Newspaper Page Text
Supplement to The Georgia Bulletin, November 5, 1987
□ Faith Toda
A supplement to Catholic newspaper published by
NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
1012 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.
with grant assistance from
c21=j The Catholic Church
(jR EXTENSION Society
-ir J 35 East Wodier Dr., Chicago, Illinois 60601
All contents copyright© 1987 by NC News Service,
By David Gibson
NC News Service
O n a corner near Main
Street in towns all
across America, three
churches face each
other across the in
tersection. One may be Lutheran,
another Assemblies of God, the
third Episcopalian.
At an intersection a block away
stands a Roman Catholic church.
Across the street and half a block
further down is a Presbyterian or a
United Methodist church.
At one time as Christians entered
these churches on Sunday morning
they also disappeared from each
other. What each community did
behind closed doors was largely
unknown to the others. Misun
derstandings were frequent, at
times coupled with a sense of
suspicion.
Anyone who grew up in these
towns understood exactly what
Bishop Philip Cousin of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church meant
in September when he addressed
Pope John Paul II in Columbia,
S.C., saying, “The variety of
church life (in America) almost ex
ceeds imagination.”
They understood, too, what
Pope John Paul II meant in South
Carolina when he told 26 leaders
of Christian denominations that “it
is no small achievement of the
ecumenical movement that after
centuries of mistrust, we humbly
Behind church doors
At one time as Christians entered their churches on Sunday
morning, they also disappeared from one another, writes
Dovid Gibson. 'Misunderstandings were frequent, at times
coupled with a sense of suspicion," he soys. Differences still
exist today. But, the ecumenical movement has enabled Chris
tians also to see "how much they resemble each other when
they pray, when they serve the human family, when they
baptize their members.”
I 4
A,
and sincerely recognize in each
other’s communities the presence
and fruitfulness of Christ’s gifts at
work.”
□ □ □
Think of any situation involving
human beings where there is a con
flict or a sense of being different
from each other. How often does a
conflict define the relationship of
friends, family members or
neighbors? The sense of being dif
ferent can easily overshadow other
bonds among people.
So it isn’t surprising that
separated Christians for so long
focused mainly on what made
them different from each other. In
fact, differences remain a problem
among Christians, as Pope John
Paul said in Columbia: “We are not
yet in agreement as to how each of
our churches and ecclesial com
munities relates to the fullness of
life and mission which flow from
God’s redemptive act.”
What the ecumenical movement
means for Christians, however, is
that now they not only see what
divides them, they also see what
unites them. They see how much
they resemble each other when
Ik
;
they pray, when they serve the
human family, when they baptize
their members.
“Surely it is a sign of the action
of the Holy Spirit in the people of
God,” the pope said, for the
ecumenical movement reveals a
“yearning for deeper insights into
our Christian identity.”
In a major address to an
ecumenical group in Columbia,
Pope John Paul pointed toward the
concern Christians share for good
family life. And Bishop Cousin
observed that contemporary
American life poses a common
challenge for its Christian members
“to respond with integrity” to the
questions raised as relationships
between women and men change
in society, as developments are ex
perienced in the role of church and
state in family life, or in the rela
tionship “between the poor and
those who establish structures”
which perpetuate or ameliorate
poverty conditions.
Christians share an interest in the
Bible and in spirituality, said the
pope and Bishop Cousin. And in
Columbia they were able to “stand
side by side to confess Jesus
Christ.” to use the pope's words.
The emphasis on what unites
Christians makes an impact in
peoples lives — in marriages, in
friendships. In a society where
religion once was “never to be
mentioned” in polite conversation,
this emphasis means that society’s
members more and more can begin
to discuss their deepest values.
The emphasis also means that
Christians can collaborate to ad
dress social issues of special con
cern. But do they collaborate only
for the sake of expediency?
It is well recognized that when
Christians band together their im
pact on society increases. But as
Pope John Paul said in Columbia,
the real reason Christians col
laborate is “for the sake of Christ,
who urges us to be one in him and
in the Father, so that the world
may believe. ”
(Gibson is editor of Faith
Today.)
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