Unitatis redintegratio

Unitatis redintegratio, also known as the 'Decree on ecumenism', is one of the Second Vatican Council's 16 magisterial documents. The Latin title, meaning "The restoration of unity", is taken from the opening sentence of the decree: "The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council."

The final text was approved on 20 November 1964 by a vote of 2,054 to 64. The text became the Decree on Ecumenism on 21 November 1964 when it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI after another vote, this time of 2,137 in favour and 11 opposed.

Contents

The decree of 24 articles is made up of an introduction (§1) followed by 3 chapters:

1. Catholic Principles of Ecumenism (§§2-4)

2. The practice of ecumenism (§§5-12)

3. Churches and Ecclesial Communities Separated from the Roman Apostolic See (§§13-24)

1. Catholic Principles of Ecumenism

In §3 we find striking statements that are new in the Church's teaching:

“Often enough, men of both sides were to blame” for divisions within the Church (§3).

[S]ome 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. [...] [M]any liturgical actions [of non-Catholics] most certainly can truly engender a life of grace in ways that vary according to the condition of each Church or Community. [...] It follows that the separated Churches 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. (§3)

In virtue of their faith in Christ and their baptism, non-Catholic Christians are in – incomplete – communion with the Church of Christ:

[M]en who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect. [...] [I]t remains true that all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church. (§3)

Catholics must get rid of false images of non-Catholics and come to appreciate the riches of their traditions:

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. (§4)

All Christians, including Catholics, must examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will, and undertake whatever internal reforms are called for:

[Catholics'] primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be done or renewed in the Catholic household itself. [...] 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 fervour that they should. (§4)

2. The Practice of Ecumenism

§5 states that a concern for unity is an obligation for all within the Church: “The attainment of union is the concern of the whole Church, faithful and shepherds alike. This concern extends to everyone, according to his talent, whether it be exercised in his daily Christian life or in his theological and historical research.”

§§6-8: ecumenism requires a new attitude on the part of Catholics, as well as reform of the Church's behaviour and practices, and even of the formulation of its teachings:

Christ summons the Church to continual reformation as she sojourns here on earth. The Church is always in need of this, in so far as she is an institution of men here on earth. Thus if, in various times and circumstances, there have been deficiencies in moral conduct or in church discipline, or even in the way that church teaching has been formulated – to be carefully distinguished from the deposit of faith itself – these can and should be set right at the opportune moment. (§6)

There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart. [...] So we humbly beg pardon of God and of our separated brethren, just as we forgive them that trespass against us. (§7)

This change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement. (§8)

§11 states the important principle that not all teachings are of equal importance: “When comparing doctrines with one another, they should remember that in Catholic doctrine there exists a 'hierarchy' of truths, since they vary in their relation to the fundamental Christian faith.” This teaching evoked a range of reactions among many theologians of various religious affiliations. According to Oscar Cullmann, a Swiss Lutheran theologian and New Testament scholar who was an observer at the Council, this text is “the most revolutionary to be found, not only in the Schema decreti de oecumenismo but in any of the Schemas of the present Council".

§12 invites all Christians to cooperate, in the spirit of “Christ the Servant”, in endeavours for the common good of mankind, especially those that involve

a just evaluation of the dignity of the human person, the establishment of the blessings of peace, the application of Gospel principles to social life, the advancement of the arts and sciences in a truly Christian spirit, or also in the use of various remedies to relieve the afflictions of our times such as famine and natural disasters, illiteracy and poverty, housing shortage and the unequal distribution of wealth.

3. Churches and Ecclesial Communities Separated from the Roman Apostolic See

The last chapter describes some features of the Orthodox Churches (§§14-18) and of Protestants (§§19-23), and their implications for ecumenism.

§15: The Orthodox Churches have a very rich liturgical and spiritual heritage. They “possess true sacraments and above all, by apostolic succession, the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are linked with us in closest intimacy”. Hence common worship is possible, with the approval of Church authority.

§17: East and West have differing, but complementary, approaches to understanding God's truth.

[F]rom time to time, one tradition has come nearer to a full appreciation of some aspects of a mystery of revelation than the other, or has expressed it to better advantage. [...] All this heritage of spirituality and liturgy, of discipline and theology, in its various traditions, this holy synod declares to belong to the full Catholic and apostolic character of the Church.

§20: Protestants accept Christ as God and Lord, and sole mediator between God and man.

We rejoice to see that our separated brethren look to Christ as the source and centre of Church unity. Their longing for union with Christ inspires them to seek an ever closer unity, and also to bear witness to their faith among the peoples of the earth.

§21: Protestants have a love and reverence of Sacred Scripture. While they do not accept the role of the Church in the interpretation of Scripture, their devotion to the Bible is an instrument of the highest value in the search for unity.

