500 years later, how do Protestants and Catholics view each other?

500 years later, how do Protestants and Catholics view each other? April 27, 2015

GORDON’S QUESTION:

Is the divide between Protestants and Catholics growing or shrinking?

THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER:

“Will Pope Francis Break the Church?”  The Atlantic attached that overwrought headline to a sober analysis of internal Catholic tensions written by New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. No, Francis won’t, despite weighty issues the article surveyed. But a dramatic “break” did actually happen, beginning in 1517 when Martin Luther posted what history calls the “95 Theses.” The German Catholic priest protested sales of indulgences to help the pope build St. Peter’s Basilica “with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.” Text: www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-95.

Thus began the Protestant Reformation, which quickly raised many other church issues, defied the papacy, split European Christendom, changed the course of civil society and government — and echoes loudly to the present day.

The big 500th anniversary upcoming in 2017 will feature academic confabs and many other observances. The Religion Guy has already received a glossy brochure mailed by the German tourist agency titled “Luther 2017: 500 Years Since the Reformation.” A subhead reads “In the beginning was the Word.” Indeed, Luther’s Bible translation shaped the modern German language and inspired many other popular translations that supplanted Catholicism’s authorized  Latin version. Sadly, Luther’s own devotion to the Bible and its teachings has a diminishing hold on the nominal Protestants of his homeland.

Another date gets to the heart of Gordon’s question. Last November 21 was the 50th anniversary of Unitatis Redintegratio (“The Restoration of Unity”), the historic decree on ecumenism issued by Catholicism’s Second Vatican Council:  www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html.

The council created a vastly more friendly interchurch climate that’s manifested everywhere, professed new respect for the “separated brethren” in other churches, celebrated many shared beliefs, and advocated efforts to restore Christian unity. On the other hand, the decree described other churches as “deficient in some respects” so Christians only “benefit fully from the means of salvation” in Catholicism. It declared that the spiritual unity Jesus bestowed upon Peter, the apostles, and their papally-aligned successors uniquely “subsists in the Catholic Church.” And so forth.

[With Eastern Orthodoxy, the decree all but said conditions for full union already exist, assuming there’s some way to agree about the papacy. But substantive steps won’t occur before, and perhaps not after, a long-postponed “Holy and Great Council” of the world’s Orthodox bishops. This the first gathering at this level of authority in 11 centuries will supposedly occur next year in Istanbul. Planners met in Geneva in February but Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who will preside, has not yet issued an official invitation.]

With Protestant churches, an immense amount could be said, and has been said, but here are a few broad-brush observations. The council decree said accurately that they “vary considerably not only with us but also among themselves.” Things became more complex this past half-century with major expansion of indigenous churches in developing nations with Protestant-style aspects but no bonds with traditional Protestantism. The decree cited “considerable divergences” not only on the pope but Christ, the Bible, the church, redemption, Mary’s role in the plan of salvation, the sacraments, and moral teachings.

Many  Catholic-Protestant dialogues have occurred at the world and national levels. The one major breakthrough is the 1999 “Joint Declaration” by official Catholic  and Lutheran World Federation delegates on the relation of “faith” and “good works” in salvation, which was central to Luther’s original rebellion. Excerpts:

“Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works…. We confess together that persons are justified by faith in the gospel ‘apart from works prescribed by the law’ (Romans 3:28). Christ has fulfilled the law and by his death and resurrection has overcome it as a way to salvation…. We confess together that good works — a Christian life lived in faith, hope, and love — follow justification and are its fruits.” As with the Vatican Two decree, nothing is said about those indulgences, now provided free of charge. Full text: https://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/pccujnt4.htm

Whatever the achievements on theology, a chill descended as “mainline” moderate to liberal Protestant churches that had been the most committed to ecumenism ordained female clergy and bishops and — far more important — shifted away from Christian traditions upheld by Catholicism regarding abortion, same-sex relationships, and other teachings.

Meanwhile, moral conservatism on just such matters produced surprising affinity with the “evangelical” Protestant movement, whose complex jumble of churches and “parachurch” ministries had been the most hostile to Catholic religion. In the U.S. the two sides have joined pro-life efforts, issued the Manhattan Declaration, and joined a series of “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” statements. Things are such that influential evangelical historian Mark Noll co-authored a book titled “Is the Reformation Over?” without quite answering the question. Conservative critic James R. White called it “a thinly veiled plea for ecumenical abandonment of the central tenets of the Reformation.”

In the long term, governance could prove as difficult or moreso than doctrines and morals. It’s hard to imagine Protestants (or the Orthodox) happily joining a system where the pope can define infallible teachings by himself, exercises global jurisdiction along with his Vatican cabinet, or appoints most bishops through a secretive process minus lay participation, while those bishops in turn assign priests with little parish input.

Which returns us to the pope. Protestants must hit the ecumenical pause button while Catholicism figures out where it’s headed in Francis’s reign. In Time magazine, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu enthused that the pope’s “nonjudgmental views on contentious church issues such as sexual orientation and divorce have brought hope to millions of Roman Catholics.” As Douthat reports, they also distress traditionalists. There should be heated sessions October 4 – 25 as the Vatican’s international synod of bishops addresses troublesome issues regarding the family.


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