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2. What has revealed the love of God among us is that the Father
has sent into the world His only-begotten Son, so that, being made
man, He might by His redemption give new life to the entire human
race and unify it.[2] Before offering Himself up as a spotless
victim upon the altar, Christ prayed to His Father for all who
believe in Him: "that they all may be one; even as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, so that
the world may believe that thou has sent me".[3] In His Church
He instituted the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist by which the
unity of His Church is both signified and made a reality. He gave
His followers a new commandment to love one another,[4] and
promised the Spirit, their Advocate,[5] who, as Lord and
life-giver, should remain with them forever.
After being lifted up on the cross and glorified, the Lord Jesus
poured forth His Spirit as He had promised, and through the Spirit
He has called and gathered together the people of the New Covenant,
who are the Church, into a unity of faith, hope and charity, as the
Apostle teaches us: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you
were called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith,
one Baptism".[6] For "all you who have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ ... for you are all one in Christ
Jesus".[7] It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who
believe and pervading and ruling over the Church as a whole, who
brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful. He brings them
into intimate union with Christ, so that He is the principle of the
Church's unity. The distribution of graces and offices is His work
too,[8] enriching the Church of Jesus Christ with different
functions "in order to equip the saints for the work of service, so as
to build up the body of Christ".[9]
In order to establish this His holy Church everywhere in the world
till the end of time, Christ entrusted to the College of the Twelve
the task of teaching, ruling and sanctifying.[10] Among their
number He selected Peter, and after his confession of faith
determined that on him He would build His Church. Also to Peter
He promised the keys of the kingdom of heaven,[11] and after His
profession of love, entrusted all His sheep to him to be confirmed in
faith[12] and shepherded in perfect unity.[13] Christ Jesus
Himself was forever to remain the chief cornerstone [14] and
shepherd of our souls.[15]
Jesus Christ, then, willed that the apostles and their successors
-the bishops with Peter's successor at their head-should preach the
Gospel faithfully, administer the sacraments, and rule the Church in
love. It is thus, under the action of the Holy Spirit, that
Christ wills His people to increase, and He perfects His people's
fellowship in unity: in their confessing the one faith, celebrating
divine worship in common, and keeping the fraternal harmony of the
family of God.
The Church, then, is God's only flock; it is like a standard
lifted high for the nations to see it:[16] for it serves all
mankind through the Gospel of peace[17] as it makes its pilgrim way
in hope toward the goal of the fatherland above.[18]
This is the sacred mystery of the unity of the Church, in Christ and
through Christ, the Holy Spirit energizing its various functions.
It is a mystery that finds its highest exemplar and source in the unity
of the Persons of the Trinity: the Father and the Son in the Holy
Spirit, one God.
3. Even in the beginnings of this one and only Church of God there
arose certain rifts,[19] which the Apostle strongly
condemned.[20] But in subsequent centuries much more serious
dissensions made their appearance and quite large communities came to be
separated from full communion with the Catholic Church-for which,
often enough, men of both sides were to blame. The children who are
born into these Communities and who grow up believing in Christ cannot
be accused of the sin involved in the separation, and the Catholic
Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection.
For men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in
communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is
imperfect. The differences that exist in varying degrees between them
and the Catholic Church-whether in doctrine and sometimes in
discipline, or concerning the structure of the Church-do indeed
create many obstacles, sometimes serious ones, to full ecclesiastical
communion. The ecumenical movement is striving to overcome these
obstacles. But even in spite of them it remains true that all who have
been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's
body,[21] and have a right to be called Christian, and so are
correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic
Church.[22]
Moreover, some and even very many of the significant elements and
endowments which together go to build up and give life to the Church
itself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic
Church: the written word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope
and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, and
visible elements too. All of these, which come from Christ and lead
back to Christ, belong by right to the one Church of Christ.
The brethren divided from us also use many liturgical actions of the
Christian religion. These most certainly can truly engender a life of
grace in ways that vary according to the condition of each Church or
Community. These liturgical actions must be regarded as capable of
giving access to the community of salvation.
It follows that the separated Churches[23] and Communities as
such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have
been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery
of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using
them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very
fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church.
