CALLED TO BE ONE

Was the Founder of Taizé Protestant, or Catholic? A Cardinal Solves the Riddle

Fr. Roger Schutz was both. He adhered to the Church of Rome while remaining a Calvinist pastor. Wojtyla and Ratzinger gave him communion. Cardinal Kasper explains how, and why. 

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, August 25, 2008 – In an interview published on the feast of the Assumption in "L'Osservatore Romano," Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the pontifical council for the promotion of Christian unity, solved a riddle concerning the founder of the multi-confessional ecumenical community of Taizé, Fr. Roger Schutz (in the photo). 

The riddle concerned Schutz's relationship with the Catholic Church. Schutz was a Protestant pastor, of the Reformed tradition and of Calvinist origin. After his death – at the age of 90, killed on August 16, 2005 by a mentally deranged woman, during evening prayers and in the presence of 2,500 faithful – the community of Taizé dispelled the notion that he had secretly converted to Catholicism. But the idea of his conversion was supported by various facts: Schutz had repeatedly received Eucharistic communion from John Paul II; he took communion every morning at the Catholic Mass in Taizé; and he was given communion by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger himself, at the funeral Mass for pope Karol Wojtyla. 

After he became pope under the name of Benedict XVI, Ratzinger commented in touching words – on August 19, 2005, in Cologne, at a meeting with representatives of non-Catholic Christian Churches and communities – on Schutz's death, which had taken place three days before in Taizé. He spoke of him as a luminous example of "interiorized and spiritualized ecumenism," made up above all of prayer. He recalled having had "a cordial friendship" with him, and of having received, on the day of his murder, a letter from him supporting him as pope. 

Benedict XVI also maintains an excellent relationship with Schutz's successor, Brother Alois Leser, a German Catholic. He receives him in private audience at least once a year. Brother Alois's writings frequently appear in "L'Osservatore Romano," the director of which, Giovanni Maria Vian, has also been a great admirer of the community of Taizé for many years. 

But how does Kasper solve the riddle? He denies that Fr. Schutz "formally" adhered to the Catholic Church. And much less did he abandon the Protestantism into which he was born. He affirms, instead, that he gradually "enriched" his faith with the pillars of the Catholic faith, particularly the role of Mary in salvation history, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the "the ministry of unity exercised by the bishop of Rome." In response to this, the Catholic Church allowed him to receive Eucharistic communion. 

According to Kasper, it is as if there had been an unwritten agreement between Schutz and the Church of Rome, "crossing certain confessional" and canonical limits. 

But we'll leave it to the cardinal to give a precise explanation of the "spiritual" ecumenism represented by Fr. Schutz. He once said of himself: "I found my identity as a Christian by reconciling within myself the faith of my origins and the mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking communion with anyone." 

Here is the complete text of the interview, published in "L'Osservatore Romano" on August 15, 2008: 

Roger Schutz, the Monk Symbol of Spiritual Ecumenism 

Interview with Walter Kasper 

Q: Three years have passed since the tragic death of Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé. You yourself went to preside at his funeral service. Who was he for you? 

A: The death of Brother Roger moved me deeply. I was in Cologne for World Youth Day when we heard about the death of Brother Roger, the victim of an act of violence. His death reminded me of the words the prophet Isaiah spoke about the Servant of the Lord: “Ill-treated and afflicted, he never opened his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb before its shearers, he never opened his mouth” (Isa 53:7). Throughout his life, Brother Roger followed the way of the Lamb: by his gentleness and his humility, by his refusal of every act of human greatness, by his decision never to speak ill of anyone, by his desire to carry in his own heart the sufferings and the hopes of humanity. Few persons of our generation have incarnated with such transparency the gentle and humble face of Jesus Christ. In a turbulent period for the Church and for Christian faith, Brother Roger was a source of hope recognized by many, including myself. As a theology professor and then as Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, I always encouraged young people to stop in Taizé during the summer. I saw how much that time spent close to Brother Roger and the community helped them better to understand and to live the Word of God, in joy and simplicity. I felt all that even more when I presided at his funeral liturgy in the large Church of Reconciliation in Taizé. 

Q: What is, in your eyes, the specific contribution of Brother Roger and the Taizé Community to ecumenism? 

A: Christian unity was certainly one of the deepest desires of the prior of Taizé, just as the division between Christians was for him a true source of pain and regret. Brother Roger was a man of communion, who found it hard to tolerate any form of antagonism or rivalry between persons or communities. When he spoke of Christian unity and of his meetings with the representatives of different Christian traditions, his look and his voice enabled you to understand with what intensity of charity and hope he desired “all to be one”. The search for unity was for him a kind of guideline in even the most concrete decisions of each day: to welcome joyfully any action that could bring Christians of different traditions closer, to avoid every word or act that could slow down their reconciliation. He practiced that discernment with an attentiveness that bordered on meticulousness. In the search for unity, however, Brother Roger was not in a hurry or nervous. He understood God’s patience in the history of salvation and in the history of the Church. He never would have acted in ways unacceptable to the Churches; he never would have invited the young people to dissociate themselves from their pastors. Rather than the speed of the development of the ecumenical movement, he was aiming at its depth. He was convinced that only an ecumenism nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the Eucharist, by prayer and contemplation, would be able to bring together Christians in the unity wished for by Jesus. It is in this area of spiritual ecumenism that I would like to situate the important contribution of Brother Roger and the Taizé Community. 

