Ecumenical Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and the Polish National Catholic Church: A Survey of Current Standings more

ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, THE OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH OF UTRECHT AND THE POLISH NATIONAL CATHOLIC CHURCH: A SURVEY OF CURRENT STANDINGS by Ramil E. FAJARDO Term Paper – DCA 6396 Prof. Patrick J. COGAN Faculty of Canon Law Saint Paul University Ottawa March 30, 2011 Can 1324. Satis non est haereticam pravitatem devitare, sed oportet illos quoque errores diligenter fugere, qui ad illam plus minusve accedunt; quare omnes debent etiam constitutiones et decreta servare quibus pravae huiusmodi opiniones a Sancta Sede proscriptae et prohibitae sunt. (CIC 1917)1 Canon 1324 It is not enough to avoid heretical depravity, but also those errors should be diligently fled that more or less approach [heresy]; therefore, all must observe the constitutions and decrees by which these sorts of depraved opinions are proscribed and prohibited by the Holy See. 2 INTRODUCTION The Catholic Church has made many efforts to find any and all opportunities to put into practice an important aspect of the Church‘s mission, as expressed in Vatican II‘s Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio: ―The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only.‖3 But over the centuries many divisions have appeared among Christians, and they too claim the name of ‗Christian‘ but are not united with the Catholic Church: ―[M]any Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but they differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ himself were divided. Certainly, such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature.‖ 4 So it comes as no surprise, indeed, that the 1983 Code of Canon Law was specifically revised in light of the Council‘s published acts and had a wholly different perspective on ecumenical relations, as contrasted with the former canon 1324 of the 1917 Code. The parallel canon 755 in the CIC 1983 now states: 1 Codex iuris canonici Pii X Pontificis Maximi iussu digestus Benedicti Papae XV auctoritate promulgatus, Newman Press, Westminster, MD, 1964, p. 451. Codex iuris canonici Pii X Pontificis Maximi iussu digestus Benedicti Papae XV auctoritate promulgatus, Typis polyglottis Vaticanis, 1917, English translation E.N. PETERS (ed.), The 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law, San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2001, p. 446. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 21 November 1964, in AAS, 57 (1965), pp. 90-112, English translation in FLANNERY1, pp. 452. Ibid. 2 3 4 2 Can. 755 §1. It is above all for the entire college of bishops and the Apostolic See to foster and direct among Catholics the ecumenical movement whose purpose is the restoration among all Christians of the unity which the Church is bound to promote by the will of Christ.5 This change since the 1917 Code beginning with Unitatis Redintegratio as a foundation to promote the Church‘s will and desire to pursue ecumenical relationships; as opposed to requiring Catholics to not only avoid ‗heretical depravity‘ but to diligently fle[e] from it, the new perspective calls for a remorseful recognition of the scandal of divided Christianity and a joyful embrace of the call for the restoration of unity among all Christians: ―The sacred Council … has already declared its teaching on the Church, and now, moved by a desire for the restoration of unity among all the followers of Christ, it wishes to set before all Catholics guidelines, helps and methods, by which they too can respond to the grace of this divine call.‖6 Two groups of non-Catholic Christians were highlighted as significant: the Eastern Churches, ―although separated from us, yet possess true sacraments, above all-by apostolic succession-the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are still joined to us in closest intimacy‖,7 and: ―The Churches and ecclesial communities which were separated from the Apostolic See of Rome during the grace crisis that began in the West at the end of the Middle Ages or in later times, [who] are bound to the Catholic Church by a specially close relationship as a result of the long span of earlier centuries when the Christian people had lived in ecclesiastical communion.‖8 5 Codex iuris canonici auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus, fontium annotatione et indice analyticoalphabetico auctus, Libreria editrice Vaticana, 1989, English translation Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition, New English Translation, prepared under the auspices of the CANON LAW SOCIETY OF AMERICA, Washington, Canon Law Society of America, 1999, p. 248. Unitatis Redintegratio, p. 453. Ibid., p. 465. Ibid., p. 467. 6 7 8 3 This research paper will focus on the latter. In this group of western Christians are found the communities which emerged from the Reformation (Lutheran, Anglican, Calvinism, et.al.); although western Protestant Christianity have subsequently fractured even further, what has been foreseen by the Council as having real success are the smaller churches of the western tradition which have maintained and administered true sacraments through valid apostolic succession, such as (until recently) the Old Catholic Church and specifically, the Polish National Catholic with whom the possibility of corporate reunion with Roman Catholic Church remains a distinct possibility. What ecumenical developments have occurred in the Roman Catholic Church‘s relationship with the Old Catholic Church, and the Polish National Catholic Church in particular, as a result of