was eventually made a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.Newman serves as a kind of icon for former Episcopalians like myself who believe that Christian unity will not be found in the supposed "via media" of Anglicanism, but in the historic Church headed by the Successor to Peter. Still, the term "via media" is one that has relevance for us today, as traditional, historic Catholic Christianity must continue to steer its course in the center, and not on the extremes of the "sedevacantist" traditionalist movements which would freeze the Church in time, or the "postmodern" schools of thought, which would deny the reality of Truth, the Deity of Christ, and the essence of the Gospel.
In his encyclical, "Ut Unum Sint," Pope John Paul II poses the question whether Christians can effectively bear witness to Christ when we are seemingly at war with each other. Healing the wounds in the Body of Christ is a priority for the next millenium, and something toward which all Christians should be committed. The way is not easy, but we walk the "middle way" between casual rejection of another's Christian's deeply held beliefs and casual indifferentism, in which we deny the reality of our differences.
One of the fundamental differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the understanding of the Bible. I have prepared a short exposition in an effort to explain to Protestants what the Catholic understanding of the Bible is, and the reasons for that understanding, in an effort to open the door to meaningful discussion of our differences. Other sources on the Bible will also be added here.
Another area of difference, where I think that sometimes our disagreements are more over vocabulary than substance, is in the area of justification and salvation.
The leading exponent of the Protestant Reformation position of "Sola Fide" ("Faith Alone") was Martin Luther. The "faith v. works" controversy has been the subject of bitter dispute between Catholics and Lutherans (and most other Protestants as well). The (Catholic) Pontifical Commission on Christian Unity negotiated a Joint Statement with a group of German Lutheran bishops, which statement has now been approved by the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and, on June 16, 1998, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). According to a statement from the LWF:The 'Joint Declaration' ends 400 years of condemnations on the principal doctrinal dispute of the Reformation, that salvation is a gift from God through grace, not something humans earn through good works. The 'Joint Declaration' asserts that though there still remain some differences on the understanding of justification, the differences are not substantial enough to warrant the condemnations."Perhaps we are close to resolving this bar to Christian Unity.From the Declaration:
"The present Joint Declaration has this intention: namely, to show that on the basis of their dialogue the subscribing Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic Church are now able to articulate a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ. It does not cover all that either church teaches about justification; it does encompass a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification and shows that the remaining differences in its explication are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations."
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification--Catholic site.
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification--ELCA site.
Updates on status of Declaration
A Catholic apologist explains when a Catholic will agree with the statement: "Salvation by faith alone." A reminder that it is important that we understand the definitions of the terms we're using.
Hint: For the Catholic, "faith" means "intellectual assent."
Protestants have a particularly difficult time understanding the Catholic practice of the rosary. This piece explains to those who care to listen that Catholics do not believe that Mary is God.
The Catholic positions on abortion, euthanasia, cloning, and other ethical issues all derive from a coherent and consistent teaching on the value of human life.
There are also bars to unity within the Catholic community itself. There are differences of belief within the Catholic community on a number of topics. However much one may differ on any particular point on the views of the leaders of the Catholic Common Ground Project, it is hard to take issue with their guidelines for dialogue.
We should presume that those with whom we differ are acting in good faith. They deserve civility, charity, and a good-faith effort to understand their concerns. We should not substitute labels, abstractions, or blanketing terms-"radical feminism," "the hierarchy," "the Vatican" - for living, complicated realities.We should put the best possible construction on differing positions, addressing their strongest points rather than seizing upon the most vulnerable aspects in order to discredit them. We should detect the valid insights and legitimate worries that may underlie even questionable arguments.
We should be cautious in ascribing motives. We should not impugn another's love of the church and loyalty to it. We should not rush to interpret disagreements as conflicts of starkly opposing principles rather than as differences in degree or in prudential pastoral judgments about the relevant facts.
Sometimes it helps to know what we're arguing about.
A helpful guide to clear thinking. "De veritate disputandum est."