Q: Brother Roger often described his ecumenical journey as an “inner reconciliation of the faith of his origins with the Mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone.” This road does not belong to the usual categories. After his death, the Taizé Community denied the rumors of a secret conversion to Catholicism. One of the reasons those rumors arose was because Brother Roger had been seen receiving communion at the hands of Cardinal Ratzinger during the funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II. What should we think about the statement that Brother Roger became “formally” Catholic? 

A: Born in a Reformed family, Brother Roger had studied theology and had become a pastor in that same Reformed tradition. When he spoke of “the faith of his origins,” he was referring to that beautiful blend of catechesis, devotion, theological formation and Christian witness received in the Reformed tradition. He shared that patrimony with all his brothers and sisters of Protestant affiliation, with whom he always felt himself deeply linked. Since his early years as a pastor, however, Brother Roger sought at the same time to nourish his faith and his spiritual life at the wellsprings of other Christian traditions, crossing certain confessional limits in doing so. His desire to follow a monastic vocation and to found for this purpose a new monastic community with Christians of the Reformation already said a lot about this search of his. 

As the years passed, the faith of the prior of Taizé was progressively enriched by the patrimony of faith of the Catholic Church. According to his own testimony, it was with reference to the mystery of the Catholic faith that he understood some of the elements of the faith, such as the role of the Virgin Mary in salvation history, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic gifts and the apostolic ministry in the Church, including the ministry of unity exercised by the Bishop of Rome. In response to this, the Catholic Church had accepted that he take communion at the Eucharist, as he did every morning in the large church at Taizé. Brother Roger also received communion several times from the hands of Pope John Paul II, who had become friends with him from the days of the Second Vatican Council and who was well acquainted with his personal journey with respect to the Catholic Church. In this sense, there was nothing secret or hidden in the attitude of the Catholic Church, neither at Taizé or in Rome. During the funeral of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger only repeated what had already been done before him in Saint Peter’s Basilica, at the time of the late Pope. There was nothing new or premeditated in the Cardinal’s act. 

In a talk he gave in the presence of Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter’s Basilica during the young adult European meeting in Rome in 1980, the prior of Taizé described his own personal journey and his Christian identity with these words: “I have found my own Christian identity by reconciling within myself the faith of my origins with the Mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone.” In fact, Brother Roger never wanted to break “with anyone,” for reasons which were essentially linked to his own desire for unity and to the ecumenical vocation of the Taizé Community. For that reason, he preferred not to use certain expressions like “conversion” or “formal” membership to describe his communion with the Catholic Church. In his conscience, he had entered into the mystery of the Catholic faith like someone who grows into it, without having to “abandon” or “break” with what he had received and lived beforehand. The meaning of some theological or canonical terms could be discussed endlessly. Out of respect for the faith-journey of Brother Roger, however, it would be preferable not to apply to him categories which he himself considered inappropriate for his experience and which, moreover, the Catholic Church never wanted to impose upon him. Here too, the words of Brother Roger himself should suffice for us. 

Q: Do you see any links between the ecumenical vocation of Taizé and the pilgrimage of tens of thousands of young adults to this small village in Burgundy? In your opinion, are young people sensitive to the visible unity of Christians? 

A: As I see it, the fact that every year thousands of young people still make their way to the little hill of Taizé is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit to today’s Church. For many of them, Taizé represents the first and main place where they can meet young people from other Churches and Ecclesial Communities. I am happy to see that the young adults who fill the tents of Taizé each summer come from different countries of Western and Eastern Europe, and some from other continents, that they belong to different communities of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox tradition, that they are often accompanied by their own priests or pastors. A number of young people who come to Taizé are from countries that have experienced civil wars or violent internal conflicts, often in a still recent past. Others come from regions that suffered for several decades under the yoke of a materialistic ideology. Still others, who perhaps represent the majority, live in societies deeply marked by secularization and religious indifference. In Taizé, during the times of prayer and sharing on the Bible, they rediscover the gift of communion and friendship that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can offer. In listening to the Word of God, they also rediscover the unique treasure that has been given to them by the sacrament of baptism. Yes, I believe that many young people realize what is truly at stake in the unity of Christians. They know how the burden of divisions can still weigh heavily on the witness of Christians and on the building up of a new society. In Taizé they find a kind of “parable of community” that helps to go beyond the rifts of the past and to look towards a future of communion and friendship. When they return home, that experience helps them to create groups of prayer and sharing in their own life-context, to nourish that desire for unity. 

Q: Before heading the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, you were the bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and, in that capacity, you welcomed in 1996 a young adult European meeting organized by the Taizé Community. What do these meetings contribute to the life of the Churches? 

A: That meeting was indeed a time of very great joy and profound spiritual intensity for the diocese, and especially for the parishes that welcomed the young participants from different countries. Those meetings seem to me extremely important for the life of the Church. Many young people, as I said, live in secularized societies. It is hard for them to find companions on the road of Christian faith and life. Spaces to deepen and celebrate faith, in joy and serenity, are rare. The local Churches sometimes find it hard to walk alongside the young in their spiritual journeys. It is in this respect that large meetings like those organized by the Taizé Community respond to a true pastoral need. Christian life certainly requires silence and solitude, as Jesus said: “Shut yourself in your room and pray to your Father who is in that secret place” (Matt 6:6). But it also needs sharing, encounters and exchanges. Christian life is not lived out in isolation, on the contrary. Through baptism, we belong to the same one body of the Risen Christ. The Spirit is the soul and the breath that animates that body, making it grow in holiness. The gospels, incidentally, speak regularly of a great crowd of persons who came, often from very far away, to see and hear Jesus and to be healed by him. The large meetings held today are part of this same dynamic. They enable the young better to grasp the mystery of the Church as communion, to listen together to the words of Jesus and to put their trust in him. 