the Second Vatican Council‘s decree on ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism and through dialogue? BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARY HISTORY: THE OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH A casual and preliminary search on the internet for the ‗Old Catholic Church‘ would yield a dizzying list of churches and communities calling themselves Old Catholic and which have emerged especially since the beginning of the twentieth century, but multiplying exponentially since the social and sexual turmoil of the mid-late 1960‘s: The term ―Old Catholicism‖ currently describes a number of independent liturgical church bodies who together share two characteristics -- they are independent of the traditional Apostolic Sees of Rome, Constantinople and Canterbury, and they all possess what they claim is a valid apostolic succession in their hierarchical leadership. While most of them are quite orthodox in their doctrine, that is they follow the early creeds of the Christian Church, many of the groups deviate on issues of doctrine (the Liberal Catholics) and moral practice (homosexuality) from the shared opinions of the traditional Church (Roman, Orthodox and Anglican). 9 9 K. PRUTER, The Old Catholic Sourcebook, New York, Garland Publishing Company, 1983, p. 3 (= PRUTER, Sourcebook). 4 Although there are currently many branches and developments of Old Catholicism, interest for the Roman Catholic Church must necessarily focus on the preservation of apostolic succession. In his article ‗Catholicism: Old and Roman‘ Victor Conzemius reviews two particular events in the history of the movement, while focusing the fundamental issue of apostolic succession to one point in time: The name "Old Catholic" suggests that this Church lays a special stress on its continuity with the life and teaching of the old undivided Christian Church. There exists, however, no direct historic continuity between Old Catholicism and the early Church: all that can be meant by the name is similarity in Church organization and worship. In concrete historical terms the Dutch Church, the oldest Old Catholic body, goes back to the beginning of the eighteenth century. At the root of the conflict with Rome lay the question of whether the Pope had the right to depose a vicar-apostolic or a bishop without trial or condemnation. Underlying it was the "Gallican" denial of the doctrine that the Pope had supreme jurisdiction over each individual diocese. In 1702 the Pope deposed the vicar apostolic of Utrecht, Peter Codde, on the grounds of alleged Jansenism and appointed Theodore de Cock his successor without previously consulting the Dutch clergy and the Chapter of Utrecht. The majority of the clergy opposed the new bishop. He was forbidden to exercise any ecclesiastical jurisdiction by the Estates General and died in exile. The difficulties with Rome lingered on for twenty years and reached their climax in 1723 when the Chapter decided to have a bishop consecrated. Four times the Chapter asked Rome to confirm their bishop-elect, Cornelius Steen-oven, but received no answer. On October 25th, 1724, the (suspended) former vicar-apostolic of Ispahan, Dominique Varlet, a French Dominican with leanings towards Jansenism, agreed to consecrate Steen-oven archbishop of Utrecht. It is from the third successor of Steenoven, Archbishop Meindaerts, also consecrated by Varlet, that all the later Old Catholic bishops derive their succession. The validity of this ordination was at the time heavily contested by some Roman Catholic canonists; this view, however, scarcely can be maintained and it would be more appropriate to say that the Archbishops of Utrecht (Old Catholic succession) were illicitly but validly ordained.10 ‗The Church of Utrecht‘ quietly existed for the rest of the 18th and into the 19th century, and as the historian C. Beaufort Moss claims: The Church of Utrecht, though excommunicated, was still Roman Catholic. Her members had not seceded from the Roman Communion: nothing was further from their thoughts than to make their Church autocephalous. They had changed nothing in doctrine, or ritual; they had done nothing which had not been sanctioned by the opinion of the most learned canonists of the age; and they claimed that they had only maintained their canonical rights, and that their excommunications without trial was unjust. Whenever their sees fell vacant, they scrupulously observed all the formalities: they noticed the Pope of the election; they asked for a dispensation for consecration by less than three bishops; they invited the neighbouring bishops to assist; they informed the Pope of the 10 V. CONZEMIUS, ―Catholicism: Old and Roman,‖ in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 4, no 3, Sum 1967, pp. 427-8 (= CONZEMIUS, ―Catholicism‖). 5 consecration. The only answers they ever received were bulls of excommunication, accompanied by furious invective. 11 The reemergence of the Old Catholic Church came with the events of the First Vatican Council and the controversial declaration of papal infallibility as doctrine to be definitely held by all the faithful, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX and accepted by the majority of the Council. Although eighty-eight bishops rejected the dogma in the voting, they quickly abandoned their opposition once back home from the Council. Those who objected ―saw the new doctrine as an inexcusable breach with tradition. For many centuries, they declared, the doctrine of Papal Infallibility was unknown, and its growth had been based upon forged documents.