§22: “Whenever the Sacrament of Baptism is duly administered as Our Lord instituted it, and is received with the right dispositions, a person is truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ, and reborn to a sharing of the divine life.” All Christians are therefore united by Baptism. And while Protestants do not have the Eucharist in its fullness because they lack the sacrament of orders, “nevertheless when they commemorate His death and resurrection in the Lord's Supper, they profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and look forward to His coming in glory.”

§23: The daily life of Protestants exhibits many admirable features: private prayer, meditation on the Bible, Christian family life, thanksgiving for God's blessings, “a strong sense of justice and a true charity toward their neighbour”. While they do not always give the same solutions to moral problems as Catholics do, “an ecumenical dialogue might start with discussion of the application of the Gospel to moral conduct”.

Analysis

The decree represents an important step forward in both ecclesiology and ecumenism.

Ecclesiology

Before the Council, the Church taught that (1) the Catholic Church was identical to the Church of Christ; (2) the Orthodox and Protestants were in error and were not part of the Church of Christ; (3) they could be saved only if they had an “unconscious desire” to belong to the Church.

The Decree on Ecumenism, on the other hand, takes the following position:

- The decree follows the ecclesiology developed in Lumen gentium (the Constitution on the Church). Instead of asking who is a member of the Church of Christ and who is not, this ecclesiology is based on the concept of communion with the Church of Christ: the Catholic Church is in full communion with the Church of Christ, while other Christian denominations are in incomplete communion with it.

- Non-Catholic Christians have many of the elements of the true Church and through them may attain salvation. Non-Catholic Christians are saved because of their Churches, and not in spite of them.

- All Christians who believe in Christ are already united by their baptism.

- Other Christian traditions have many admirable features, such as Protestants' devotion for the Bible.

- The Orthodox and some Protestant denominations may legitimately be called “Churches”.

- The tone of the decree is always friendly: the Orthodox are never called “schismatics” or the Protestants “heretics”.

Ecumenism

Before the Council, the Church taught that: (1) divisions among Christians were entirely the fault of non-Catholics; (2) unity could come about only by their return to the fold; (3) Catholics should not take part in ecumenical activities except in exceptional circumstances and with great prudence.

The Decree on Ecumenism, on the other hand, takes a very different position:

- Responsibility for disunity lies on both sides. The Catholic Church recognizes that its own past actions contributed to disunity, and asks for forgiveness.

- There is no mention of the need for the others to return to the Catholic Church. We do not know how reunion will occur, only that it will be God's initiative.

- All Christians, including Catholics, have an obligation to do what they can to prepare the ground for this.

- Reform of the heart is needed. All Christian denominations, including the Catholic Church, need to reform their own practices in order to become more faithful to Christ.

- If Catholics and non-Catholics are to work together for reunion, then the attitude must be one of fraternity and the language one of dialogue. Condemnations are to be avoided.

- Accurate understanding of others is important. Catholics need to have an unbiased understanding of non-Catholics.

- There is a “hierarchy of truths”. When examining doctrinal differences between denominations, it should be remembered that theological truths are not all of equal importance.

- Joint prayer and action are necessary. Even common worship is permissible in certain circumstances.

Some Comments

Unitatis Redintegratio calls for the reunion of Christendom and is similar to a previous call for unity by Pope Leo XIII in the 1894 encyclical Praeclara gratulationis publicae. However, Unitatis articulates a different kind of ecclesiology from Praeclara. It focuses on the unity of the people of God and on separated Christian brethren rather than insisting according to the classical formulation that schismatics must return to the fold under the unity of the Vicar of Christ.

"...it remains true that all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church."

"...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."

When considering how the Church may allow for "common worship", which must never be used "indiscriminately", it is for "local episcopal authority, unless otherwise provided for by the Bishops' Conference according to its statutes, or by the Holy See" to determine the course to follow, making due provision for specific "circumstances of time, place, and persons". (8)

Criticism

Traditionalist Catholics argue that this document contradicts the teachings of popes who preceded the Second Vatican Council and gives a false representation of the unity of the Catholic Church. They cite documents such as Mortalium Animos (1928) by Pope Pius XI, which addresses statements similarly expressed in Unitatis Redintegratio. Pius XI considered the position that the Church of Christ can be divided into sections and that the Unity of the Church has not been achieved as a false opinion. Considering these notions, Pius wrote "[T]he Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in [non-Catholic] assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises; for if they do so they will be giving countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien to the one Church of Christ. Shall We suffer, what would indeed be iniquitous, the truth, and a truth divinely revealed, to be made a subject for compromise? For here there is question of defending revealed truth."

Subsequent developments

Pope John Paul II refers to and builds on the teaching of Unitatis Redintegratio in his encyclical letter of 25 May 1995, Ut unum sint.

Cardinal Walter Kasper discussed the status of the problems by the document on the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Unitatis in remarks entitled "The Decree on Ecumenism – Read Anew After Forty Years".

See also

• Separated brethren
• Ut unum sint, John Paul II, 25 May 1995

External links

The English text can be found on the Vatican website.