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Unitatis Redintegratio II

Unitatis Redintegratio II. REFORM OF THE CHURCH ( Unitatis Redintegratio ).

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Unitatis Redintegratio II

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  1. UnitatisRedintegratio II

  2. REFORM OF THE CHURCH (UnitatisRedintegratio) • Every renewal of the church essentially consists in an increase of fidelity to her own calling. Undoubtedly this explains the dynamism of the movement toward unity. Christ summons the church as she goes on her pilgrim way, to that continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is a human institution hear on earth. Consequently, 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 should be set right at the opportune moment and in the proper way.

  3. Background (1 of 2) The history of Christianity is in many ways a history of reformation. As the Roman Empire began to crumble in the West, many Christians became skeptical of the possibility of pursuing an authentic life in Christ in the midst of a broken and fallen world. • Desert monks/hermits • Monasticism – St. Benedict in the early 6th century • 11th century institutional church reform – wedding of church structures to feudal society – Gregory VII works to establish greater papal authority (Gregorian Reforms) • Symbols of authority (episcopal ring and crosier) • Development of benefice system • Lay investiture – nobleman • Gregorian Reforms were about preserving the autonomy of the church against secular incursions. Result: imperial style of papal governance; clergy become elites. • High Middle Ages: Dominic and Francis call for simple gospel living – mendicant religious orders. • Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. • Uniformity: Trend spawned an ecclesial uniformity built on the standardized profession of faith, catechism, brivery, missal and Vulgate Bible.

  4. Background (2 of 2) Yves Congar: The church is always subject to authentic reform and such reform must be candid in its criticism. • FEUDALISM: A medieval social structure built on a set of hierarchically constructed reciprocal relationships. Peasants or serfs lived largely without benefit of personal property and survived by working the land that was the property of a local nobleman or knight. In exchange for their labor they received protection from their “lord” and judicial resolutions of various civil disputes. In turn, the local nobleman or knight owed fealty to a more powerful lord or even a king who, for his part might owe allegiance to the emperor. • SIMONY: The practice of requiring payment in exchange for the administration of sacraments or provision of some other spiritual goods. • DICASTERY: A congregation, council or tribunal within the Vatican that is devoted to some aspect of the church’s life and mission, e.g., education, the laity, peace and justice. They might be conceived on the analogy of the various departments in the executive branch of the US government, e.g., the State Department.

  5. Vatican II on Reform in the Church • Pope John’s opening address made the reformist agenda of the council explicit. He spoke of the need for an AGGIORNAMENTO in the church, which meant to bring the church “up to date.” • He made the distinction between the substance of church doctrine and its form of presentation.

  6. Church Reform and the Eschatological Orientation of the Church • LG #48 notes that the church itself was “pilgrim” and would not achieve its perfection until the end of history. Again, the notion of historical consciousness is present in a fuller way than in the past. • Gregory XVI in 1832 (MirariVos) notes: “It is absurd and injurious to propose a certain restoration and regeneration in the church as though necessary for her safety and growth, as if she could be considered subject to defect or obscuration or other misfortune.” • By conceiving of the church not just as a collection of individual pilgrims but as itself pilgrim, the council adopted a tone of eschatological humanity, a conviction that while the church was confident it was headed in the right direction as guided by the Sprit, it had not yet arrived. • “The church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus, and in which by the grace of God we attain holiness, will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when the time for the renewal of all things will have come” (LG #48). • …advancing toward the LENITUDE OF DIVINE TRUTH… (DV #8) • By placing the church in this eschatological framework, it was now possible to acknowledge the need for ongoing reform under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

  7. Church Reform and the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church • The church is indeed the Body of Christ. It is so only because it is constituted as such by the Holy Spirit who animates the church and guides it on its pilgrim journey? • Authentic reform and renewal will always be a response to the promptings of the Spirit in every changing historical and cultural contexts.

  8. Church Reform in Ecumenical context Embrace of ecumenism: a new context for a consideration of church reform. Every renewal of the church essentially consists in an increase of fidelity to her own calling (UG #6) What does this mean: • First, the council specified the key distinction between authentic and inauthentic reform. Authentic ecclesial reform is never about the church simply accommodating itself to the patterns and expectations of the world. Authentic reform is a matter of fidelity; it is a matter of the church looking to its deepest theological identity as the Body of Christ, seeking concrete ways to ensure that its teaching, structures, policies and practices are in keeping with that theological identity. • Second, this passage success that ecclesial renewal and reform are not an occasional element in church life. Insofar as the church is pilgrim, reform and renewal will be a constitutive part of the life of the church. • Third, the church is also a human institution. • Fourth, authentic ecclesial reform will be directed at the whole of the church life. It will be concerned with correcting abuses and shortcomings in church custom and law. It will be concerned with remedying the sinfulness of church leaders, and identifying and remedying sinful structures and policies that may be found within the church itself. It is always possible to look for better formulations of church doctrine. This is all directed that the light of Christ may shine more brightly over the face of the church. (LG #15)

  9. HIERARCHY OF TRUTHS (UnitatisRedintegratio) In ecumenical dialogue, Catholic theologians, standing fast by the teaching of the church yet searching together with separated brothers and sisters into the divine mystery, should do so with love for the truth, with charity and with humility. When comparing doctrines with one another, they should remember that in catholic doctrine there exists an order or “hierarchy” of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of Christian faith (UG #11)

  10. Final Thoughts (1 of 2) Archbishop Andrea Pangrazio (Gorizia) in November 1963: • To arrive at a fair estimate of both the unity which now exists among Christians and the diversity which still remains, it seems very important to me to pay close attention to the hierarchical order of revealed truths which express the mystery of Christ and those elements which make up the church. • Although all the truths revealed by divine faith and all those elements which make up the Church must be kept with equal fidelity, not all of them are of equal importance. • Some truth are ON THE LEVEL OF OUR FIANL GOAL, such as the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the Incarnation and Redemption, God’s love and mercy toward sinful humanity, eternal life in the perfect kingdom of God and others. • Other truths are ON THE LEVEL OF MEANS TOWARD SALVATION, such as that there are seven sacraments, truths concerning the hierarchical structure of the church, the apostolic succession, and others. These truths are the means which are given by Christ to the Church for her pilgrim journey here on earth. When this pilgrim journey comes to an end, so also do these means. • Now doctrinal differences among Christians have less to do with these primary truths on the level of our goals, and deal mostly with truths on the level of means, which are certainly subordinate to those other primary truths.

  11. Final Thoughts (2 of 2) • The document in #11 explains that the order or hierarchy of the truths of faith is determined by their “relation to the foundation of the Christian faith.” At the Center of our faith is Christ. • The assent of faith is fundamentally a personal response to God’s self-disclosure in and through the person of Christ. Through this personal relationship, which entails an engagement of our whole person with Christ, we are drawn to participate in the life of the three Divine Persons in the Trinity. This mystery of personal communion is at the heart of our faith commitment. • The Catechism of the Catholic Church in #234 picks up this notion: • The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in God’s self. It is therefore the source of all the others mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith.”

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