Commission for Theological Dialogue discusses implications of uniatism (07/30/00)

Commission for Theological Dialogue discusses implications of uniatism

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Eighth Plenary Session of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which met at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., on July 19, issued a communiqué about the results of the meeting.

The meeting, held July 9-19, was hosted by Cardinal William Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, and co-chaired by Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Archbishop Stylianos of Australia of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Forty-six delegates representing the world's 1 billion Catholics and 230 million Orthodox attended the meeting. The Catholic participants came from the United States, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Poland and Romania. The Orthodox participants were from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Moscow and Romania, and the Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Poland, Finland and Estonia.

"The theme discussed at this plenary session," states the communiqué, "was the 'Ecclesiological and Canonical Implications of Uniatism,' ... a subject which has assumed particular importance since the changes which occurred in Central and Eastern Europe over the last 10 years."

"Although reactions were generally positive," states the communqué, the documents touching upon theological aspects and practical guidelines concerning uniatism, "were met with some reserve and even outright opposition, sometimes from each side. Therefore, it was felt necessary to continue the reflection by the Joint Commission in order to find common understanding on this extremely thorny question."

"The discussions of this plenary were far-reaching, intense and thorough. They touched upon many theological and canonical questions connected with the existence and the activities of the Eastern Catholic Churches. However, since agreement was not reached on the basic theological concept of uniatism, it was decided not to have a common statement at this time. For this reason, the members will report to their Churches, who will indicate how to overcome this obstacle for the peaceful continuation of the dialogue," the communiqué continued.

In addition to the conflict over the Eastern Catholic Churches, there is a key theological issue that remains a barrier to attaining reconciliation between the Churches: the role of the pope in Church hierarchy.

Catholics believe the pope, as the bishop of Rome, holds the highest position within the Church. Whereas the Orthodox leader, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, is considered to be the "leader among equals" of more than a dozen independent Orthodox Churches.

Since December 7, 1965, when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople lifted their mutual excommunications, Catholics and Orthodox, who have been separated since 1054, have intensified efforts to overcome their division. However, since the break up of the Soviet Union, and with the return of religious freedom in countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has stalled the dialogue, accusing Rome of proselytism in its land, and protesting the rights and property recovered by Eastern Catholic Churches - most notably in Ukraine and Romania.

Furthermore, last year's joint meeting was postponed at the request of the Orthodox, in protest against NATO bombings of Serbia.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Orthodox Archbishop Stylianos stated on July 19 that the very existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches is a contradiction.

"Here we have a group of people who have been taken, under certain well-known historical conditions, and cut off from the Orthodox Eastern Churches," he said. How is it possible, he asked, for those Churches to retain the language and rituals of their mother Churches and yet still profess papal primacy and infallibility, which run counter to Orthodox faith?

Prior to this meeting, the last meeting of the commission was held in 1993 in Balamand, Lebanon. The commission was established in 1979. The Ukrainian Catholic Church has had no member from its Synod of Bishops designated by the Vatican to attend those commission meetings as a delegate, and the Church was not invited to send an observer.

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