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By Bishop John, November 28, 2011 5:00 am

When our Lord was among us, His favorite method of teaching was the use of the parable. Always a folksy story, drawn from very common aspects of the daily life of His listeners. You know them all: the Prodigal Son, the mustard seed, and the Good Shepherd. The purpose of many of them was to describe different aspects of the Church, which Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven. My favorite definition of the Church, which is much broader than the usual definition that appears in Canon law or dogmatic theology, is that the Church is the Community of Faith. That’s a definition that does not establish clear, precise, legalistic boundaries, but makes room under the Heavenly tent for anyone who sincerely places his or her faith in Jesus of Nazareth. That community has an extraordinary story, stretching over 2000 years, and it may very well be that this community of faith is still in its infancy. Time will tell.

While the Church has always striven to keep its members, the followers of Jesus, in true spiritual harmony and unity, humans being what they are, it has not been too easy a task. Two enormous ruptures have occurred during this history of faith. One, involving the Greek speaking half of the Roman Empire, rejected Roman authority in the 11th century, leaving a divided Christian world. It’s important, however, to know that both sides of that division believe strongly in essentially the same things. Of course, I am referring to the original split of Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholicism. Oversimplifying, the Greeks rejected the papacy.

The second great rupture develops 500 years later, with a religious convulsion that begins with Martin Luther and is followed by many other reformers going in somewhat different directions. While the Orthodox differences were over jurisdiction, and not dogma, the Reformation leaders rejected many important aspects of traditional Catholicism. The role of the papacy, the authority of Church structure, the number of Sacraments, and the roles of Scripture and the priesthood topped the list.

Returning to our dream of Jesus’ desire for unity among His members, we have cause for hope. Orthodoxy has been consistently faithful to the traditions of the past, and no dogmatic conflicts have developed beyond the issue of the papacy. I’m happy to report that there has been real progress between Roman Catholics and the mainline Protestant traditions of the west. For years, separate discussions have been going on between these various groups, and the outcome is that removed from the terrible religious wars of the 17th Century, these Christians are now able to see and to stress their overriding commonality. We are not united, but we are moving in that direction. Thanks be to God!

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By Bishop John, September 29, 2011 5:33 am

It’s four centuries since the Christian West was split asunder by the Reformation. That initial tragedy would lead to religious wars that would last for another two centuries. Religious wars calmed down in the 19th century and in the 20th century. With the Second Vatican Council, we have seen a solid movement across Christianity to somehow bring about the restoration of Christian unity. No one, however, has a clear idea on exactly what form the Church would have after the restoration of unity.

Now another step forward. Cardinal Kurt Koch, of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, has announced that the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation are planning a joint declaration on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2016. “Without joint recollection, joint purification and without an admission of guilt on both sides, an honest commemoration will not be possible,” Cardinal Koch told the Austrian Catholic Press Agency. This is a wonderful new step and may carry us forward towards evermore unity and solidarity. Certainly, we can all pray for that.

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By Bishop John, December 8, 2010 5:00 am

The great tragedy of the Christian story is the explosion in the 16th century when Christian unity, which had been such a central goal for 1,500 years, was suddenly shattered. The basic cause of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century was not Martin Luther, indulgences, promiscuous clergy or a desire to use the vernacular language in the liturgy. The basic cause of the Reformation was that the Church had no mechanism to enable it to change in an orderly and rational way. In response, the Council of Trent effected many changes but only after a disastrous conflict that flowed from the fact that no mechanism was in place to address the agonizing issues that were before the Church in 1500.

The Second Vatican Council provided the Church with a wonderful rational way to bring about change but, of course, it could come into existence only if the pope wanted to have it and convened it.What was the Vatican Council? Well, essentially, it was simply a positive response to the demand of the 16th century Reformers.

We paid a terrible price 400 years ago and I am very fearful that we are once again prepared to pay another tragic price. The other day, I mentioned that there is no obvious structural method to bring about change in the Universal Church other than by actions of the Bishop of Rome. This has some advantages but it also has some serious problems.

Change is needed because problems naturally arise in new historical contexts and problems arise frequently! When new problems arise, the leadership is frequently not carrying out its work effectively because it is offering the solution of yesterday to the issues of today. If change is in the hands of that same leadership instinctively resistant to change, they are not too prone to see the need for it. Some type of countervailing voice needs to be developed.

What are the possibilities?

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