Q: Pope John XXIII called Taizé a “little springtime.” For his part, Brother Roger said that Pope John XXIII was the man who had affected him the most. In your opinion, why did the Pope who had the intuition of the Second Vatican Council and the founder of Taizé appreciate one another so much? 

A: Every time I met Brother Roger, he spoke to me a lot about his friendship for Pope John XXIII first of all, then for Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. It was always with gratitude and a great joy that he told me about the many meetings and conversations he had with them over the years. On the one hand, the prior of Taizé felt very close to the Bishops of Rome in their concern to lead the Church of Christ along the ways of spiritual renewal, of unity between Christians, of service to the poor, of witness to the Gospel. On the other hand, he felt deeply understood and supported by them in his own spiritual journey and in the orientation that the young Taizé Community was taking. The awareness of acting in harmony with the thought of the Bishop of Rome was for him a kind of compass in all his actions. He never would have undertaken an initiative that he knew was against the opinion or the will of the Bishop of Rome. A similar relationship of trust continues today with Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke very touching words when the founder of Taizé died, and who receives Brother Alois every year in a private audience. Where did this mutual esteem between Brother Roger and the successive Bishops of Rome come from? It was certainly rooted in human realities, in the rich personalities of the men concerned. In the final analysis, I would say that it came from the Holy Spirit, who is coherent in what he inspires in different persons at the same time, for the good of the one Church of Christ. When the Spirit speaks, all understand the same message, each in his or her own language. The true creator of understanding and brotherhood among the disciples of Christ is the Spirit of communion. 

Q: You are well acquainted with Brother Alois, Brother Roger’s successor. How do you see the future of the Taizé Community? 

A: Although I had already met him previously, it is above all since Brother Roger died that I have come to know Brother Alois better. A few years earlier, Brother Roger told me that everything was planned for his succession, on the day when that would be necessary. He was happy about the prospect that Brother Alois was going to take over. Who could have ever imagined that that succession was going to take place in a single night, after an unthinkable act of violence? What has astonished me since then is the great continuity in the life of the Taizé Community and in the welcome of the young. The liturgy, the prayer and the hospitality continue in the same spirit, like a song that has never been interrupted. That says a lot, not only about the personality of the new prior, but also and above all about the human and spiritual maturity of the whole Taizé Community. It is the community as a whole that has inherited Brother Roger’s charism, which it continues to live and to radiate. Knowing the individuals concerned, I have full confidence in the future of the Taizé Community and in its commitment for Christian unity. That confidence comes to me from the Holy Spirit as well, who does not awaken charisms in order to abandon them at the first opportunity. God’s Spirit, who is always new, works in the continuity of a vocation and a mission. He will help the community to live out and to develop its vocation, in faithfulness to the example that Brother Roger left it. Generations pass, but the charism remains, because it is a gift and a work of the Spirit. I would like to conclude by repeating to Brother Alois and to the whole Taizé Community my great esteem for their friendship, their life of prayer and their desire for unity. Thanks to them, the gentle face of Brother Roger remains familiar to us. 

__________ 

The official website of the community of Taizé, in 32 languages: 

> Taizé 

__________ 

The words dedicated to Fr. Roger Schutz by Benedict XVI, in the address to non-Catholic Christians in Cologne on August 19, 2005: 

"I would like to remember the great pioneer of unity, Bro. Roger Schutz, who was so tragically snatched from life. I had known him personally for a long time and had a cordial friendship with him. 

"He often came to visit me and, as I already said in Rome on the day of his assassination, I received a letter from him that moved my heart, because in it he underlined his adherence to my path and announced to me that he wanted to come and see me. He is now visiting us and speaking to us from on high. I think that we must listen to him, from within we must listen to his spiritually-lived ecumenism and allow ourselves to be led by his witness towards an interiorized and spiritualized ecumenism. 

"I see good reason in this context 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 interiorly 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."

_click on: IS ORTHODOX - CATHOLIC DIALOGUE IN DANGER?_________

English translation by Matthew Sherry, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

MONASTIC WISDOM FROM ST ELIZABETH'S CONVENT (MINSK) - I

ORTHODOXY AS KNOWLEDGE OF LOVE 

by Archpriest Andrew Lemeshono

my source: St Elizabeth's Convent website

We live in the Orthodox land that is soaked in blood and sweat of martyrs and saints who created the Holy Russia, whom we glorify and whom only the Lord knows. In order for a country to be called that, its people must be holy, sanctified with God's grace. Holiness is God acting in a person. God came to the earth for the sinners. The people who had lived on this earth — pagans who had worshipped idols and had not known the true light, could finally see it, and, getting to know God, ultimately fell in love with Him.

Christ established the Church on earth. It is a place where one leaves the temporary world and proceeds to the eternity. The Church is the Last Supper that the Lord had before his suffering on the Cross, and that He celebrates every day as He calls the faithful to his wedding feast. People come to the Church, crippled and disfigured by sin though they are. The Lord washes, sanctifies, and cleanses their souls with His Love, and people start to see, hear, and love God in their midst. The holiness that God gives empowers one to struggle with the whole world, with the devil, with sin — that terrible disease of the humankind that fell out of the unity with God. We all are ill but we have the Great Doctor who treats us. His treatment is holiness, and He pours it on us abundantly, entrusting us with His own Body and Blood, with Himself. As He tries to break us loose from sin, from all temporary and transitory things, as He shows us the Heaven, God helps us to come to Him now, in this life. The Lord humbles down before us to save us. He humbles before the sinful, the proud, the ungrateful people that we are. He does not argue with us, He does not condemn us, but instead patiently waits for us to come around. He has to wait for a very long time. However, when a person responds to God's love with her love, she starts to resemble God.

