By Jim Coggins

THE ROMAN Catholic Archbishop of Toronto has expressed concern that his church is getting a lot of negative press because of recent pronouncements issued by the hierarchy in Rome.

Controversy erupted over the perception that the church is specifically targeting Jews for conversion; and that it is making unwarranted claims to being the only ‘true church.’

Archbishop Thomas Collins said he was concerned that, in letters to the editor and on talk shows, Catholics “are being portrayed as narrow-minded, arrogant and intolerant.” He suggested this was an ironic result for statements which were intended to be conciliatory.

On June 29, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church . The document was intended to guide Catholic theologians. However, because it was posted on the internet, it was read by others – and then discussed broadly in the media, Collins said, “mostly by people who haven’t read it.”

Collins stressed the statement did not change doctrine, but was merely intended to clarify the Lumen Gentium document issued by the Vatican II Council of the Church in 1964.  A key passage is chapter one, section eight, which states: “the one Church of Christ . . . subsists in the Catholic Church.”

According to the new  statement, this means that only the Roman church contains “all the elements that Christ himself instituted.”

Collins said the Catholic Church incorporates many elements: scripture, the sacraments, apostolic succession and the role of the pope. Collins considers all these elements “gifts that come from Jesus Christ himself.”

The June 29 statement went on to describe Eastern Orthodox churches as “separated churches” –  since they have all the elements,  accept for the role of the pope.

The statement further said other Christian denominations  are “communities” – but not churches, because they are lacking many elements, such as “apostolic succession” (the understanding that Roman Catholic clergy can trace their ordinations back in unbroken succession to leaders who were ordained by Christ’s first apostles) and therefore the proper administration of all the sacraments.

Collins said this has led to people thinking the Vatican is saying  only Catholics are Christians. However, the Responses stated these other denominations contain “numerous elements of sanctification and of truth” and therefore have been used by the Spirit of Christ as “instruments of salvation.”

Collins stated, “We absolutely believe that anyone who has been baptized is a Christian.” However, he added this does not mean Roman Catholics are willing to discard those elements of the church not shared by other Christians – because then “we would be dropping something essential in Christ.”

Collins said others are free to define church their way – but that “we are trying to clarify what we mean by church.” He said Catholics can have discussions, pray, and work with other Christians, even if they disagree – as long as they are clear on where they disagree.

For instance, he said evangelicals strongly disagree with Catholics on issues such as the role of the pope – but noted evangelicals are very clear about where they stand.

This means Catholics can work with evangelicals on issues where they take a clear stand that agrees with the Catholic position, such as marriage and the right to life. He suggested  it might be easier to work with evangelicals than with some other Christian groups, which are less clear about what they believe.

Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, said the clarifying statement “came as no surprise,” since it is simply “a rearticulation . . . of the Vatican’s view of the uniqueness and place of the Roman Catholic Church” – which “remains a significant point of disagreement” between Catholics and evangelicals.

Clemenger maintained the statement has “no impact on the relationship between The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Catholic Church in Canada. We will continue to look for opportunities where we can cooperate with integrity. . . [and] continue to welcome conversations to clarify areas of agreement and disagreement.”

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BCCN attempted to contact the Canadian Council of Churches (of which the Canadian Roman Catholic Church is a member), but no one was available to comment. However, the World Council of Churches has issued a statement which implies criticism of the Catholic declaration:

“Each church is the Church catholic, and not simply a part of it. Each church is the Church catholic, but not the whole of it. Each church fulfills its catholicity when it is in communion with the other churches . . . The WCC affirms the importance of genuine ecumenical dialogue, and of common Christian witness on the problems facing the world.”

However, most of the criticism of the Vatican’s clarifying statement appears to have been in the secular media rather than among other Christian denominations.

On July 7, the Pope issued a motu proprio  –  which allows use of the 1962 version of the old Tridentine missal as an occasional alternative to the modern missal. The 1962 missal prescribes formal prayers and readings for Roman Catholic worship. The original 1572 Tridentine missal, which had been revised several times, was usually presented in Latin. Vatican II produced a significantly altered version in 1970, normally presented in the local language of any given church.

The change angered traditionalists, and some 600,000 of them left the Roman Catholic Church, many of them joining a group called the Society of Saint Pius X.

In a recent statement explaining the decision to allow more use of the older mass, Pope Benedict XVI specifically referred to the hope that the change would help the traditionalists “recover full unity” with the Roman Catholic Church.

Benedict stated that he was trying to avoid the mistakes of the past when “not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity,” thus allowing disagreements to harden into permanent divisions.

Collins said the pope was apparently thinking of divisions such as the Protestant Reformation, when Lutherans, Anglicans and others broke with Rome.

Ironically, this gesture has frustrated some other Catholics, who fear a return to traditionalism.

It has also angered some Jewish groups, since a Good Friday prayer in the old missal calls for the conversion of Jews. Rabbi Reuven Bulka, co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, told Reuters news agency it was a massive step backwards.

The 1962 version of the old missal does not include an offensive reference to “perfidious Jews,” which was in earlier versions of the Tridentine missal. The term is an unfortunate translation of the Latin term perfideles (‘half-faithful’), compared to ‘faithful’ Christians and ‘unfaithful’ nonbelievers.

However, the 1962 version does include a prayer for conversion: “Let us pray also for the Jews that the Lord our God may take the veil from their hearts and that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Hear the prayers which we offer for the blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ, and be delivered from their darkness.”

The 1970 missal is more conciliatory, but still calls for conversion: “Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant . . . Listen to your church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption.”

Columnist Michael Coren observed in the National Post that there is nothing wrong with seeking to convert people: “Any serious Catholic believes that happiness and eternal life are to be found within the Catholic Church. To refuse to pray that other people will find their way into such a place would be positively selfish and cruel.”

Archbishop Collins said it is understandable for Jews to feel offended, given the terrible history of persecution and forced conversion of Jews. He said the older terminology was not good but he contended that the command of Jesus to seek to baptize “all nations” was still valid. “We want all people to come to the Lord.”

August 2007