‖ 12 But while the bishops eventually capitulated, there were others among the lower clergy and lay people who absolutely rejected the dogma as an innovation - a new, heretical development. Chief among the opponents was Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger of Bavaria, a distinguished professor and brilliant theologian. Conzemius points out that Döllinger had already been hopeful for a dialogue between the different Christian expressions as early as 1864: We should carefully distinguish from the intermingled errors all the good and true things which the separated communities have produced or discovered in dogma, history or life, and then accept them freely and openly; we should claim them as the lawful property of the true Church which once possessed them at least in outline. The means to this end are humility, fraternal charity, self-denial, acceptance of truth and goodness wherever they are to be found, a profound insight into the shortcomings, defects and irritations of our own position, and a resolute will to redress them. 13 But this rupture with Rome quickly became a problem for those Germans and Austrian clergy and laity who had rejected Papal Infallibility. Without any of the eighty-eight dissenting bishops remaining to support them with valid orders by way of a bishop, the various congregations began discussions with Utrecht: 11 C. B. MOSS, The Old Catholic Churches and Reunion, London, Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927, p. 19 (= MOSS, Old Catholic Churches). PRUTER, Sourcebook, p. 11. CONZEMIUS, ―Catholicism,‖ p. 444. 12 13 6 As a result of the Vatican actions, [Utrecht] now despaired of reconciliation and found kinship with this new movement. Hermann Heykamp, the bishop of Deventer, consecrated [Josef Hubert] Reinkens and by this act brought the two churches together, in Christian communion and in working relationship. In return, the German Old Catholics gave the independent Sees of Holland a name – the Old Catholic Church.14 Although a complete analysis of the Old Catholic Church is well beyond the scope and purpose of this paper, there have been very serious developments that have impacted any further conversation. Writing his article in 1967 in the euphoric aftermath of the Second Vatican Council‘s endorsement of ecumenical dialogue, Victor Conzemius concludes his article by emphasizing that the time has come to review those things which have kept the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Churches separate. Indeed, the Old Catholic Church in many ways anticipated what Vatican II eventually adopted in various documents, namely: a) vernacular liturgy; b) a recognition of a theology of the laity; c) revival of Episcopal collegiality; and d) concern for the pursuit and promotion of Christian Unity.15 He reflects that there is a necessary acknowledgement of some of the more mundane sticking points between the churches that should perhaps be given greater impetus and leeway for resolution in the dioceses concerned: For as all Old Catholic communities owe their concrete origin not so much to lofty theological motives but rather to a difference of opinion on disciplinary matters, episcopal nominations, Church-property or Church policy in general, these nontheological points must be cleared up before a serious discussion on dogmatic questions in view of a possible re-union might take place. It would seem that these topics could best be discussed in those dioceses where the split actually occurred. As little has been done up to now in this field Old and Roman Catholics should endeavor to take up this task.16 However, new developments – akin to the difficulties now encountered between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Church – have made any further serious conversation over doctrinal even more delicate and difficult: 14 PRUTER, Sourcebook, p. 11. CONZEMIUS, ―Catholicism,‖ p. 442-3. Ibid., p. 444-5. 15 16 7 In a move hailed as highly symbolic by advocates of women‘s ordination and highly offensive by U.S. leaders of the Old Catholic church, a German bishop of that denomination laid hands on two female deacons on May 27, ordaining them priests. Although the Old Catholic church is small in membership, numbering about 300,000 worldwide and 50,000 in the United States, the ordinations are important because they mark the first time that women have been ordained openly by a bishop whose authority to ordain is unquestioned by the Vatican. 17 From the sense of the article, much was at stake in such a move by the Old Catholic Church, especially as regards the role of women in the Church, since the very sacrament of Holy Orders, as understood by those Christian churches (the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, especially) was being directly challenged by a church which, until the event, was considered in possession of valid orders: ―Male priests of the Old Catholic church are considered valid, though illicit, by the Vatican.‖18 In the Journal for Ecumenical Studies, Doris Klostermaier commented on the ordinations as a type of re-imaging of the priestly order, a necessary action that may or may not permit further dialogue with the Catholic Church, but is a necessary proactive development. For her, dialogical development has only gone so far and action necessary, but which curiously chooses to disregard the sacramentality of the Church‘s teaching as regards apostolic tradition and priesthood itself: For the Roman Catholic Church, which orients itself on divine patriarchy and insists on purely male sacerdotalism as part of the deposit of faith imparted by Jesus Christ, the ordination of the two women poses a new dilemma. Since it recognizes Old Catholic clerics as true successors of the apostles it theoretically has to acknowledge Bertis and Pickel-Bossau as rightfully installed priests. How Roman Catholic traditionalists will react to this latest blow remains to be seen. 19 17 P. SCHAEFFER, ―Bishop Ordains Two Women for Old Catholics,‖ in National Catholic Reporter, vol. 32, no. 13, June 14, 1996, p. 13 (= SCHAEFFER). Ibid. D. KLOSTERMAIER, ―Two Women Priests: Latest Blow to Roman Catholic Traditionalists,‖ in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 33, no. 4, Fall 1996, pp. 575. 