Nevertheless, our separated brethren, whether considered as
individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that
unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through
Him were born again into one body, and with Him quickened to newness
of life-that unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient
Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is only through Christ's
Catholic Church, which is "the all-embracing means of salvation,"
that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe
that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the
apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to
establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully
incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God. This people
of God, though still in its members liable to sin, is ever growing in
Christ during its pilgrimage on earth, and is guided by God's gentle
wisdom, according to His hidden designs, until it shall happily
arrive at the fullness of eternal glory in the heavenly Jerusalem.
4. Today, in many parts of the world, under the inspiring grace of
the Holy Spirit, many efforts are being made in prayer, word and
action to attain that fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires.
The Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize
the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the
work of ecumenism.
The term "ecumenical movement" indicates the initiatives and
activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of
the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity.
These are: first, every effort to avoid expressions, judgments and
actions which do not represent the condition of our separated brethren
with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations with them more
difficult; then, "dialogue" between competent experts from different
Churches and Communities. At these meetings, which are organized in
a religious spirit, each explains the teaching of his Communion in
greater depth and brings out clearly its distinctive features. In such
dialogue, everyone gains a truer knowledge and more just appreciation
of the teaching and religious life of both Communions. In addition,
the way is prepared for cooperation between them in the duties for the
common good of humanity which are demanded by every Christian
conscience; and, wherever this is allowed, there is prayer in
common. Finally, all are led to examine their own faithfulness to
Christ's will for the Church and accordingly to undertake with vigor
the task of renewal and reform.
When such actions are undertaken prudently and patiently by the
Catholic faithful, with the attentive guidance of their bishops, they
promote justice and truth, concord and collaboration, as well as the
spirit of brotherly love and unity. This is the way that, when the
obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually
overcome, all Christians will at last, in a common celebration of the
Eucharist, be gathered into the one and only Church in that unity
which Christ bestowed on His Church from the beginning. We believe
that this unity subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can
never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end
of time.
However, it is evident that, when individuals wish for full Catholic
communion, their preparation and reconciliation is an undertaking which
of its nature is distinct from ecumenical action. But there is no
opposition between the two, since both proceed from the marvelous ways
of God.
Catholics, in their ecumenical work, must assuredly be concerned for
their separated brethren, praying for them, keeping them informed
about the Church, making the first approaches toward them. But their
primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs
to be done or renewed in the Catholic household itself, in order that
its life may bear witness more clearly and faithfully to the teachings
and institutions which have come to it from Christ through the
Apostles.
For although the Catholic Church has been endowed with all divinely
revealed truth and with all means of grace, yet its members fail to
live by them with all the fervor that they should, so that the radiance
of the Church's image is less clear in the eyes of our separated
brethren and of the world at large, and the growth of God's kingdom
is delayed. All Catholics must therefore aim at Christian
perfection[24] and, each according to his station, play his part
that the Church may daily be more purified and renewed. For the
Church must bear in her own body the humility and dying of
Jesus,[25] against the day when Christ will present her to
Himself in all her glory without spot or wrinkle.[26]
All in the Church must preserve unity in essentials. But let all,
according to the gifts they have received enjoy a proper freedom, in
their various forms of spiritual life and discipline, in their
different liturgical rites, and even in their theological elaborations
of revealed truth. In all things let charity prevail. If they are
true to this course of action, they will be giving ever better
expression to the authentic catholicity and apostolicity of the
Church.
On the other hand, Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the
truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be
found among our separated brethren. It is right and salutary to
recognize the riches of Christ and virtuous works in the lives of
others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to the
shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in His works
and worthy of all praise.
Nor should we forget that anything wrought by the grace of the Holy
Spirit in the hearts of our separated brethren can be a help to our own
edification. Whatever is truly Christian is never contrary to what
genuinely belongs to the faith; indeed, it can always bring a deeper
realization of the mystery of Christ and the Church.
Nevertheless, the divisions among Christians prevent the Church from
attaining the fullness of catholicity proper to her, in those of her
sons who, though attached to her by Baptism, are yet separated from
full communion with her. Furthermore, the Church herself finds it
more difficult to express in actual life her full catholicity in all her
bearings.
This Sacred Council is gratified to note that the participation by
the Catholic faithful in ecumenical work is growing daily. It
commends this work to the bishops everywhere in the world to be
vigorously stimulated by them and guided with prudence.
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