What is Orthodoxy? Come and see (John 1:46), as we read in the Bible. In Orthodoxy, God is so close that He is united with human. The purpose of an Orthodox person's life is theosis, holiness, sanctification of her life, not temporary comforts and material assets but the eternity. Only Love will continue into the eternity; knowledge and prophecies will be ceased (Cf. 1 Cor.13:8). So Orthodoxy is the knowledge of Love, it is the Love that lives inside human beings. Apostle John the Theologian says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”(Cf. John 13:35). It is impossible to love in this world without God. The human that hid from God in the paradise, must approach God and sanctify herself with the Light of Love that Christ brought to the earth. The Lord gives this love abundantly in the Orthodox Church. Everything that we see in a church: the church itself, the worship — everything is a revelation of the life to come, a revelation that is hard for us to comprehend because we are deafened by the world, our reason is blurred, and our hearts are anxious.

The Lord takes us onto His shoulders, carries us into the Church, washes, cleanses, and feeds to us His Body and Blood with a spoon, as if we are silly and naughty babies. When we receive the Holy Sacraments, we start to perceive (albeit for a short moment) our neighbour, ourselves, our lives, and realise the Holy Divine Providence behind all that.

Love is hard to preserve. We suffer from many sinful illnesses but we believe that God triumphs over sin. We are now in the Militant Church that fights with the sinful world and the devil, and if we remain within its ranks, we will go on to become part of the Triumphant Church.

When we want to tell someone about Orthodoxy, it is very difficult for us to talk about it. The Protestants find thousands of persuasive words but we lack their eloquence. Why is it so? It is because Orthodoxy is to be seen. We realise that if God dwells inside us, if the grace of the Holy Spirit is present within us, words are unnecessary. The life and the image of a person who found the Love of Christ will be a testimony of God's victory and God's truth. We do not know what our way in this world will be like but, when we enter the church, we must keep that grace that we receive from God and from His Holy Church. Let us thank God for His love towards us and ask Him to reveal to us the simple truths that we should always bear in mind: that God is always near; He loves us and never abandons us; He forgives us and is waiting for us.

November 11, 2014

MONASTICISM Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok (from the St Elizabeth Convent website)

People are tied to the earth. They depend on the inevitable changes that occur there. It is difficult for a person who lives in this world in accordance with temporary laws to become free from sin. Sin kills her soul, breaks up her connection with God and makes that person dead. This is why people are seeking for God. Faced with earthly cares, vanity, competition‌ (that comes both from the outside and from the inside), people ache and suffer, and they cannot find the permanent place designated for God. The Lord says that He does not have a place to lay His head. God, the Creator of the Earth, does not have a place in this world. The world sends God to the Cross because it does not accept His love.

There are souls that made up their minds to follow God to the end, without compromises, without falsehood, without illusions. These people decided to exchange all the riches of the world, everything that the world can give for the inner freedom of being with God and not depending on this world.

Of course, this is not a formal decision but an earnest drive to reach the Heavenly Kingdom, a desire to preserve the grace and not to lose love towards God in one's heart. Earthly cares are devastating for one's soul. When people rely only on themselves, on their egos, on their fallen reason and wicked desires in building their lives as they deem fit, they cannot see God and their neighbour. Monasticism is a way of life where everything is subjected to the will of God and renunciation of sin. It is a passage from the earthly kingdom into the Heavenly Kingdom; it is the resurrection of one's soul but it does not come easily and quickly. An individual who is totally subdued by sin, has to humble herself down, see her wretchedness and the beauty of her neighbour, and get to know God's love. This should happen not only when one feels calm and content but also when life is tough and she has to suffer. Monasticism means a permanent struggle and renunciation of one's ego. There was an Elder who, when asked about monasticism, took a skufia off his head, threw it on the ground and trampled it underfoot — that’s what a monk must be like, he said. A monastic is a person who has forgotten herself; she lives not on the earth but in the heaven already. Things that are high in this world are an abomination before God: this is why they world does not see the value of monastic life; it sheds tears for those who have put on the black robes and turned down all its advantages and comfort; the world mourns those who live not for their own sake, but instead crucify their egos, their passions and lust. The aim of monasticism is love towards God and one’s neighbour; a monastic strives for acquiring love in her heart. When a person rejects her own ego and becomes a novice, when she begins to obey without trusting herself, it is then that she steps onto the road that leads to the Jerusalem on high: the painful and harsh road it is indeed, for one has to struggle with oneself but it is also full of joy, for the Lord is near and He always comforts those who follow Him.

The world has no time to pray and to think about the eternity. A monastic has to fill in what is missing by praying for the entire world, by looking for God’s glory in everything, and by finding the beauty of the love of Christ in each person. The Lord says, Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29). People who come to God and devote their entire lives to serving God, they unite into one family called a monastery to build their relationships that go beyond the earthly laws while being here on this earth. They are looking for the love of Christ, who is in our midst. Jesus Christ is the centre to which these souls are drawn through repentance, self-restraint, and humility before each other. A person who does not seek her own, who puts herself into God’s hands, who does her best to thank God for everything, never gets depressed and does not spare herself. Everything she has belongs to God, so she does not show off her own merits; she is ashamed to do so. A monastic prays for the world and asks the Lord to allow all people more time to get to know God’s love and to enter the Heavenly Kingdom. A monastic is not a mummy in black clothes but a living human being who lives a beautiful life. With God, everything bears the trace of the heavenly beauty. Struggle with herself, with the world, and with the devil takes up all the time of a monastic, so she has no time to be depressed or to judge her neighbour. A monastic concentrates on the inner person, she is not quick with words and reluctant to pass judgements; she is looking for God’s Word that, when it comes, becomes alive for everybody. It is God’s mercy that monasteries are being restored and built nowadays. People who have got tired of the hustle and bustle of this world and its disappointments are looking for a quiet harbour where they can learn to love God and neighbour. Therefore, the Lord builds monasteries and gathers His earthly warriors in order to make them His heavenly army. The Church is the people united into one single whole around Christ. Monastics are the vanguard of this army.