18 19 8 It would appear that momentum and further dialogue with the Old Catholic Church has been stalled by the actions of women‘s ordination. Consequently, on October 29, 1996 Cardinal Edward Cassidy issued a set of guidelines entitled, ―When a Clergyman Changes Churches‖ in conjunction with Archbishop Antonius Jan Glazemaker, the president of the International Old Catholic Bishops‘ Conference of the Utrecht Union (and approved by Utrecht of November 11, 1996).20 In order to avoid any misunderstandings, and in light of the development of women‘s ordination in certain Old Catholic churches, it became incumbent upon Rome and Utrecht to seriously consider the possibilities of dissatisfaction among clergy on both sides and felt the need to jointly promulgate guidelines which would assist in the transfer of those who wished to do so. Encouraging responsible dialogue between the two churches at the diocesan level, and with a sense of justice for not only the person(s) involved but for the dioceses and parishes as well, the desire of both churches was to ensure minimal disruption and polemics: ―Consequently, both sides have the duty to cooperate if a member of the clergy is changing, in order to limit the pain for the parishes caused by such a changing, in order to prevent any kind of proselytism and in order to avoid impairing future ecumenical relations.‖21 Another key ecumenical point of discussion which the Catholic Church has consistently engaged in is the role of the Roman Pontiff, and which has been disregarded by the Old Catholic women‘s ordination regards the role of the pope as shepherd and point of unity: ―Among all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities, the Catholic Church is conscious that she has preserved the ministry of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the Bishop of Rome, whom God established 20 E. I. CASSIDY and A. J. GLAZEMAKER, ―When a Clergyman Changes Churches: Roman Catholic/Utrecht Union Agreement‖, 3 April 1997, in Origins 26 (1997), pp. 678-679. Ibid. 21 9 as her ‗"perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity"‘ and whom the Spirit sustains in order that he may enable all the others to share in this essential good.‖22 And this consciousness of the Petrine ministry which John Paul II calls for is a service and benefit to the entire Church, that which impels and directs towards unity, and which must be studied and further discussed with other Christians: This service of unity, rooted in the action of divine mercy, is entrusted within the College of Bishops to one among those who have received from the Spirit the task, not of exercising power over the people—as the rulers of the Gentiles and their great men do (cf. Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42)—but of leading them towards peaceful pastures. This task can require the offering of one's own life (cf. Jn 10:11-18). Saint Augustine, after showing that Christ is "the one Shepherd, in whose unity all are one".…23 The significance, therefore, of the Old Catholic ordination of two women highlights the unilateral act, which had the serious potential of undermining not only the harmony of dialogue, but to also demonstrate the essential lack of unity even with the Old Catholic church itself, more than demonstrating what John Paul reminded in Ut Unum Sint about the role of Peter: The mission of the Bishop of Rome within the College of all the Pastors consists precisely in "keeping watch" (episkopein), like a sentinel, so that, through the efforts of the Pastors, the true voice of Christ the Shepherd may be heard in all the particular Churches. In this way, in each of the particular Churches entrusted to those Pastors, the una, sancta, catholica et apostolica Ecclesia is made present. All the Churches are in full and visible communion, because all the Pastors are in communion with Peter and therefore united in Christ. With the power and the authority without which such an office would be illusory, the Bishop of Rome must ensure the communion of all the Churches. For this reason, he is the first servant of unity. This primacy is exercised on various levels, including vigilance over the handing down of the Word, the celebration of the Liturgy and the Sacraments, the Church's mission, discipline and the Christian life. It is the responsibility of the Successor of Peter to recall the requirements of the common good of the Church, should anyone be tempted to overlook it in the pursuit of personal interests. He has the duty to admonish, to caution and to declare at times that this or that opinion being circulated is irreconcilable with the unity of faith. When circumstances require it, he speaks in the name of all the Pastors in communion with him. He can also—under very specific conditions clearly laid down by the First Vatican Council— 22 JOHN PAUL II, encyclical letter on the Commitment to Ecumenism Ut Unum Sint, 25 May 1995, in AAS, 87, pp. 921-982, English translation in Origins, 25 (1995), pp. 98-99. Ibid., p. 104. 