Of course, I'm neither(!) The members of the Holy See do not regard me as Catholic, and several members of the Anglican Church do not see me as Anglican.
However much I love and respect both aspects of my Christianity, I do have questions that need to be addressed.
To the Roman Catholic: You are of course committed to the unity of the Church in obedience to the Lord's desire for One Church, and I know that you wouldn't wish to place obstacles into that unity. What are you doing to address what are legitimate concerns that Anglicans have what they perceive as Roman Catholic innovations, namely Papal Supremacy and Infallibility, and the enforced subscription to dogma such as Transubstantiation? If you really want Anglicans to be convinced to return to full communion with you, then you will need to listen carefully about their concerns, and answer them fully and kindly with a view to that unity. What are you doing to counter wilful Anglicanophobia from within your Church in order to show the Love of God to your offspring?
To the Anglican: You are also, of course committed to the unity of the Church in obedience to the Lord's desire for One Church. What are you doing to address the legitimate concern that the constant fragmentation of Anglicanism into smaller and smaller units is nothing to do with the Protestant tendency to choose self-rule over submission to authority? How are you working to convince the Pope of the wonderful integrity that your heritage possesses so that he will use his keys to bind the churches together? Further, what are you doing to remove any Anti-Roman sentiments which place an obstacle in the way of a loving reconciliation with one of your parents?
I am looking for more questions to ask. I haven't as yet found either the words or the brainspace for them.
And no blaming each other for the problems that were in. I want to know what YOU are doing!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, my friend!
ReplyDeleteNeither demands for submission nor insistence upon independence are compatible with the Gospel. We aren't called to submit unilaterally to anyone, but we are called to submit to one another. What's that work out to in practice?
1. Listening. The very beginning of a conversation is a listening to the other.
1a. Has our "opponent" no worthwhile concerns? Is it really true that he has nothing to say from which we can profit? That is nonsense. Even if it be no more than insight into how we seem to say something other than we intend to say, there is always something to learn from the other -- and, who knows, he may actually have a better insight into something than we do.
1b. Do we understand what he is saying, or ar we objecting to what we think, falsely, that he has said? We may be fighting the wrong battle altogether, or we may find that we are actually saying the same thing in different words or from different viewpoints.
2. Present our own views completely, clearly, and gently so that the other may know what we really are saying and why. If there is to be any movement toward unity, all the problems must be faced, but none of them can be used as clubs,
3. John, chapter 17. Pray, along with Our Lord, that all may be one. Pray before every interaction. Pray during every interaction. Pray when the discussion is done. Pray.
Bickering always increases discord. Prayerful, respectful, loving discourse, even when differences are strong always tends toward unity.
ed