The vows that a monastic takes during the rite of monastic profession are not fulfilled by her as they must be, which is why her soul constantly has to humble down, admonish herself, and ask God to forgive her. God grants His grace to the humble. The Lord tells the pious young man, If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast: and come follow me (Cf. Matthew 19:21). The young man in this Gospel account did not follow Christ because he was reluctant to abandon the earthly things he had; monastics, on the contrary, are the people who follow God, and the Lord comforts those who choose this narrow path. Joy and tenderness that dawn on one’s soul after the hard times of temptations give her strength to go ahead and to be the light for those who cannot see this path yet.

One’s soul wants to be alone with God, and it finds joy everywhere there is God. Such a soul runs away from sin.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Cf. Matthew 5:3). A monastic does not boast about her gains or earthly beauty; all she can boast about is God, and she keeps saying, I can do all these things in him who strengtheneth me (Phil. 4:13)


SHINING FORTH THE LIGHT
Brother Rodion
my source: St Elizabeth Website

When you come to the hospital and talk about confession and communion, you would like people to see the light in you. As usual, one day I came to one of the hospital wards and started to tell the patients about repentance. Many of them were interested. Once a person falls ill, he comes to realise that he needs confession and communion, and that he needs to repent or at least share his thoughts with God. There was a man named Andrew whom I had often seen at the railway station. He is deaf-mute and beside that he has many mental and physical handicaps like no fingers and he’s very crippled overall.

When I entered the ward, I noticed that he was glad and met me with awe. He looked very wretched: exhausted, drawn, and pale, as if he did not eat or sleep for a long time; nevertheless, Andrew met me with enthusiasm. I told him that a priest would come to their ward the following day, and read a book on confession to him. I was absent at the day of the confession and it turned out that Andrew was the only one who confessed and took communion that day. The following week I opened the door to the ward and saw that everybody except Andrew were dull, whereas Andrew was shining with joy. So I said, “See how beautiful it is!” I saw God shining through the eyes of that man, I saw God's light, I don't know if it was the Tabor Light but it was a Living Light for me.

I recall another story. There was a man in a grave condition — he lost both legs — in the hospital unit that I visit. He had never confessed or took communion, though he was willing to do it. The priest who served a moleben in the hospital, gave him a christcross after it. The man accepted that christcross with awe, like a great treasury. He confessed. A priest came to his ward the following morning and, kneeling in front of him because the patient was unable to get up from his bed, read the prayers and gave him communion. That man died the following day. The night before he died, for the first time in my life, I saw the spiritual fear and the detachment from the world that is possible only when a person is dying and there is nothing left of his flesh. I could feel that the arrival of the priest was salvation and light for that person. Like the Apostles… The Lord knew that these people were able to see and carry on the Light of God; this is why He took them with Him, and they carried this light to the entire world. It is this light that enlightens all of us even today.

October 27, 2014

LET'S NOT WAIT FOR THE THEOLOGIANS

Taize as the first real breakthrough in ecumenical relations

between the Catholic Church and those of the Reformation.

It is still going strong.  Moreover, its insights have expanded into

the World Youth Day under the last two popes and are being

carried even further by Pope Francis.  It is counter-current to
the continuing liberalisation of the Protestant churches.

How Francis Is Befriending the Pentecostals

In Latin America, they're pulling millions of faithful away from the Catholic Church. But the pope has only words of friendship for them. This is his way of doing ecumenism, unveiled here in two of his video messages 

by Sandro Magister

my source: S. Magister

While here is a link to the encounter in October, where the pope had at his side (see photo) Palmer's widow, Emiliana, and the "evangelical" bishop who succeeded him, Robert Wise.

ROME, November 19, 2014 - With the mastery for which it is known all over the world, the Washington-based Pew Research Center has conducted a survey on a massive scale that gives substance to a fact that was already known in general terms, the startling decline of Catholic membership in the Latin American subcontinent:

> Religion in Latin America. Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region

In the geographical area that is used today to indicate the new center of mass of the worldwide Catholic Church, midway through the last century almost the entirety of the population, 94 percent, was made up of Catholics. And still in 1970 Catholics were in the overwhelming majority, at 92 percent.

But then came the collapse. Today the proportion of Catholics is 23 points lower, at 69 percent of the population. The negative record belongs to Honduras, where Catholics have dropped to under half, from 94 to 46 percent. To get an idea of how sharp the decline has been, it should be enough to think that it has taken place entirely within the time span of the episcopal ministry of Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa and coordinator of the eight cardinals called by Pope Francis to assist him in the governance of the universal Church.

The collapse in the number of Catholics has been accompanied everywhere by the exuberant growth of "evangelical" and Pentecostal Christians, of Protestant descent. This was known too, but the Pew Research Center has highlighted that those who are passing from one membership to another are not usually the most lukewarm in their faith, but the most fervent.

