Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Afterword

SELECTION OF DOCUMENTS

Introduction

Selection One

Selection Two:

Selection Three

Selection Four

Selection Five

Selection Six

Selection Seven

Index to List of Abbreviations

From Ecumenism and Charismatic Renewal, Malines Document 2, by Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens, (Ann Arbor: Servant, 1978), pp. 85-88:
 

Ecumenical Communities

Communities involve a greater degree of commitment and participation than prayer groups. Hence they raise further issues.

In the circumstance, it is useful to distinguish between the prayer groups which the Charismatic Renewal is engendering throughout the world and the "Christian life communities" which are springing up in many areas.

Within the Charismatic Renewal, "Christian community" is a term that designates a group of Christians living in a particular area, who have committed themselves to support one another in their Christian life. The way in which this support is expressed may vary depending on local circumstances and on the nature of the commitment, but such communities come together regularly for worship and for other activities that promote a common life.

Communities are composed of married couples, single people, and children; some communities include men and women who are "single for the Lord," that is, who have consecrated themselves to the Lord's service, either for life or for some shorter specified period.

Members of communities may or may not live together in "households"--residential units usually composed of a married couple and several single people, of single men, or of single women. They may or may not hold their money and possessions in common.

Some of these communities are interdenominational: open to members of various Church bodies on an equal basis. Others are denominational; designed to be especially at the service of members of one Church body, while remaining open to Christians from other traditions. Whatever the emphasis, both types of communities are concerned with ecumenism.
 

1. General Guidelines for Ecumenical Communities

Here, therefore, are a few principles for pastoral guidance which need amplification to meet local situations.

a. Consultation with Church Authorities--The participation of Catholics in an ecumenical community must be carefully determined by previous consultation with the local bishop or with the National Ecumenical Commission set up by the Catholic hierarchy. As stated in a document issued in 1975 by the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity:

Where joint actions or programs are decided on, they ought to be undertaken fully by both sides and duly authorized by the respective authorities right from the earliest stages of planning.

 Catholic life and involvement in the ecumenical community should also have the approval of the local bishop.

b. Proper Formation for Catholic Members--The guidelines concerning a solid Catholic formation for Catholics in ecumenical prayer groups apply equally to Catholics in ecumenical communities. Here too, it is necessary to fulfill, in a balanced and harmonious fashion, all the requirements that enable the specific character of the Catholic members, and their fidelity to genuine ecumenism, to be wholly respected.

c. Problems Involving Individual Community Members--When organizational problems arise in the life of a community member, these principles should be followed:

-- Problems dealing with involvement in the Church should be resolved directly with the leaders of the church body, as members of the Church, and not from the standpoint of membership of the community.

-- Problems dealing with involvement in the community should be resolved with the leaders of the community.

-- In situations where there is an overlapping concern about the same individual or group of individuals, there should be communication between the pastors of the church bodies and the leaders of the communities (presuming that these are not the same persons).

d. Problems Involving Catholic Doctrine--Whenever a problem touching upon the Catholic doctrine of ecumenical practice arises, the appropriate Catholic episcopal authority is the final adjudicator. The Catholic leadership of the community should be in adequate communication and unity with that authority.
 

2. The Need for Further Study

Pastoral guidance in the sphere of ecumenism is a new and delicate matter. In some respects, it reminds us of the pastoral problems connected with mixed marriages, although in the latter case the official rulings concern men and women who are "separated" in doctrine but "united" by virtue of the marriage bond. It is heartening to report that at the present moment research into the question of mixed marriages is being carried out with the full collaboration of the official authorities.

Likewise under study is the problem of how to do full justice to the ecumenical experience in Christian communities. For Catholics who feel called to this type of ecumenical community life, the most viable formula would doubtless be the setting up of a "Catholic fraternity" or "fellowship" within the larger community; its links and modes of relationship with the ecumenical community, reviewed on a pluralist basis, would have to be clearly defined.

This type of structure is now being examined, in collaboration with the competent authorities, by "The Word of God," a community in Ann Arbor (Michigan, U.S.A.), which is attracting worldwide attention through its influence and breadth of vision. Parallel researches are being pursued within the framework of other major confessions.

Once all the requirements of the religious identity proper to each church body have been acknowledged, the modalities of holding and sharing things in common will grow out of experience. So let us place our trust in the Holy Spirit and in the good will of all Christians to the cause of unity.