Ecumenism as the Work of All Christians

By Kristin Colberg

In July, Cardinal Walter Kasper announced his retirement as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, a role he has held since 2001. Kasper’s career has been marked by many highlights, but perhaps his greatest achievement was in bringing renewed hope and momentum to ecumenism. In what may be the most difficult and contentious job in the Vatican, Kasper has earned the respect of leaders across the ecclesial and theological spectrum. “Working with Cardinal Kasper in recent years on so many matters of ecumenical concern has been an inestimable privilege,” the Archbishop of Canterbury said upon hearing of Kasper’s retirement. “Anglicans have always been made welcome by Cardinal Kasper in Rome. We have felt ourselves to be received as brothers and sisters in a common faith and mission, notwithstanding the many challenges that arise for ecumenical dialogues in our day. He will be greatly missed by his many friends in the Anglican Communion, not least myself.”

Kasper’s commitment to ecumenism is rooted in his understanding that the task of theology is to “render an account of the Christian hope to every human being” (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15). For him, this task means that the Christian community must focus on its ability to communicate the good news effectively. Kasper observes that the relationship between the Church and the modern world is strained by a perceived abyss separating one’s experience of faith and one’s experience of the world. It seems as if the Church is increasingly unable or unwilling to answer the questions posed most urgently by modern men and women. Kasper argues that the Church must work to present its identity in a clear and unambiguous manner. In other words, the Church needs to demonstrate to the world that it offers something unique and essential.

To achieve the goal of speaking meaningfully today, Kasper reasons, the Church must engage in two related tasks: the first is internal to the Christian community (ad intra), while the second regards the Church’s external ministry to the world (ad extra). The Church’s internal task is to understand Jesus Christ and itself more deeply. Kasper argues that the Church encounters problems in proclamation because it does not understand its own beliefs clearly enough (ad intra) to express them convincingly (ad extra). To show the significance of its message in the 21st century, the Church must look inward to better comprehend its own tradition and commitments. On this point Kasper writes:

The present crisis facing Christianity in the West does not touch merely on some peripheral concerns; ... We are dealing here primarily with a crisis of relevance. We hear daily that dogmatic teachings and, even more, the moral rules of the Church no longer reach a large segment of believers. They appear to offer answers to questions which are no longer being asked. Nonetheless, the crisis of relevance represents merely the superficial side of the problem. It has long since led to a much deeper identity crisis within the churches. The question is no longer how the Church will be able to reach the modern, secularized world; rather, the question is what constitutes Christianity as such. What can Christianity, must Christianity, say to the modern world? Does it have something of its own to say, something unmistakable? (“Nature, Grace and Culture: On the Meaning of Secularization,” Catholicism and Secularization in America: Essays on Nature, Grace and Culture, p. 32)

Therefore, to succeed in its mission, the Christian community must continue to look introspectively, to deepen its appreciation of the mystery which constitutes its own identity. In order to know how to address the modern world effectively it must have a clearer understanding of what it is trying to convey.

The second task the Church must face if it hopes to communicate its message convincingly is the nature of its ministry to the world (ad extra). To succeed in its mission of proclaiming the good news, the Church must strive to understand its historical setting and take seriously the commitments and mindset of the secular world and other religious communities. Christians who strive to convey the hope that is within them must not only explore the content of that hope but also engage the questions, challenges and self-understanding of those to whom they intend to communicate it. For the good news to be received, it must be presented in a way that is intelligible to modern men and women and that resonates with their deepest concerns.

Kasper has always been clear that there is no fixed order to these two tasks; it is not the case that the Church always starts with reflection ad intra and then moves ad extra. In fact, he readily acknowledges that the opposite is often true in that Christians’ experiences in the world — beyond the Church itself — frequently bring the greatest opportunities to inform their identity. Thus, the Church’s efforts ad intra and ad extra are always mutually edifying in the manner of an upward spiral: the greater the Church’s self-understanding, the more it can speak convincingly to those outside of the Church, and the more that Christians encounter Christ’s Spirit beyond the Church, the more they can understand their own faith, up and up the spiral.

Kasper’s sense of the need to give an account of the Christian hope and the inherent ad intra and ad extra dimensions of this task fuel his passion for ecumenism. Because the body of Christ is one, the divisions among Christians represent an extreme manifestation of a lack of Christian self-understanding. The absence of Christian unity inhibits the Church from presenting itself coherently in the contemporary context. If Christians do not know their own beliefs well enough to come to agreement on questions such as the nature of sacraments, the validity of orders, and the character of ecclesial authority, how, Kasper asks, can they articulate their identity in exchanges with the world and with non-Christians? Thus, ecumenical dialogue is critical not only to heal the fragmentation in the body of Christ, but also to advance the Church’s overall mission. Coming to a deeper understanding of this central ad intra question is critical for the Church to speak meaningfully on all fronts — to the faithful, to the secular realm, and to non-Christians.