The converts to the "evangelical" communities turn out, in fact, to be much more dynamic in propagating the Christian faith. And there is also a difference in helping the poor. While the Catholics assist them and that's it, the "evangelicals" are not only more active in works of charity, but also do not miss the opportunity to preach the Christian faith to the poor.

There is also a great discrepancy in religious practice. In Argentina, for example, the "evangelicals" who put great emphasis on religion in their lives, pray every day and go to church every week are 41 percent, while the Catholics are just 9 percent and take last place in the rankings together with Chile and secularized Uruguay.

The survey of the Pew Research Center also demonstrates that converts from Catholicism to the "evangelical" communities are not drawn by greater leniency on the matters of abortion or homosexuality.

The reality is the opposite. Those most resolute in opposing abortion and marriage between persons of the same-sex are found among the neo-Protestants, not among the Catholics.

In Argentina, for example, more than half of Catholics, 53 percent, say they are in favor of homosexual "marriage," which is already legal in that country. While among the neo-Protestants those in favor are 32 percent.

The survey of the Pew Research Center is a must-read, rich as it is in data on this epochal phenomenon.

And it is therefore understandable that a pastor like Jorge Mario Bergoglio - who as an Argentine has experienced in person the collapse of Catholic membership in his country and on the continent - should wish to act accordingly.

Otherwise there is no explanation, in fact, for the incessant efforts that Pope Francis is undertaking with the world leaders of those "evangelical" and Pentecostal movements that in Latin America are the most fearful competitors of the Catholic Church. Not to fight them, but to make them his friends.

It is an effort that he began long before his election as pope, and that most recently had its most conspicuous moment in the visit that he made to Caserta last July 27 to meet the Pentecostal pastor Giovanni Traettino, who has been his friend since he was archbishop of Buenos Aires:

> Francis's Secret Friend in Caserta

In the addressee gave on that occasion, Pope Francis presented his vision of ecumenical relations as"unity in diversity": a sort of universal Church in the form of a prism of which the Catholic Church would be one facet, on a par with the other Churches and denominations.

It is not clear how Francis might harmonize this vision of his with what is stated by the previous magisterium of the Church in matters of ecumenism. The fact is that he takes it greatly to heart, as emerges from the frequent informal talks that he gives to one or another of the “evangelical” pastors he encounters.

Pope Bergoglio usually receives them at Santa Marta. Or he reaches them in various places of the world with live video messages.

And the words that he says on these occasions, which never appear in the official Vatican sources, make the rounds when the recipients post them on the web, with evident satisfaction.

One recent encounter of this kind between the Pope and "evangelical" leaders took place at Santa Marta during the synod last October. Francis received the widow and coworkers of a bishop of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, Tony Palmer, a longtime friend from South Africa who died in a car accident last July.

A few months earlier, Francis had sent a powerful video message to a meeting presided over by Palmer and another leading "evangelical" personality, Texas-based pastor Kenneth Copeland, a proponent of the "theology of prosperity," both of whom the pope had received in Rome on June 24.

While here is a link to the encounter in October, where the pope had at his side (see photo) Palmer's widow, Emiliana, and the "evangelical" bishop who succeeded him, Robert Wise:

> The miracle of unity

While the following is a transcription and translation from the original Spanish of the words spoken by Francis, with his vision of ecumenism.

“LET’S NOT WAIT FOR THE THEOLOGIANS TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT”

Pope Francis to the leaders of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches

First of all, I congratulate you for your courage. Yesterday at the entrance to the synod hall I ran into a Lutheran bishop and I said to him: “You here? What courage!” Because in another era they burned the Lutherans alive… [laughter].

Yesterday there was a meeting organized by Tony [Palmer]. He was enthusiastic about it, as was I, and I am grateful to Archbishop Robert Wise and to Emiliana who have wanted to take up the torch, the “fiaccola” [in Italian], the torch of this dream, this dream that Tony had. The dream of walking in unity.

We are sinning against the will of Christ, because we are looking only at the differences. But we all have the same baptism, and baptism is more important than the differences. We all believe in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. We all have within the Holy Spirit who prays, "now" for us, the spirit who prays in us.

And everyone must know that there is also a father of lies, the father of all divisions, the "anti-Father," the devil who gets in and divides, divides… Tony talked about this a lot, about this going forward and walking, walking together in what unites us. And that the Lord Jesus with his power may help us so that what divides us may not divide us too much.

I don't know, it's crazy… Having a treasure and preferring to use imitations of the treasure. The imitations are the differences, what matters is the treasure. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the vocation to holiness, the same baptism and the call to preach the Gospel to the ends of the world. The certainty is that he is with us where we are going… He is not with me only because I am Catholic; he is not with me because I am Lutheran; he is not with me because I am Orthodox… A theological madhouse! [laughter].

Each one has his own identity, and I presuppose that each of us is seeking the truth. So let's walk together. Let's pray for each other and do works of charity together. Matthew 25, together. And the Beatitudes, together. And we all have talented theologians in our churches. May they do the work of theological study. This is also another form of walking. But let's not wait for them to come to an agreement… [laughter]. This is what I believe [applause].

There's something else. This is called spiritual ecumenism, but there is something else. Today we are witnessing the persecution of Christians and… I was just in Albania… They told me that they didn't ask if you were Catholic or Orthodox… Are you Christian? Boom! Currently in the Middle East, in Africa, in many places, how many Christians have died! They don't ask them if they are Pentecostal, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox… Are they Christians? They kill them because they believe in Christ. This is the ecumenism of blood.

