Ecclesia Militans: False Ecumenism

A Definition of True Ecumenism

This article is entitled "false" ecumenism, and the reason it is entitled thus is because there is such a thing as true ecumenism. True ecumenism seeks the conversion of those individuals who have been separated from Holy Mother Church by apostasy and/or heresy to that self-same Roman Catholic Church, while at the same time endeavoring to keep whole and untarnished the doctrines, principles, tenets, and practices, of Holy Mother the Church, without compromise. The idea is for the individual to conform his beliefs, ideas, and practices, to those of the Church - not for the Church to conform Herself to the individual’s beliefs, ideas, and practices.

True ecumenism can be effectively defined as follows:

"The unity of Christians cannot otherwise be obtained than by securing the return of the separated to the one true Church of Christ from which they once unhappily withdrew. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, that stands forth before all and that by the will of its Founder will remain forever the same as when He Himself established it for the salvation of all mankind." (Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos)

This has been the constant teaching of the Church. Holy Mother Church has always taught that true unity cannot be effected, except by a unity in faith and government (1). And, by definition, this faith and government necessarily means Holy Mother Church, for all other faiths and governments are false and counterfeit, and only the Catholic Faith, and the Catholic government, has any claim to legitimacy - as She alone was founded by Jesus Christ, and She alone is the One True Church.

A Definition of False Ecumenism

With the above in mind, let me move on to attempt to define false ecumenism using the statements of it’s own adherents as the basis for the definition. False ecumenism wishes to conform the Church to the beliefs, ideas, and practices, of the individual outside Holy Mother Church. False ecumenism does not necessarily wish the conversion of this individual, but wishes, instead, to "follow Christ" (as if there was any other way of "following Christ" than by becoming a member of His Mystical Body, outside which there is no salvation).

False ecumenism can be effectively defined by the following statement by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity:

"The decision of Vatican II, to which the Pope adheres and spreads, is absolutely clear: Today we no longer understand ecumenism in the sense of the ecumenism of a return, by which the others would 'be converted' and return to being 'Catholics.' This was expressly abandoned by Vatican II. Today ecumenism is considered as the common road: all should be converted to the following of Christ, and it is in Christ that we will find ourselves in the end.... Even the Pope, among other things, describes ecumenism in Ut unum sint as an exchange of gifts. I think this is very well said: each Church has its own riches and gifts of the Spirit, and it is this exchange that unity is trying to be achieved and not the fact that we should become 'Protestants' or that the others should become 'Catholics' in the sense of accepting the confessional form of Catholicism." (Adista, Rome, February 26, 2001, p. 9 - Emphasis mine)

As was stated above, Cardinal Kasper is the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. If anyone would know what the form of ecumenism being practiced by today’s hierarchy is, he certainly would.

This same position is reiterated in the Balamand Statement (paragraph 22), which states, in part:

"Pastoral activity in the Catholic Church, Latin as well as Eastern, no longer aims at having the faithful of one Church pass over to the other; that is to say, it no longer aims at proselytizing among the Orthodox. It aims at answering the spiritual needs of its own faithful and it has no desire for expansion at the expense of the Orthodox Church. Within these perspectives, so that there will no longer be room for mistrust and suspicion, it is necessary that there be reciprocal exchanges of information about various pastoral projects and that thus cooperation between bishops and all those with responsibilities in our Churches can be set in motion and develop." (Emphasis mine)

These two candid statements explain the previous practice of Holy Mother Church with regards to "ecumenism," the conversion of the individual to Catholicism (which practice was abandoned, if we are to believe Cardinal Kasper, by the Second Vatican Council), while, at the same time, defining the present policy of the hierarchy with regards to the "new" ecumenism - a vague "following of Christ," not through the means instituted by Him (Holy Mother Church), but through a vague and undefined separate means. This present policy requires the leaving of untold millions of individuals in heresy, apostasy, and schism.

Such a "principle" is contrary to Catholic principles and virtues, an example would be the three theological virtues - which I shall now attempt, briefly, to show.

