60 years ago, the Catholic Church opens up to ecumenism

For contemporaries of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), it was tantamount to a "Copernican revolution": the opening up of the Catholic Church to other denominations and participation in the "ecumenical movement", which had previously been perceived as dangerous. Roman Catholicism" had previously demanded the return of Christians who had been separated from it - "heretics and schismatics". From then on, there was talk of "separated brethren". And of a joint search for ways of unity. 60 years ago, on 21 November 1964, the decree "Unitatis redintegratio" (The Restoration of Unity) was passed.

For people in denominationally divided countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, a so-called "pillared society" had characterised everyday life: from birth to the cemetery, life was structured by one's own denomination. Mixed marriages were rare, despite progressive secularisation.

The reorientation of the Catholic Church towards other denominations goes back to its renewed self-image, as formulated in the church constitution"Lumen gentium". It recognises that other churches, ecclesial communities and even religions can also provide salvation. Instead of a "return ecumenism", the Catholic Church has since spoken integratively of the desire to regain the "unity of all Christians". The Council even exhorted "all Catholic believers, recognising the signs of the times, to participate with zeal in the ecumenical work".

Long suppressed

Just a few years earlier, under Pius XII (1939-1958), the participation of Catholics in religious ecumenical events, such as those organised by the World Council of Churches, had been prevented. Theological dialogue, when it did take place, was an academic controversy. However, as early as 1960, John XXIII opened the Council to representatives of other denominations. To this end, he founded the "Secretariat for Christian Unity".

Paul VI (1963-1978) continued the initiative of his predecessor. After a spectacular intervention, the decree was passed in the third session of the Council with 2,137 votes in favour and only 11 against. In three chapters, it deals with the Catholic principles of ecumenism, their practical realisation and the status of churches and ecclesial communities separated from Rome.

The Council thus set in motion a development that could hardly have been foreseen. In 1966, Paul VI confirmed the Secretariat for Unity as a permanent institution of the Holy See. In 1988, Pope John Paul II changed the name of the Secretariat for Unity to the "Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity". And Pope Francis put it on an equal footing with all other organisations: he renamed it the "Dicastery for Christian Unity". Its tasks include dialogue and cooperation with other churches and Christian world communities. The resulting documents fill thick volumes. At the same time, extensive co-operation was inspired at all levels of church life. Ecumenical contacts between bishops, theologians and the faithful in the parishes have become a matter of course.

60 years after the decree, ecumenism has become quieter. Younger Christians are unfamiliar with the denominational climate in which the decree caused a revolutionary furore. In contrast, co-operation between the major churches is intensifying in the socio-political sphere in Germany. At a global level, the Catholic Church is not a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC). But theological dialogue is conducted at many levels - and in the political sphere, ecumenical cooperation has become an indispensable element of the "soft power" of Christianity.

However, the realisation of the "visible unity" of the church is more than ever pending. And this goal is perhaps more controversial than ever in ecumenical dialogue today. While Protestant Christians celebrated their uniqueness with the anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 under the guiding principle of a "church of freedom", the Catholic Church also endeavoured not to lose its own identity in the dialogue. It repeatedly recalled its self-image as the church founded by Jesus Christ.

The theological controversy did not end with the Decree on Ecumenism. Nor did the question of what the goal of the common path should be. Here, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Unity, the Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, calls for more courage and commitment.