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The Path from Ut Unum Sintto Receptive Ecumenism

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The Path from Ut Unum Sintto Receptive Ecumenism chapter 5 The Path from Ut Unum Sint to Receptive Ecumenism: The Spiritual Roots of Receptive Ecumenism Investigating Receptive Ecumenism’s ancestry leads us now to consider post- Vatican ii influences on its development, namely: Ut Unum Sint, the work of Walter Kasper, and Margaret O’Gara’s ecumenical gift exchange. The path will be followed right up to Receptive Ecumenism’s launch, and will conclude with a summary of Spiritual Ecumenism’s key features. 1 The Groundwork for Receptive Ecumenism in Ut Unum Sint John Paul ii’s 1995 encyclical “Ut Unum Sint: On Commitment to Ecumenism,” is regarded as “the single most important Catholic document pertaining to ec- umenism” since Unitatis Redintegratio.1 It is also a key influence on Receptive Ecumenism. Born Karol Józef Wojtyła (1920–2005), he served as Pope John Paul ii from 1978 until his death. Before becoming Pope, he attended the Second Vatican Council (1962– 1965). Throughout his pontificate, he strongly supported the reforms of Vatican ii and the ecumenical endeavour. His emphasis on the importance of ecumenism characterised his papacy from its beginning.2 He of- ten repeated that the Catholic Church has an “irrevocable” commitment to ec- umenism.3 For John Paul ii, “ecumenism is an organic part” of the church’s “life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does.”4 He worked 1 Murray, “Roman Catholicism and Ecumenism.” 2 Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, “Introduction,” in Church Unity and the Papal Office: An Ecumenical Dialogue on John Paul II’s Encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That All May Be One), ed. Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2001), 1. 3 See UUS, no. 3 for one instance of John Paul ii making this statement. For examples of schol- ars quoting his statement, see: O’Gara, “Ecumenism’s Future,” 11; Peter Cross, “John Paul II and Ecumenism,” in John Paul II: Legacy and Witness, ed. Robert Gascoigne (Strathfield, nsw: St Pauls, 2007), 121; Cassidy, “Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspective,” 11; and Kasper, “The Ec- umenical Movement in the 21st Century.” The Catholic Church’s “irreversible” commitment to ecumenism was re- affirmed by Pope Benedict xvi after his election in 2005. 4 John Paul ii, UUS, no. 20. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2019 | DOI 10.1163/9789004397804_006 The Path from Ut Unum Sint to Receptive Ecumenism 97 to improve inter- faith relationships as well as relations with other Christians, particularly the Orthodox Church. Ut Unum Sint was a landmark document for Catholic ecumenism. As Cardi- nal Edward Cassidy points out, it was “the first encyclical letter ever written on the subject of ecumenism,” and it “made a vital contribution to the ecumenical movement.”5 Kasper describes it as “the great, important and even prophetic ecumenical encyclical of John Paul ii.”6 Ut Unum Sint was a major inspiration for such influential ecumenists as Kasper and O’Gara, as will be seen. Cassi- dy considers that “certainly no other papal encyclical has been so widely dis- tributed and studied outside the Catholic Church.”7 Moreover, responses from other churches towards Ut Unum Sint have been generally positive.8 Written thirty years after Unitatis Redintegratio, it built upon the teachings of Vatican ii. John Paul ii writes in Ut Unum Sint that it is our “duty” to “listen to and put into practice” the teachings of Vatican ii.9 In particular, he emphasises the Spiritual Ecumenism espoused in the Decree on Ecumenism as the “soul” of the entire ecumenical endeavour.10 There are three points of particular rele- vance to the development of Receptive Ecumenism: 1) its re-affirmation of the importance of ecumenism; 2) its tone of humility; and 3), its re- emphasis on ecumenism as an “exchange of gifts.”11 These key aspects will be discussed in turn, highlighting their influence on Receptive Ecumenism. The first chapter re- affirms the ecumenical teachings of the Second Vatican Council. In particular, John Paul ii strongly emphasises that unity is God’s will, and as such, it is intertwined with God’s plan of salvation for humanity.12 Be- cause it is central to God’s plan, as William Henn points out, disunity cannot be seen as a “minor flaw that can be tolerated,” but is rather of paramount im- portance.13 John Paul ii makes this clear: “To believe in Christ means to desire 5 Cassidy, “Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspective,” 10. 6 Kasper, That They May All Be One, 34. 7 Cassidy, “Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspective,” 10. 8 For an outline of different ecumenical bodies’ responses to the enyclical, ranging from the wcc, the Orthodox churches, the House of Bishops of the Church of England, and Reformed and Evangelical responses, see Cassidy, “Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspec- tive,” 16– 24. 9 John Paul ii, UUS, no. 1. 10 Vatican ii, UR, no. 8. 11 The concept first appears in Paul vi’s encyclical Ecclesiam Suam, August 6th 1964, no. 64. The actual expression “an exchange of gifts” then appears in LG, no. 13, and is referenced by John Paul ii in UUS, no. 28. 12 John Paul ii, UUS, no. 6. 13 William Henn, “Ut Unum Sint and Catholic Involvement in Ecumenism,” The Ecumenical Review 52, no. 2 (2000): 235..
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