The urgent ecumenical work that is required today, according to Kasper, should first and finally take the form of “spiritual ecumenism.” It is Jesus’ prayer to the Father that they may all be one (John 17:21). Thus, Jesus himself indicates that Christian unity is not something that can be manufactured or achieved purely through hard work; rather it is a gift of God’s work in the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, ecumenical dialogue cannot be seen as an academic exercise or as only the work of theologians and leaders. When ecumenism is reduced solely to such efforts it becomes often overly technical and overly concerned with issues of authority and, as such, alienated from the concerns of everyday Christians. Similarly, ecumenism cannot be seen as a form of “activism” in which groups host endless symposia, meetings, sessions, projects, and events in order to achieve Christian unity. Ecumenism must be spiritual in that it must be rooted in the prayer and practice of the people of God. On this Kasper explains:

We should look again to Jesus’ prayer “that they all be one,” which points to the very heart of a healthy ecumenism: spiritual ecumenism and ecumenical spirituality. This means first of all prayer, for we cannot “make” or organize Church unity; unity is a gift of God’s Spirit, which alone can open hearts to conversion and reconciliation. And there is no ecumenism without conversion and renewal, no ecumenism without the purification of memories and without forgiveness. Spiritual ecumenism means further common reading of the Bible, exchange of spiritual experiences, collaboration in serving the poor, the sick, the outcast, the suffering of all kinds (“A Vision of Christian Unity for the Next Generation,” The Tablet, May 24, 2003).

Given the nature of ecumenism, Kasper sees it as the work of all Christians, for “when it comes to prayer, all are experts, or, rather, all should be experts.” Ultimately, ecumenical advance comes about through sharing one’s experience and, particularly, one’s experience of Christ. Thus, all Christians must seek to share the hope that is within them, by translating that hope into meaningful actions and into the language of everyday experience.

Kasper’s views on the task of theology and proper approach to Christian unity reflect his sense that the Church is a living tradition rooted in the spirit of Christ that makes all things new. Once, when asked about an especially difficult set of conversations with a particular delegation, Kasper replied: “Dialogue with them is not easy,” but “do we want a living tradition or a petrified one?” To witness to a living tradition means that Christians must engage in difficult conversations, be open to rethinking elements of the tradition, and refuse to become too comfortable with our own understanding.

The Church is not a museum which holds a collection of fixed teachings, one stacked upon the next; it is a living tradition which seeks to express the inexpressible and thus must continually seek new and more adequate articulations. Among the considerable gifts that Kasper brings to the ecumenical table is his firm belief that the Holy Spirit is ever guiding the Church and keeps it at once rooted in the tradition and perennially new and renewed. This belief gives him the courage to enter into dialogues, even challenging ones, knowing that the Spirit will ultimately guide all those involved. It allows him to see conversations with “the other” not as a threat but as an opportunity to know Christ more deeply. Finally, it allows him to recognize that the work of ecumenism must be that of dynamic exchange if we are to fulfill Christ’s prayer for unity. On this point Kasper writes:

How do we reach this vision? Not by imposition of one vision on the other, not by suppression but by fraternal exchange of gifts. Each church has her richness, which she does not have only for herself but which she should share will all others. This does not entail meeting on the lowest common denominator; ecumenism does not mean relativism and indifferentism with respect to one’s own tradition. Ecumenism is not countersigned by loss but by mutual enrichment, the authentic understanding of which is not that we convert to the other church but that all convert to Christ; and in him, who is our unity and our peace, we shall truly be one. Thus we do not advocate an ecumenism of return. Ecumenism is not a way back; it is a way ahead in the future. Ecumenism is an expression of a pilgrim Church, of the People of God, which in its journey is guided, inspired and supported by the Spirit, which guides us in the whole truth (John 16, 13).

As witnesses to a living tradition, we must see ecumenism as a vibrant and continuing process where, through honest engagement, we come to understand Christ and ourselves more deeply.

Certainly, Kasper’s leadership will be greatly missed. He has worked diligently, listened carefully, and modeled the prayerful spirit which is necessary to advance the hope that “they might all be one.” May his legacy be a more profound openness to examining ourselves and engaging the world in ways which allow us together to give a convincing account of the hope that is within us.

Dr. Kristin Colberg is assistant chair of the University of Notre Dame’s department of theology.