The Virtue of Charity

"CHARITY, a supernatural virtue infused, with sanctifying grace, by which we love God above all as the greatest good and for His own sake, and ourselves and our neighbors for the love of God. It is the greatest of the three theological virtues and of all other virtues. The object of the virtue is our union with God through love; an act itself is the giving of ourselves to God. Charity is given as the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:34-40) and it is joined inseparably by the command to love one’s neighbor. St. Bonaventure points to charity as ‘a life which unites the lover with the beloved.’ While charity may be manifested in many ways, it is not to be confused with almsgiving as such, nor is it only good deeds which may be done out of natural virtue and the emotion of good will. Rather charity is the very basis, the foundation which prompts and is the motivating force by which all acts of good directed toward ourselves or our neighbors are performed for love of God. St. Thomas states: ‘Essentially the perfection of the Christian life consists in charity, first and foremost in the love of God, then in the love of neighbor.’ [Summa Theologica, Iia Iiae, q. 184, a3]." (The Catholic Concise Encyclopedia, 1957, p. 87)

As stated above is, there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Taking this into consideration, along with Our Blessed Lord’s admonition to love God with "thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind...." and to "love thy neighbour as thyself," (2) it becomes very plain that it is uncharitable to stand by and watch so many souls on their way to eternal damnation, and not to raise a finger to stop them, when one has such an opportunity. This obligation is more binding upon the clergy than upon the laity, for one of the primary duties of the clergy is the salvation of souls.

Furthermore, the virtue of charity places the hierarchy under the obligation of instructing the ignorant (one of the spiritual works of mercy). This obligation is utterly forsaken with the error of false ecumenism, which does not attempt to teach the Truths of Catholicism in a manner which would lead the conversion of the non-Catholic, but in a manner which would avoid just such a conversion - as we shall see in a few moments. In other words, it forsakes the Divine mission of the Church to teach all nations with the aim of incorporating them into the Church. (3) Therefore, the error of false ecumenism breaks, so far, at least two, explicit, commands of Christ our Savior.

This, in and of itself, is enough to condemn ecumenism. Obviously Christ could not be the originator of a movement which a) detracts from His greater honor and glory, by allowing the damnation of numerous souls, b) forsakes His divine, and irrevocable, commands. If God is taken out of the picture, who is left?

The Virtue of Faith

"FAITH. 1. The assent given to a truth. 2. An entire body of dogmas or truths to which one gives assent, e.g. one is of the Catholic faith. 3. The theological virtue by which one, through grace, adheres in intellect to a truth revealed by God because of the authority of God rather than the evidence given. 4. The faith which is called ‘justifying’, i.e., the belief necessary for personal justification (Mk. 16:15-16). In its Catholic interpretation, faith is in the mind as a habit and as an act, and so is in the mind and will. It is described as divine or supernatural. It is habitual when it is an infused habit, assisted by grace, wherein the mind assents to a truth revealed by God, making the assent because God is Himself the essential truth, Who cannot be deceived in His divine knowledge and cannot deceive when He reveals a truth. When such habitual faith is informed by charity or the love of God it becomes a ‘living’ faith. Faith is actual when, again aided by grace, the mind assents and together with the will prompts one to both the internal and external expression of faith, e.g., when we recite the Creed. Divine faith and catholic faith demand that we believe all those points of doctrine which are contained in the Scriptures, in the unwritten Word of God and all those proposed to our belief as revealed by God or by the solemn definition of the Church acting as the ordinary and universal teaching authority of Christ on earth. According to the Council of Trent, faith is necessary for sanctification and salvation." (The Catholic Concise Encyclopedia, 1957, p. 157)

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops stated the following concerning Orthodox students in Catholic schools:

"As a matter of principle, the Catholic Church does not seek converts among the faithful of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Thus every effort should be made to respect and even promote the participation of Oriental Orthodox students in the life of their own churches, and to avoid practices that could appear to constitute an invitation for an Oriental Orthodox student to join the Catholic Church." (4)

The above statement teaches (in practice) the opinion that there is salvation outside the Catholic Church, and that Catholics can (and must, as a matter of principle) even go so far as to discourage conversions to Holy Mother Church. This is a position which contradicts a defined dogma of the Catholic Church, (5) and yet is being taught rather openly by those who adhere to the error of false ecumenism.

Furthermore, the above position is explicitly tied with the error of indifferentism - which position holds, essentially, that one religion is as good as another, and that there is, therefore, no need to convert to the Catholic Church. I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the portion of the above quote which is in italics. This portion of the statement makes it very clear that not only are Orthodox students discouraged from converting to Catholicism, but, also, the "effort should be made to respect and even promote the participation of Oriental Orthodox students in the life of their own" schismatic churches. In other words, the hierarchy is trying its best to confirm and cement these students in schism. There is no need to convert to Catholicism, and the implication is that the Orthodox churches are just as good as the Catholic Church. What is this but pure, and undiluted, indifferentism?

