Keeping ecumenism vibrant

The 76-year-old native of Australia retired earlier this month as president of both the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. Reflecting on his tenure in those positions, he recently said that such events as ecumenical celebrations of the Jubilee Year and Pope John Paul's visit to the Holy Land "would have seemed our dreams" when he assumed his roles in 1989. Yet they came true.

Those achievements, he believes, derive from taking a loving approach to dialogue. "One of my conclusions from these years is that you very often go easier to the mind through the heart than directly," he said.

That is not to say that dialogue is easy or always successful. Rough spots arise all the time, such as last fall's issuance of "Dominus Iesus," a Vatican document that was widely resented in ecumenical and interreligious circles. Cardinal Cassidy, as noted in our interview with him, puts part of the blame for that on media reports that distorted the contents of the document. But he also sees a need for its authors to ask themselves how much of the fault is their own for not explaining their ideas better.

Another source of disappointment to the Cardinal is the lack of progress in the Church's relationships with the Orthodox churches. "That is the area where one always has the greatest hopes and yet they are rarely fulfilled," he said.

But that failure is balanced by one of his proudest moments: signing the 1999 "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" with the Lutheran World Federation, a document that outlined a common basis for understanding how people are saved.

Much has been done by Cardinal Cassidy; much remains to be done by his successors; and much can be accomplished by ordinary Catholics if they pray for understanding among Christians and members of other faiths, and if they work through dialogue and common effort to attain that understanding. A good first step would be to attend the Cardinal's talk to hear what he has to say about this vital part of the life of the Church.
(03-22-01) [[In-content Ad]]