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History of Catholic Ecumenism
from Pope Leo XIII to Pope John XXIII
Catholic Concept of Christian Unity
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After being lifted up on the cross and glorified, the Lord Jesus poured forth
the Spirit whom he had promised, and through whom he has called and gathered together the
people of the New Covenant, which is the Church, into a unity of faith, hope, and
charity... - Vatican II, "Unitatis Redintegratio", Art. 2
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Throughout her history, the Catholic Church has steadfastly stressed the importance of
Christian unity. Other non-Catholic believers have also affirmed the need
for a united Christianity, but the concept of unity for a Catholic versus a non-Catholic
is radically different. The Catholic Church teaches that Christ founded one visible
Church upon the apostles, with Simon Peter as its head. Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) affirmed
in Mystici Corporis this unchanging tenet of the Church:
He [Christ] entrusted to the Prince of the Apostles the visible
government of the whole society which He had founded...for in virtue of the primacy Peter
is none other than the Vicar of Christ, and therefore this Body has only one principal
Head, namely Christ, who, continuing Himself to govern the Church invisibly and directly,
rules it visibly through His personal representative on earth; so that now...that Church
is built not only on Himself but also on Peter as on its visible foundation.(2)
This description of the Church is at odds in varying ways with the beliefs of all other
Christian bodies. Also, the official teaching of the Church has always been that true
unity can only be realized if all Christians are again united to the Roman Pontiff. This
strong view heavily influenced the Catholic approach to ecumenism. Until Pope Leo XII,
rarely was a praiseworthy word, or even any word, mentioned in papal
documents about those Christians not in union with Rome. For example, in 1758, Pope
Clement XIII wrote an encyclical entitled "The Unity of Christians" (A Quo
Die). Had an encyclical been written in the 20th century with this title, one would
assume that it was an ecumenical document. However, this letter deals not with
non-Catholic Christians, but rather only with certain disuniting problems within the
Catholic Church. In other words, it was assumed in papal documents that unity already
existed with those in union with the successor of Peter, so the only discord to address
would be the potential factions within the Church.
The disagreement existing between Catholics and non-Catholics with respect to unity can
be divided into two categories. The first difference pertains to the governing and
visibility of the Church. Both Orthodox and Catholic Christians believe that the Church is
a visible entity that was established upon the apostles and has been sustained by the
appointment of bishops as successors to the apostles. Whereas the dogma of apostolic
succession is disputed by most Protestant Christians; on the Catholic side, popes since
Leo XIII have continually defended this key teaching of the faith. Since the conviction of
the Church is that Christ Himself appointed the apostles to govern her, Catholic teaching
is that he who purposely disobeys them or their legitimate successors is disobeying
Christ. Also, only Catholic and Orthodox Orders are recognized as valid.(3) Because of
these tenets of the faith, any ecumenical dialogue in which
the Church engages will find her defending the belief that true unity can only be achieved
in a visibly united church under the leadership of legitimate bishops.
It is true that the Orthodox believe in the divine institution of a visible church upon
the apostles. However, they and the rest of non-Catholic Christianity stand in opposition
to the second foundational element of the church as Catholics see it: the primacy of
Peter. "...that the Bishop of Rome", said Pope John XXIII, "as Peter’s
successor and Christ’s Vicar on earth, is the focal center of the entire visible
unity of the Catholic Church...is clearly supported by the evidence of the Gospels and by
ancient Catholic tradition..."(4) The teaching that the visible church is governed by
the bishops with the successor of Peter at the head is strongly reinforced in many papal
documents.(5)
Always on guard against a false irenicism among Christians, official Vatican statements
dealing with separated brethren clearly and consistently restated that the primacy of
Peter is not something that the Catholic Church can compromise on: it is an unchanging
doctrine of the faith. In spite of this unyielding belief, however, the Church did not
fail to recognize that there were common misinterpretations of this doctrine. Thus, 20th
century popes, knowing that the first stage in true ecumenism is the eradication of
misunderstandings between believers, attempted to proclaim the true teaching of the
primacy of Peter in such a way that all would understand. Pope Leo XIII, for example,
realized that many, especially in the East, may have interpreted the doctrine of Papal
infallibility declared by Vatican I as yet another step in the process of a papal
monarchy. To dispel such fears, he stated:
But if the authority of Peter and his successor is plenary and supreme,
it is not to be regarded as the sole authority. For He who made Peter the foundation of
the Church also "chose twelve whom he called apostles"; and just as it is
necessary that the authority of Peter be perpetuated in the Roman pontiff, so the bishops
who succeed the apostles must inherit their ordinary power. Thus the episcopal order
necessarily belongs to the essential constitution of the Church. Although bishops do not
receive plenary, universal or supreme authority, they are not to be looked upon as mere
representatives of the Roman pontiffs. They exercise a power truly their own and are
ordinary pastors of the people which they govern.(6)
Considering that the major difference between East and West is the authority of the
Pope(7) and the role of bishops in governing the Church, this statement on the authority
of all the bishops was a major step toward reconciliation between the two. The road to
unity cannot be traveled until key beliefs, commonalties, and differences are clearly and
humbly stated.
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