23 10 declare ex cathedra that a certain doctrine belongs to the deposit of faith. By thus bearing witness to the truth, he serves unity. All this however must always be done in communion. When the Catholic Church affirms that the office of the Bishop of Rome corresponds to the will of Christ, she does not separate this office from the mission entrusted to the whole body of Bishops, who are also "vicars and ambassadors of Christ". The Bishop of Rome is a member of the "College", and the Bishops are his brothers in the ministry. 24 The pope reassures the various dialogue partners that nothing must be done out of context of a true collaborative spirit, that the ultimate goal is the desire to serve the Church in God‘s way, that the call for unity comes from Christ Himself, as in the High Priestly Prayer. But the ministry of Peter, though divisive to some, nevertheless remains the center of unity for the Church, to which the pope calls all dialogue partners to recognize for what it is and to engage it seriously: This is an immense task, which we cannot refuse and which I cannot carry out by myself. Could not the real but imperfect communion existing between us persuade Church leaders and their theologians to engage with me in a patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject, a dialogue in which, leaving useless controversies behind, we could listen to one another, keeping before us only the will of Christ for his Church and allowing ourselves to be deeply moved by his plea "that they may all be one ... so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21)? THE POLISH NATIONAL CATHOLIC CHURCH (The PNCC) Although the development and evolution of the Old Catholic Church becomes radically complicated in the first years of the twentieth century, the emergence of the ethnically based movement in the North American context is most successfully demonstrated by the rise of the Polish National Catholic Church. As Pruter writes: The Polish National Catholic Church is the exception to almost everything said in this volume about the Old Catholics in America. They are a relatively large and stable body with a substantial membership, church life and apostolate. They have a trained clergy, a hierarchical organization, and a mission program. The are in fellowship with the Old Catholic See of Utrecht and were in communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church until that body chose to ordain women as priests. 24 Ibid., pp. 104-106. 11 The orders of the Polish Church, deriving as they do directly from Utrecht, are unquestioned, and their validity has been confirmed by the substantial church they represent. The Polish Church is, in other words, all that the other Old Catholic and independent jurisdictions strive after and only partly attain.25 There was strength in the Polish National Catholic Church that was rooted not only in the ethnic pride the immigrant community held, but the realities and circumstances back home in Eastern Europe helps to explain their solidarity in the New World. This principle was most clearly manifested in the intense nationalism of the Poles. During the long period of their country‘s partition and subjection, scarcely any institution had been left to unite the Polish people save their Church and their language. In their depressed state they came to look upon the Roman Catholic Church in Poland as the Israelites did the Tabernacle in the wilderness.26 What became immediately apparent to the new immigrants was the structure and predominance of the Catholic Church by another equally nationalistic group, the Irish: ―It was therefore a rude shock to Poles, on coming to the United States, to find that their Church, which they had almost identified with Poland itself, was dominated by a hierarchy and people largely Irish in background, and with a ‗‖nationalism‖‘ fully as Church-centered as their own.‖27 This ethnic tension – aggravating the misunderstandings of the basic (American) operating procedures of diocesan and parochial administration – made for the eventual departure by various Polish groups from the Roman Church in three distinct events between 1890 and 1900.28 What precipitated the movement of these various groups were essentially three concerns, which became a sort of ‗charter‘ summing up their national church movement: I. The Polish people shall be in control of all churches built and maintained by them. II. The Polish people shall have the right to administer their own church property, through a committee chosen by their own parishioners. 25 PRUTER., Sourcebook, p. 38. T. ANDREWS, The Polish National Catholic Church in America and Poland, London, S.P.C.K., 1953, p. 23. Ibid., p. 23-24. Ibid., p. 24. 26 27 28 12 III. The Polish people shall have the right to choose their own pastor.29 The distinguishing feature sacramentally of the Polish National Catholic Church, however, was the adoption of the married clerical state in 1921, as a result of the Fourth General Synod held in Scranton, Pennsylvania: … subject to the consent of the Bishop. This proposal met with some opposition from certain of the laity who thought it might soften unduly the lives of the priests. But the committee who presented the matter had prepared for this objection, and was ready to offer historical authority for the antiquity of clerical marriage and its continuance among secular priests in general, except those under the Papacy. So the measure was passed, although at fist (because of lay opposition) few clergy availed themselves of this permission.30 Developments in the relationship between the Polish National Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in the United States were certainly enhanced by the election of Pope John Paul II, and in the spirit of ecumenical relationship fostered by the Second Vatican Council, talks were undertaken. And a significant amount of conversation had already been reported by the commission assembled for the project. In the book Journeying Together in Christ: The Journey Continues - The Report of the Polish National Catholic Roman Catholic Dialogue 1989-2002, the joint commission outlined the four areas of discussion, to date: First: how the church is to be organized and how it is to operate within the world, what structures are necessary to the church as a matter of faith, Collegiality of the Roman Catholic Bishops with the Pope, Collegiality of the Polish National Catholic Bishops with the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht, Primacy in the Church, Jurisdiction, The Papacy and the Council, and Petrine Ministry; 29 Ibid., p. 29. Ibid., p. 35. 