An Ecumenism of Truth: Orthodox Speak to Anglicans on the Eve of the Pope's Visit

I urge the global readers of Catholic Online to pray for Pope Benedict XVI and his apostolic visit to the United Kingdom.  Pray that the leaders of the continuing movement toward communion between the two Churches, Orthodox and Catholic - both of whom are defending the ancient faith handed down to us from the apostles - act boldly. It is time that Catholic and Orthodox Christians find a way toward a full communion which respects the beauty and uniqueness of both traditions within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith. Pray as well that faithful Anglican Christians come home to the fullness of the truth.

LONDON, UK (Catholic Online) - The entire global Press is trying to cover the apostolic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom which begins on September 16, 2010 and concludes on September 19, 2010. They are not doing a good job. Sadly, they are focusing on projected numbers,  hyping the rhetoric  of dissidents, and allowing their news sources to be used by those who desire to criticize the Church. Those who do not have the eyes to see what is really happening this week are using the event to promote their own agendas. What must not be lost is the historical significance of this visit. The Vicar of Christ, the successor of the Apostle Peter, is traveling to the United Kingdom to help promote the Re-Christianization of the European continent. On September 16, Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Scotland where he will be received at the Palace of the Holyroodhouse by her Majesty the Queen. He will celebrate Holy Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. He will travel to England where he will make give several addresses, lead prayer, and meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop presides over a global Christian community straining under the weight of a massive falling away from the ancient faith. In a recent article, my friend Fr. C.J. McCloskey, a priest whose insights are informed by the fact that he is a Cardinal Newman Scholar and the depth of his prayer and prophetic insight, wrote, "What is most intriguing about Benedict's upcoming visit to England is its ecumenical significance. Pope Benedict has established very cordial relationships with Orthodox patriarchs and bishops (a long-held ambition of his predecessor John Paul II as well). At the same time, he has made a remarkable and controversial offer to members of the Anglican Communion throughout the world to be received into the Church, singly or in whole congregations, bringing with them their liturgical traditions and even their pastors and bishops, if those clergymen were properly received into the Catholic Church." We are living in an historic time. The Church is the only solution to the decline of the West. To be Catholic is to enter into the prayer of Jesus for the Unity of His Church. In Pope Benedict XVI's first Papal message he proclaimed, "Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Lk 22: 32). With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty." Pope Benedict XVI has placed the commitment to the full communion of the Church at the forefront of his Papacy. This is evident in his love, respect and repeated overtures toward our Orthodox brethren, whom we recognize as a full Church and whose priesthood and Sacraments we also recognize. I embrace the Catholic claim that the fullness of truth is found within the Catholic Church and carry a burden to see the prayer of Jesus recorded in St. John, Chapter 17, answered. There is a connection. Into a world that is fractured, divided, wounded, filled with "sides" and "camps" at enmity with one another, the Church is called to proclaim the unifying love of a living God. The heart of the "Gospel" is the message that in and through Jesus Christ, authentic unity with God - and through Him, in the Spirit, with one another- is not only possible but is the plan of God for the entire human race. The Church is the way. It was not the Lord's plan that she be divided. It is His Plan that she be restored to full communion. I have written extensively of the warming of relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. I have made no apologies for my unabashed hope, prayer and prophetic conviction that the efforts and prayers of the Venerable John Paul II and the continuing work and prayer of Benedict, the Pope of Christian Unity will result in the "two lungs" of the Church, East and West, breathing together again to animate the One New Man, Christ Jesus, will bring a way in which the two churches can enter into full communion. This is rooted in my unwavering conviction that the Church is God's plan, the only hope for a world teetering on collapse without the anchor of Jesus Christ. So, I am happy to report on an address given on September 9, 2010, just prior to the Pope's visit, by Archbishop Hilarion, who is often described as the "foreign minister" of the Russian Orthodox Church. This gifted, young, vibrant voice of Orthodox Christianity is clearly an emerging leader of the coming movement toward full communion. He is the head of the Department of External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. This speech was given in London at the  Annual Nicean Club Dinner at Lambeth Palace. As someone who has studied Church history, I know there is never an accidental choice of venues for Christian leaders who have the eyes of faith.  The entire speech can be read here: Here is a brief excerpt: ************* "At the time of the Council of Nicaea, the Church was united in East and West. But at the present time, there is a multitude of communities each of which claims to be a Church even though approaches to doctrinal, ecclesiological and ethical issues among them often differ radically. Nowadays it is increasingly difficult to speak of "Christianity" as a unified scale of spiritual and moral values, universally adopted by all Christians. It is more appropriate, rather, to speak of "Christianities," that is, different versions of Christianity espoused by diverse communities. All current versions of Christianity can be very conditionally divided into two major groups -- traditional and liberal. The abyss that exists today divides not so much the Orthodox from the Catholics or the Catholics from the Protestants as it does the "traditionalists" from the "liberals." Some Christian leaders, for example, tell us that marriage between a man and a woman is no longer the only way of building a Christian family: there are other models and the Church should become appropriately "inclusive" to recognize alternative behavioral standards and give them official blessing. Some try to persuade us that human life is no longer an absolute value; that it can be terminated in a mother's womb or that one can terminate one's life at will. Christian "traditionalists" are being asked to reconsider their views under the slogan of keeping abreast with modernity. Regrettably, it has to be admitted that the Orthodox Church and many in the Anglican Church have today found themselves on the opposite sides of the abyss that divides traditional Christians from Christians of liberal trend. Certainly, inside the Anglican Community there remain many "traditionalists," especially in the South and the East, but the liberal trend is also quite noticeable, especially in the West and in the North. Protests against liberalism continue to be heard among Anglicans, as at the 2nd All African Bishops' Conference held in late August. The Conference's final document stated in particular, "We affirm the Biblical standard of the family as having marriage between a man and a woman as its foundation. One of the purposes of marriage is procreation of children some of whom grow to become the leaders of tomorrow. Among the vivid indications of disagreement within the Anglican Community (I am reluctant to say "schism") is the fact that almost 200 Anglican bishops refused to attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference. I was there as an observer from the Russian Orthodox Church and could see various manifestations of deep and painful differences among the Anglicans. Today the Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue itself has come under threat." ***** I urge the global readers of Catholic Online to pray for Pope Benedict XVI and his apostolic visit to the United Kingdom.  Pray that the leaders of the continuing movement toward communion between the two Churches, Orthodox and Catholic, both of whom are defending the ancient faith handed down to us from the apostles, act boldly. It is time that Catholic and Orthodox Christians find a way toward a full communion which respects the beauty and uniqueness of both traditions within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith. Pray as well that faithful Anglican Christians come home. We are living in a new missionary age of the Church. The beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman, as the Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans offers a rescue rope to our Anglican Christian brethren who hunger for orthodoxy and orthopraxy, is not accidental. Do not waste your time reading the inaccurate coverage of this historic visit in the secularist media sources. Follow it on faith filled Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian sources. We are honored to be numbered among them.

Announcing NEW Catholic Online News - Visit Today!

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'