The death of ecumenism
From The Examiner
“Ecumenism” has been the driving force in relations between the Catholic Church, those in Protestant communities, and those of other faiths for the past half-century. However, due to the continual surrender of mainstream Protestant communities to the culture and the reassertion by the Church that there is one path to salvation, this era appears to be coming to an end.
The Anglican/Episcopalian Communion has long led the way in retreating before an aggressive secularism. In 1930 the Lambeth Conference approved the use of contraceptives, defended this decision in 1958, admitted women to holy orders as deacons (1968), priests (1978), and bishops (by 1998). Now they are defending the acceptance of homosexuality, even among their clergy.
The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) has just voted to join in the abandonment of biblical condemnations of homosexual acts. At the same time the UMC (United Methodist Church) must now decide whether to continue the recently approved moves toward full communion, or to likewise abandon Scripture as the core of their faith.
The dialogue with the Jews also seems to have hit a stumbling block (see: I Corinthians 1:23). Yes, the insistence by Christians on Christ now seems an interminable irritant to the Jewish people. Even the documents of the Second Vatican Council insist that salvation is through Christ, so any impression of a change in this teaching was unfounded.
There are a few notable successes on the ecumenical front, however, representing a different type of ecumenism. There are branches of the Anglican Communion seeking full union with the Church, the SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X) is inching ever closer to returning, and dialogue with various Eastern Orthodox is no longer as hostile as it once was.
Out of the death of false ecumenism pope John Paul II’s “springtime of evangelization” now has a chance to bloom forth.
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