Missionary Ecumenism and the May 27-30, 2008 Forum on Secularity

the May 27-30, 2008 Forum on Secularity

by Harry E. Winter, OMI, hewomi@aol.com, May 4, 2008

....The division among Christians damages the most holy cause of preaching the gospel to every creature and blocks the way to the faith for many (Vatican II, Decree on Missionary Activity, #6; Decree on Ecumenism, #'s 1, 4; Catechism, #855).

.....As Oblates with many scattered resources in missionary ecumenism, how can we bring these resources to bear on the challenge of secularity? The recent statement of Cardinal Walter Kasper that "certain features of the Christian mystery have at times been more effectively emphasized by other Churches or Ecclesial communities " (A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism, New City Press, 2006, #10, highly recommended) applies to both Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.

I...Eastern Orthodoxy

.....A friend who visited a state-owned art museum in Moscow not long ago was surprised to observe people kneeling, bowing their heads and praying reverently in public before the icons and other Christian works on display. Some worshipers left a flower or a candle on the floor beside a work. Apparently such gestures are commonplace. That these Christians had encountered the art outside a church seemed to matter not at all, since the art itself was seen in that culture and among the Orthodox as worthy of veneration (Karen Sue Smith, "Artful Contemplation," America, March 3, 2008, p. 16).

.....With the recent thawing of contact with the Orthodox ("Ravenna Was 'Breakthrough' in Orthodox-Catholic Ties," Zenit, 2/19/08), we need to take advantage of our Oblates who are bi-ritual. In the past two years, the Polish-Canadian pre-novices in Buffalo, NY have shown a great interest in the work of Father Waclaw Hryniewicz, OMI, the Polish Oblate who served for many years on the International Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue. Our Oblate College in Washington, DC, trained many priests of the Maronite and Ukranian Rites.

.....Many Eastern Orthodox leaders have recently indicated a new interest in working with Roman Catholics on secularity. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I has a special concern for environmental issues. "The Green Patriarch" and his actions in this area have the support of the Vatican. Environmental concern is an area where secularists and people of faith can work together.

II. Protestantism

....."It seems that the evangelical and Pentecostal movements have the most energy in our time" (Dean Hoge, "Challenges Facing the Priesthood in America," Origins 37 [April 17, 2008, #44] :710). Catholic charismatics have led an amazing convergence with Pentecostals and evangelicals. Although some Pentecostals (and fundamentalists) would still not be caught dead with an RC, the amount of cooperation today is growing by leaps and bounds. Oblates have a strong presence within the charismatic movement, and within earlier movements which also stress the same adult conversion experience (Cursillo and Marriage Encounter, for example).

.....One cannot forget how the Presbyterian Reformed centers of Taizé and Iona have resulted in greater cross-fertilization, for mission and evangelization, especially among the young. Even the late Francis Schaeffer's center at L'Abri, Switzerland, took the lead in cooperation on reducing abortion, in addition to attracting thousands of young people to its various centers on different continents.

.....Hispanic bishops Ricardo Ramirez CSB (Las Cruces, NM) and Placido Rodriguez CMF (Lubbock, TX) have shown initiative in working with Hispanic evangelicals and Pentecostals. Efforts by World Vision International to build bridges to Catholicism are slow in Latin America, but they are trying. Pentecostal leader Juan Sepulveda has written movingly of ecumenical progress at the Fifth Latin American Bishops Conference (Aparecida, Brazil, 2007): Ecumenical Trends 37 (April, 2008, #4): 9/57-11/59.

.....Ron Rolheiser's sketching of conservatism versus liberalism (Secularity and the Gospel, pp. 49-50, 85-87) reminds us of the phenomenon of red states and blue states. Red states not only tend to vote Republican and have conservative values; they also have higher rates of religious practice and are rural oriented. When Harvey Cox wrote his classic Secular City, he explained how urbanization is related to secularity (rev. ed., 1966, pp. 3-12). Can our three person secularity team, residing in Indianapolis, IN, also alert Oblates working in more rural and small town areas, to the differences between faith practices in red and blue states?

