Unity: Full, Visible and Practical

Benedict XVI has delivered his Address to the gathered ecumenical leaders at the Archbishop's Residence in Colgone. From the fulltext:

In ecumenical dialogue Germany has a place of particular importance. Not only is it the place where the Reformation began; it is also one of those countries where the ecumenical movement of the twentieth century originated. With the successive waves of immigration in the last century, Christians from the Orthodox Churches and the ancient Churches of the East also found a new homeland in this country. This certainly favoured greater contact and exchanges. Together we can rejoice in the fact that ecumenical dialogue, with the passage of time, has brought about a renewed sense of fraternity and has created a more open and trusting climate between Christians belonging to the various Churches and ecclesial Communities. My venerable Predecessor, in his Encyclical Ut Unum Sint (1995) saw this as an especially significant fruit of dialogue (cf. Nos. 41ff; 64)....

I do not intend here to outline a programme for the immediate themes of dialogue - this task belongs to theologians working alongside the Bishops. I simply wish to make an observation: ecclesiological issues, and especially the question of the sacred ministry or priesthood, are inseparably linked with that of the relationship between Scripture and Church, that is to say the correct interpretation of the Word of God and its development within the life of the Church.

Another urgent priority in ecumenical dialogue arises from the great ethical questions of our time; in this area, modern research rightly expects a common response on the part of Christians, which, thanks be to God, has often been forthcoming. But not always, alas. Because of contradictory positions in these areas, our witness to the Gospel and the ethical guidance which we owe to the faithful and to society lose their impact and often appear too vague, with the result that we fail in our duty to provide the witness that is needed in our time. Our divisions are contrary to the will of Jesus and they disappoint the expectations of our contemporaries.

That last sentence (emphasis my own) is remarkable. Strong -- and intendedly so -- it is a consequential statement from a Pope still thought of in many quarters as the hammer of heresy and still viewed as the ultimate gatekeeper of Catholicism. The close is strong, drawing on the history of modern ecumenical relations and with praise of the progress it has made:

I see good reason for optimism in the fact that today a kind of “network” of spiritual links is developing between Catholics and Christians from the different Churches and ecclesial Communities: each individual commits himself to prayer, to the examination of his own life, to the purification of memory, to the openness of charity. The father of spiritual ecumenism, Paul Couturier, spoke in this regard of an “invisible cloister” which unites within its walls those souls inflamed with love for Christ and his Church. I am convinced that if more and more people unite themselves to the Lord’s prayer “that all may be one” (Jn 17:21), then this prayer, made in the name of Jesus, will not go unheard (cf. Jn 14:13; 15:7, 16, etc.). With the help that comes from on high, we will also find practical solutions to the different questions which remain open, and in the end our desire for unity will come to fulfilment, whenever and however the Lord wills. I invite all of you to join me in following this path.

"Practical solutions to the different questions which remain open." Practical. Not orthodox. Not repressive. Not exclusionary. Practical.

Score 10 for Christian Unity.

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