30 13 - Secondly: pastoral questions of sacramental sharing between the PNCC and the Catholic Church; - Thirdly: Union and Unity issues as long and short term goals, using the relationships of the Vatican and the Eastern Catholic churches and the Apostolic Administration in Campos, Brazil, and the PNCC with the definition and meaning of full communion between churches and the concept of unity with autonomy and identity; - Fourthly: the ecumenical implications of Vatican statements, for example, Ut Unum Sint, Dominus Iesus and A Note on the Expression ‘Sister Churches’.31 As outlined in the report, the draft proposals for the initial conversations attempted to focus on any areas of agreement about identity in the commonly understood manner of ‗church‘ with apostolic succession, and if so, the possibility of sacramental sharing as provided for in c. 844 §332. Indeed, progress had been made since the initiation of the dialogues and in a relatively short frame of time: however, at some point the conversation had necessarily begin addressing the significant issues constitutive of the separation in order to grant definitive answers; and in the Report, the Catholic Church through (then) Archbishop Edward Cassidy requested clarification of the dialogue commission concerning two questions in 1991: ―Does the PNCC maintain 31 R. M. NEMKOVICH AND J. C. TIMLIN (eds.), Journeying Together in Christ: The Journey Continues - The Report of the Polish National Catholic Roman Catholic Dialogue 1989-2002, Huntington, IN, Our Sunday Visitor, 2003, p. 11-12 (= Report). Can. 844 §3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches. 32 14 relationships of sacramental sharing with other Churches or ecclesial communities? If so, which ones? Are there, in fact, clergy in the PNCC who had previously been ordained as Roman Catholic priests? If so, could you give us some details?‖33 STEPS IN THE DIALOGUE On February 15, 1992 at a Service of Healing in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Roman Catholic bishops issued a statement which, in a sense, inaugurated the next round of talks with the PNCC. In the statement read by Bishop Stanislaus Brzana, he began, ―A dispute arose in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States towards the end of the last century between some groups of Polish immigrants and Church authorities. The dispute was not over doctrine but over organizational matters.‖34 After briefly summing up the effects of misunderstandings, anguish and the wounds inflicted by both sides, he expressed regret and asked for forgiveness for past actions, neither denying or reiterating the issues, and basing the new stage of ecumenical conversations on the acts of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in 1964, ―to embrace on the Mount of Olives… to erase from the memory and consign to oblivion the censure of excommunication which has been an obstacle to rapprochement in charity down to our own days.‖35 Bp. Brzana‘s words were an attempt to convey the Church‘s desire to recognize – if at all possible – the uniqueness of the PNCC, as a church with very close ties already to the Catholic Church: We want to embrace the Bishops, Clergy, and Faithful of the Polish National Catholic Church. We hope and pray that we can put behind us all the polemics, disagreements, and misunderstandings of those by-gone days. We do, indeed, deplore the sad developments 33 Report, p. 21. Report, p. 58. Ibid., p. 59. 34 35 15 and mutual hostility which eventually led to the rupture of ecclesial communion. We realize that this expression of our affection and good will cannot suffice to put an end to our differences. But, we are heartened and encouraged that with God‘s help and our mutual desire for healing and reconciliation, our Dialogue will lead us to live once again in full communion of faith, true concord, and sacramental life.36 And one year later, in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity‘s Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism highlights a special relationship which would be important for the Catholic Church pursue in regards to those particular churches of the western tradition: Through its particular Churches, the Catholic Church is present in many localities and regions in which it lives together with other Churches and ecclesial Communities. Such regions have their distinctive spiritual, ethnic, political and cultural characteristics. In many cases one finds in these regions the highest religious authority of other Churches and ecclesial Communities: these regions often correspond to the territory of a Synod of Eastern Catholic Churches or of an Episcopal Conference. Therefore, a Catholic particular Church, or several particular Churches, acting closely together may find themselves in a very favourable position to make contact with other Churches and ecclesial Communities at this level. 