I remember: once I was in Hamburg, around 1986 or ‘87, and I met a priest. And the priest was working on the cause of beatification for a Catholic priest who had been guillotined by the Nazis because he taught the catechism to the young people. But in studying he had seen the list of those condemned to death that day, and right behind him there was a Lutheran pastor who was sentenced for the same thing. So the blood of the priest was mingled with that of the pastor. The priest went to the bishop and said to him: “Either I'm moving the two causes forward together, or I'm not doing anything." Ecumenism of blood.

I don't know, there's nothing more I want to say, I don't know… Just one other thing that Tony talked about, when he was a young man. In South Africa, in the schools, whites and persons of color went together, played together, but at lunchtime they were separated and said: "We want to eat together." He had that desire within: to walk together in order to be able to eat together at the banquet of the Lord [applause]. As the Lord wills, as the Lord wills.

I would like to thank Father Robert Wise for his presence, Tony's spiritual father. And the presence of Emiliana, a strong woman… They both inherit many things from Tony. We must recognize that he is the one who has brought us together. I don't know if this desire for unity, to continue forward creating unity, praying for each other, fulfilling the Beatitudes together, fulfilling Matthew 25 together… Without making an institution, freely, like brothers.

Is Pope Francis an Evangelical, Charismatic Catholic?

Experts in Evangelical Christianity and the Charismatic Movement discuss the roots and focus of the Holy Father's ecumenical dialogue and interaction

Fr. Dwight Longenecker 

my source: Catholic World Report

Pope Francis arrives for an encounter with more than 50,000 Catholic charismatics at the Olympic Stadium in Rome June 1, 2014. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Labels are most often used not only to define a person, but to deny the person. Once we slap a label on them it is easy to limit them to that label. That’s why I used to tease people by describing myself as an “Evangelical, Charismatic, Catholic.”

I used the label to defy labels. I also used the description because I genuinely valued all three streams of Christian tradition. I wanted to affirm the Evangelical’s missionary zeal and love of the Scriptures, the Charismatic’s warmth and personal experience of the Holy Spirit, and the strong rootedness of the Catholic tradition.

Not long ago a priest friend admitted to to me that Pope Francis was “an enigma”. Now, a year and half into his papacy, after watching and listening to the pope carefully I’m convinced that he is, at heart, an Evangelical, Charismatic Catholic. Breaking out of common Catholic categories, Francis has reached out to Evangelicals and Charismatics both within the Catholic Church and beyond.

His friendship with bishop Tony Palmer is a good example. Before his untimely death, Palmer was a leader in a new church movement which weaves together the zealous missionary spirit of the Evangelicals, active use of the charismatic gifts, a love for liturgy, and the apostolic succession. Through Palmer, Pope Francis reached out to charismatic evangelist Kenneth Copeland, preached in a Pentecostal church in Rome and welcomed Evangelical leaders for a breakfast time visit.

To assess my hunch that Pope Francis is an Evangelical, Charismatic Catholic, I spoke to two Catholic leaders in the Church who are experts in Evangelical Christianity and the charismatic movement.

Catholic Charismatics

Dr. Ralph Martin is a well-known author, theologian, and teacher. He holds degrees in theology from Notre Dame, Princeton and a the Angelicum. He is associate professor of Evangelization at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and is the director of Catholic Renewal Ministries. Ralph worked with Pope Francis in this year’s world meeting of charismatic Catholics in Rome. I asked Ralph for the inside story on Pope Francis and the charismatic movement.

Fr. Longenecker: Pope Francis seems open to the Renewal Movement in the Catholic Church. What do you think he sees as the movements strengths and weaknesses? By reaching out to charismatics is he simply trying to stem the tide of Catholics converting to the Pentecostal/Charismatic Protestant churches?

Martin: The Pope’s most comprehensive statement was in connection with the international Catholic charismatic conference held in Rome’s Olympic Stadium in June. When the organizers approached him about possibly sending a message to the conference or greeting them in St. Peter’s Square the Pope said he would like to come to the Stadium and participate.

He arrived in his Ford Focus and walked into the Stadium. When he got to the stage he asked the music ministry to play his favorite song from when he was the bishop in charge of the Catholic charismatic renewal in Argentina. I was in the front row and I can attest that he knew the words by heart and sang wholeheartedly with hands raised and eyes frequently closed in deep prayer and worship. It was also very moving when he asked for everyone to pray for him and he knelt down and for a long time was deep in prayer as 52,000 people from 55 countries prayed fervently for him.

The pope said, “I thank you so much for your welcome. When I celebrated holy Mass in Buenos Aires with the Charismatic Renewal, after the consecration and after a few seconds of adoration in tongues, we sang this song with so much joy and force, as you did today. Thank you! I felt at home!”

Pope Francis isn’t supporting the charismatic renewal for any other reason other than he sees in it a gift for the whole Church.

Fr. Longenecker: Considering Pope Francis' friendship with bishop Tony Palmer of the Charismatic Evangelical Episcopal Church, how might the renewal movement influence future ecumenism?

Martin: It is quite extraordinary how Pope Francis is reaching out to this very significant and often neglected segment of Christianity, in terms of its place in ecumenical dialogues. His video to Kenneth Copeland, his invitation to well known leaders from this segment, including well-known figures such as Joel Osteen and James Robison, to visit with him in the Vatican. His visit to the Italian evangelical pastor where he asked forgiveness for ways in which Catholics haven’t understood them and even disdained and discriminated against them has done immense good.

What is particularly encouraging is that this “personal diplomacy” of the Pope will now take an institutional and structured form as these encounters will now begin to happen on a regular basis under the guidance of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

Fr. Longenecker: The Pope has said, "Proselytism is solemn nonsense". How does this square with his enthusiasm for the Charismatic Movement with its strong emphasis on conversion?