As can be seen from the above, the error of false ecumenism gives the non-Catholic the impression that it is no longer necessary for them to convert to Catholicism, that we no longer require this of them. Furthermore it gives the non-Catholic the impression that Holy Mother Church is capable of changing her doctrines and dogmas (e.g. the dogma of "No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church"), and yet such a position contradicts the doctrine of the indefectibility of the Church. To quote a portion of Father Lanslots’ definition of the Indefectibility of the Church:

"In as far as faith and morals are concerned, .... The dogmas of the Christian religion can neither be increased, nor diminished. This could certainly not be done without the authority of Christ; but such an authority has never been and will never be committed to any one. He has not given the Apostles that power, because He commissioned them only to promulgate and guard His Gospel, ordering them to teach all men to keep whatsoever he had commanded them." (6)

Hence, as Father Lanslots stated, since the dogmas of the Christian religion cannot be diminished by any authority on this earth, then we must assume that any movement which attempts to diminish the dogma of "No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church" does not have divine sanction - for, as Father Lanslots also stated, such authority "will never be committed to any one." Since this must be so, the movement which spawned such an erroneous idea cannot possibly be considered to be good, but must, in and of itself, be considered evil and erroneous

The Virtue of Hope

"HOPE, one of the three theological virtues. It is a supernatural, infused virtue which moves the will to trust in eternal happiness and the all-good God and gives the assurance that the necessary graces to merit eternal life will be ours. ...... The sins against the virtue are, ..... acts of presumption, as when the mind prompts the will to seek means other than those provided by Christ for attaining heaven." (The Catholic Concise Encyclopedia, 1957, p. 189 emphasis mine)

The emphasized portion of the above quotation from The Catholic Concise Encylopedia makes it quite clear that it is presumption to attempt/hope to be saved by a means other than those instituted by Christ for that purpose. The Church, in her dogmatic definitions, has made it quite clear that She is necessary for salvation.... therefore, it necessarily follows that any other means, other than Mother Church, is insufficient for salvation, and not instituted by Christ.

Hence, any Catholic who hopes for the salvation of other people in a separate religion from that founded by Christ (Catholicism), or who prompts others to seek salvation in a separate religion, or even implies that others should stay where they are, and not convert to Catholicism, is thereby committing an act of presumption which, objectively speaking, is a sin against the theological virtue of hope.

That the error of false ecumenism does this is indisputable. The above quotation from the NCCB/USCC makes this quite plain, in addition to the other quotations given above, taken from proponents of the error of false ecumenism. Therefore, it necessarily follows that ecumenism as practiced by the current hierarchy is objectively contrary to the Theological Virtue of Hope, and promotes the sin of presumption.

Conclusion

His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Redemptor Hominis (1979), stated the following:

There are people who in the face of the difficulties or because they consider that the first ecumenical endeavors have brought negative results would have liked to turn back. Some even express the opinion that these efforts are harmful to the cause of the Gospel, are leading to a further rupture in the Church, are causing confusion of ideas in questions of faith and morals and are ending up with a specific indifferentism. It is perhaps a good thing that the spokesmen for these opinions should express their fears.

The last sentence of the above paragraph is emphasized for the simple reason that it shows that the form of "ecumenism" being practiced today has not been the subject of an infallible definition, or even something binding upon Catholics.

It likewise follows from the above that the new form of "ecumenism" is nothing more than a series of opinions/acts, which a Catholic is not bound to agree with, and can, in fact, reject, providing the Catholic has sufficient reason to warrant such an action.

In the above article I have humbly attempted to provide just such a reason, through an examination of ecumenism in the light of the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity, which are contradicted by the error of false ecumenism - and which cannot be cultivated in the form of ecumenism practiced by today’s hierarchy. My sincere hope, is that those Catholics who read this article, may thereby be spurred on to a more indepth examination of ecumenism in the light of perennial Catholic teaching.

Footnotes

1. Pope Leo XIII, Praeclara Gratulationis. (June 20, 1894)

2. Matthew 22:37, 39.

3. Matthew 28:19

4. Guidelines Concerning the Pastoral Care of Oriental Orthodox Students in Catholic Schools, Emphasis mine.

5. I am taking it for granted that the reader believes the doctrine that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. This is a defined dogma of our Faith. Pope Innocent III defined it at the Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Boniface VII defined it in his Bull Unam Sanctam, while His Holiness Pope Eugene IV defined it in the Bull Cantate Domino. All Catholics are required to believe this.