.....Cox's ch. 9 "Sex and Secularization" has this marvelous view:

.....If Americans had consciously set out to think up a system that would produce maximal martial and premarital strife for both sexes, we could scarcely have invented a more sexually sabotaging set of dating procedures than we have today (p. 180).

.....Modesty, chastity, and a mature Christian view of sex are important elements in our exploration of secularity.

.....Since Pope Leo XIII's encyclical on social Justice Rerum Novarum (1891), observers have noted that the papacy is liberal in matters of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), and conservative in matters of doctrine. On the Protestant side, Jim Wallis and his journal Sojourners is the latest in a line of evangelical liberals, conservative in doctrine and liberal in JPIC.

.....Here in Buffalo, NY, a growing number of African-American Protestant pastors are discovering the courses in spirituality at the inter-diocesan seminary. Our resources in spirituality at Oblate School of Theology, and Lebh Shomea should be attractive to Hispanic evangelicals and Pentecostals.

III. Proclamation and Dialogue exist in creative tension. The following article from Columban Missions, Nov. 2007, p. 11 challenges us.

TOGETHER TO PRAY, BUT NOT PRAYING TOGETHER
by Fr. Pat McCaffrey

.....A difficulty in promoting interracial harmony in Fiji is the reluctance in recent years of some Christian churches to participate in interfaith prayer gatherings. All groups, it seems, are willing to be involved in interfaith social work, but some consider interfaith prayer a compromise of their Christian beliefs.

.....Some see interfaith prayer as an endorsement of the belief that followers of different faith traditions are like people swimming in different rivers that will eventually flow into the ocean of God's love. But others believe there is only one river that will take us safely into the haven of God's love.

.....Since Pope John Paul II's charismatic invitation in 1987 to all faith leaders to gather in Assisi to pray for peace, the Catholic Church has made special efforts to promote interfaith prayer for peace. This initiative has been recently endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI.

....The distinction is made that we come together to pray, but we do not pray together. At first blush, this may seem to be nothing more than wordplay. But it does express a truth; it is important to come together to pray, but it is equally important that we do not reduce our separate beliefs to a common denominator in prayer, thereby concealing elements of our faith.

.....Recently in Fiji, we began a monthly interfaith prayer gathering to promote peace in Fiji and throughout the world. The response from Muslims, Hindus, Baha'is, Christians and Mormons has been encouraging.

.....At each meeting, a theme is chosen for the next month's prayer gathering. Each faith community is requested to choose a reading from their respective scriptures and forward this to the coordinator who distributes copies of the readings to everyone who attends. When readings are in an unfamiliar language, such as Arabic, Hindi or Sanskrit, translations are provided.

.....The meeting begins with a common interfaith prayer. Each faith community then shares the reading from their sacred scriptures. This may be a reading hymn or bhaja (a Hindu devotional song). A period of silence, accompanied by soft music, follows each meeting.

.....The prayer time ends with a common prayer. Then, we reflect on what we have accomplished and how we can improve the next time we gather.

.....These prayer gatherings are an important way to help us understand the differences and commonalities in religious beliefs and cultures in Fiji and move closer to the elusive goal of religious harmony.

IV. Resources

Evangelicals and Catholics Together for Mission (1994): then Biship Francis George, OMI was one of the seven Catholic signers. The latest update, That They May Have Life, can be found in First Things Oct. 2006 #166 :18-25.
RENOVARÉ, the ecumenical community led by Richard Foster. For an Oblate attempt, see www.stcasimirchurch.org/fiveways.htm and newsletter Mission-Unity-Dialogue.
Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, website and newsletter KOINONIA, Fr. Tom Ryan CSP.
Christian Churches Together in the USA (2006), the largest and most comprehensive grouping of USA Christians.
Fellowship of Merry Christians and ten times yearly Joyful Noiseletter.

9 May 2008