37 On April 22, 1993, a Joint Statement was issued by the members of the PNCC/RC Dialogue in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, in which a significant development was announced: His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Cassidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has informed Archbishop William H. Keeler, President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), that members of the Polish National Catholic Church in the United States and Canada (PNCC) may receive the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Communion and Anointing of the Sick from Roman Catholic priests if they ask for them on their own, are properly disposed and not otherwise excluded from the sacraments. The Cardinal‘s letter is an answer to a request from the National Clergy Conference of the PNCC expressing hope for increased sacramental possibilities between the Churches as they moved toward unity.38 36 Ibid., p. 60. PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, Directoire pour l‘application des principes et des norms sur l‘œcuménisme, 25 March 1993, in AAS, 85 (1993), pp. 1039-1119, Vatican English version Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, Ottawa, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1993, p. 17 (= DAPNE). Report, p. 77. 37 38 16 This was followed by Pastoral Guidelines Concerning Admission of Polish National Catholics to Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church, promulgated on March 13, 1996 in a letter issued to the bishops of the United States by Most Rev. Oscar H. Lipscomb. He reiterated the essence of the letter by Cardinal Cassidy of 1993, in which was requested a judgment on the status of the PNCC, that is, their status as having validly ordained bishops in apostolic succession: In light of this the National Conference of Catholic Bishops inquired whether in the judgment of the Apostolic See the canon cited would apply to the Polish National Catholic Church. In due course, Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian unity, sent a reply in behalf of the Holy See, saying ‗―there are sufficient reasons to respond affirmatively to the request.‖‘39 Archbishop Lipscomb then outlines the application of c. 844.340 as regards the PNCC and c. 844.2 to Roman Catholics41, though reminding any who participate to do so with respect shown to individual consciences and spiritual needs, that ―[g]eneral public invitations to communicate are not appropriate….[and] regrettably our churches are still divided.‖42 As of 2006, the dialogue continues, however, no subsequent progress of substance has developed after the recognition of the possibility for the mutual reception of sacraments according to canon 844; what now needs to be discussed are the crucial ‗identity‘ issues which had emerged not only as the years of separation happened, but also at the precipitation moment, when the rupture occurred. As in the current statement posted on the USCCB website, what 39 Ibid., p. 82. §3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches. §2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non- Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid. Report, p. 86-87. 40 41 42 17 remains difficult is the unique customs, traditions and praxis which have developed, but the Petrine ministry and the presence of former Roman Catholic priests in ministry in the PNCC: During our century-long division we have grown apart in ways that at first glance make reconciliation appear to be difficult. The Polish National Catholic Church, which during most of its existence was a member of the Union of Utrecht, has developed a strong sense of autonomy and the desire to preserve its distinctive traditions, including the vital role played by the laity in church governance. Even though the primacy and infallibility of the Bishop of Rome was not an issue at the time of our division, our churches today have different understandings of the Pope‘s role in the Church. Another complicating factor is the presence of a significant number of former Roman Catholic priests in the ranks of the Polish National Catholic clergy. Such is the legacy of the divisions of the past that remain with us today. At this point in our relationship, therefore, we the members of the Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue wish to reaffirm our resolve to overcome what still divides us, and to state clearly that our goal is full communion between our churches. We wish to emphasize that ―full communion‖ does not imply absorption or uniformity, but a unity that fully recognizes differing traditions that are consistent with our common apostolic faith. It must still be determined if any of our divergent traditions are truly church-dividing, or simply examples of legitimate diversity which, in the words of Pope John Paul II, ―is in no way opposed to the Church's unity, but rather enhances her splendor and contributes greatly to the fulfillment of her mission‖ (Ut Unum Sint, n. 50). We plan to give further consideration to other concrete steps concerning reciprocity in regard to the sacraments, acting as godparents, and the requirement of canonical form for lawfulness only in mixed marriages. We are equally committed to a thorough examination of the theological concepts of primacy and conciliarity. This will include searching for a common understanding of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome in the Church. 