Martin: Proselytism is using inappropriate means to induce someone to become a Christian—whether it be financial inducement, psychological pressure, or whatever. Evangelization is giving witness to the truth and beauty of the Christian faith while respecting the freedom of those we are witnessing to. Proselytism is bad; evangelization, inviting people to conversion is good!

Fr. Longenecker: Does Pope Francis envision any kind of formal re-union with Protestant Charismatic groups? What might that look like?

Martin: I haven’t heard him say anything along those lines. Indeed, he tends to tell people that he simply wants to get to know them, not pressure them to convert. I think he knows the limitations and is just trying to remove deep hurts, misunderstandings, and unnecessary alienations so that we can truly love each other and respect each other and support each other in witnessing to an international pagan culture that is increasingly hostile to Christ and Christians.

Evangelical Catholics

Dr. Francis Beckwith is an apologist, philosopher, and academic. Born into a Catholic home, he became an Evangelical and spent most of his adult life working within Evangelical Christian colleges. In 2007 he made public his reversion to Catholicism and resigned his posts in Evangelical theological organizations. He is now Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies at Baylor University.

I asked Francis his opinions about Pope Francis and the Evangelicals.

Fr. Longenecker: Pope Francis seems happy to be surrounded by Evangelical Protestants. He doesn’t view them as “the enemy”. Why do you think this is?

Beckwith: I think it's because of his experience in South America, where Evangelicalism has drawn away many Catholics from the Church. He sees in these Evangelicals a living and active faith that the Church can incorporate without compromising its ecclesial or doctrinal integrity. So, he views Evangelical practice as an integral part of the Catholic heritage that, if allowed to flourish, can reinvigorate the Church.

Fr. Longenecker: In your experience, how do most American Evangelicals regard Pope Francis?

Beckwith: It's mixed. In the crowds in which I travel, Benedict was far more liked that Francis. I think it has to do with the perception of Benedict as a conservative with intellectual and spiritual gravitas. With Francis, some of my Evangelical friends are suspicious of what some of his off-the-cuff comments may mean for Catholicism's reputation as the most important protector and defender of traditional values.

Fr. Longenecker: Do you feel the historic animus to the Catholic Church among Evangelicals is eroding?

Beckwith: Yes. I think it is largely the result of working together on cultural questions, which has led to more careful and charitable reading of each others' beliefs. So, for example, it is rare today to a find a serious Evangelical accusing the Catholic Church of believing in "works righteousness." Sure, the more flamboyant voices say such things, but most sophisticated Evangelicals do not take them seriously.

Fr. Longenecker: Could you envision any kind of visible unity with any group of Evangelicals or Protestants or will ecumenism only consist of being nice to one another?

Beckwith: I do. But I think it's going to take a bold move on the part of Rome. Perhaps creating a special "Evangelical apostolate" that focuses on Evangelical modes of worship, prayer, devotion, and Scripture reading without treating those modes as contrary to traditional Catholic practices. 

Another option, in order to try facilitate clergy conversions from "low church traditions," would be create a means by which these former Protestant ministers, who are married, can more easily apply for the diaconate. This would be a kind of Low Church pastoral provision—they process enabling convert clergy to be ordained.

Fr. Longenecker: Do Evangelicals trust the pope?

Beckwith: I think the jury's still out on Francis for some Evangelicals. One reason for this is that Evangelicals—especially the American ones—read Francis through the lens of the American culture wars. I think if they set that aside, and just read him in light the Church's unassailable doctrinal commitments, they would realize that there may be a good strategic reason for his approach. Only time will tell.

Pope Francis: “ECC”

As a former Evangelical who has been influenced positively by the renewal movement, and was once an Anglican priest, I am interested in the contrast between Pope Francis’ reception of Evangelical and Charismatic Christians and his meetings with leaders like the Archbishop of Canterbury. He invites the Evangelicals and Charismatics to jolly meals in the St Martha Hostel, but greets the Archbishop of Canterbury with cordial formality. Is this a sign that Francis’ heart is more with the Evangelicals and Charismatics?

Does he sense that the ecumenical current is moving away from talks with the established mainline Protestant denominations and toward the edgy, spirit-filled, informal Charismatic-Evangelical contingent? Does he sense that the old Protestant denominations are going down fast while the Evangelical-Charismatics are on the up? One doesn’t need the supernatural gift of prophecy to see in what direction the larger Protestant world is headed. Considering the strength of Evangelical Charismatic worship in the developing world, Pope Francis is right to have an eye on the future.

Is Pope Francis an Evangelical, Charismatic Catholic?

Three other signs indicate that this is the best way to understand him. First is his repeated discussion of the reality of Satan and the need for spiritual warfare. This is Evangelical-Charismatic talk. Secondly, his desire for a simple, down-to-earth, people-centered ministry. This too reflects the strengths of the Evangelical-Charismatic movement. Finally, Francis’ willingness to take risks, overturn the more staid aspects of Catholic tradition and sit lightly to the legalities feels like the same “bottom line back to basics” Christianity of the Evangelicals and Charismatics.

Those who find Francis enigmatic may come to understand the man as they learn to see him as the Evangelical Charismatic Catholic Pope.

About the Author

Fr. Dwight Longenecker  

Fr Dwight Longenecker is the parish priest of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville, South Carolina. He blogs at Standing on My Head on Patheos. His latest book is The Romance of Religion. Browse his books and be in touch at dwightlongenecker.com.