43 One of the great obstacles remains the very thing John Paul II has asked for others to assist him with, in studying and reflecting upon: the presence of the pope himself. CONCLUSION In reviewing the progress made between the PNCC and the Roman Catholic Church, it can be stated that one of three hurdles was finally overcome, that of sacramental sharing as found in canon 844, the recognition that the PNCC indeed has apostolic succession and thus valid sacraments. 43 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC-POLISH NATIONAL CATHOLIC DIALOGUE, Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, http://www.usccb.org/seia/jointdeclaration.shtml, (accessed: 3 March 2011), Washington, 2006. 18 However, much work remains to be done especially in two additional areas: the presence of former Roman Catholic priests in the PNCC and the Petrine Ministry. Because of the irregular status of those Catholic priests who may have joined the PNCC and are now married clergy, the discussion has become all the more complicated: what status would they hold in the Roman Catholic Church canonically, and especially in light of subsequent marriage? Information regarding this facet of the dialogue was immediately requested by the Vatican back in 1991 (as per the Report, and remains a point of discussion currently. As to the Petrine Ministry, Cardinal Cassidy contributed an essay entitled ―Ut Unum Sint in Ecumenical Perspective‖ in the book Church Unity and the Papal Office, An Ecumenical Dialogue on John Paul II’s Encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That All May Be One) from 2001, and he reflects on the reaction from one of the dialogue partners, the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Cardinal Cassidy notes: The Swedish bishops have two particular difficulties with the encyclical. First, they sense ‗―a hierarchy of churches‖‘ reflected in the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church toward other churches and denominations. Following on the statement made by the Second Vatican Council in the decree Unitatis Redintegratio, the encyclical Ut Unum Sint asserts once again that ‗‖the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church.‖‘ This creates in principle two problems for the Church of Sweden: it is difficult for dialogue to take place on an equal footing when one of the partners is already from the start regarded as inferior or defective. ‗‖Ultimately, that militates against the spirit of human dignity, fairness and truth, which the Pope himself invokes in the description of the prerequisites of the dialogue…where each party recognizes the other as a partner.‖‘44 This fear on the part of dialogue partners is probably most bluntly stated as the fear of being considered inferior or unequal in standing, almost as if their histories and experiences are secondary as a result of the separation from Rome. In 1996, John Huels wrote a reflection on the DAPNE in The Jurist, and he notes: A key premise of the canonical theory of Ladislas Örsy is that there are always ‗‖values‖‘ implied in juridical norms. Behind every church law there is some value, good, or ideal 44 E. CASSIDY in C.E. BRAATEN AND R.W. JENSON (eds.), Church Unity and the Papal Office, An Ecumenical Dialogue on John Paul II’s Encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That All May Be One), Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001, p. 21. 19 that the legislator wishes to foster or protect. The values behind canon law are frequently theological in nature, since canon law serves to further the ends of the Church, which is a theological reality. This is certainly true of the 1993 Ecumenical directory. Although it is primarily a juridical document, it is based on theological principles that are expressly stated.45 Where does dialogue and conversation with the Polish National Catholic Church now go? In the most important way, prayer remains the first and best way to begin, continue and conclude. Especially for those churches with a strong common heritage, and especially in the theological expression of apostolic succession, the common heritage to all remains prayer. Perhaps the last word can be given to DAPNE, when it reminds the reader and participants in ecumenical dialogue: The Catholic Church solemnly pledged itself to work for Christian unity at the Second Vatican Council. The Decree Unitatis Redintegratio explains how the unity that Christ wishes for his Church is brought about "through the faithful preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles and their successors—the Bishops with Peter's successor at their head— through their administering the sacraments, and through their governing in love", and defines this unity as consisting of the "confession of one faith,... the common celebration of divine worship,... the fraternal harmony of the family of God". This unity which of its very nature requires full visible communion of all Christians is the ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement. The Council affirms that this unity by no means requires the sacrifice of the rich diversity of spirituality, discipline, liturgical rites and elaborations of revealed truth that has grown up among Christians in the measure that this diversity remains faithful to the apostolic Tradition. The ecumenical movement is a grace of God, given by the Father in answer to the prayer of Jesus and the supplication of the Church inspired by the Holy Spirit. 46 45 J. M. HUELS, ―The 1993 Ecumenical Directory: Theological Values and Juridical Norms‖, in The Jurist, 56 (1996), pp. 401. DAPNE, p. 20. 46 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Sources Codex iuris canonici auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. 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