Pope Benedict XVI and ecumenism
Because the question of religious pluralism is a key issue raised by modernity, ecumenism, the establishment of harmony and dialogue between the different Christian denominations, is a significant concern of a post Second Vatican Council Church.
One of the more delicate ecumenical questions addressed during the pontificate of Benedict XVI relates to an ambiguous phrase in the Vatican II decree on the Church.
[citation needed] The clarification was met with protest by a number of Christian denominations which regarded it as damaging to their ecumenical efforts.
[8] Benedict XVI himself, however, has presented such moves as an effort to preserve the legacy of Vatican II by implementing an authoritative interpretation of the Council through a "hermeneutic of continuity" which locates it in the context of the Church tradition.
Shortly before the illicit episcopal consecrations Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop Lefebvre had signed a protocol agreeing to study difficulties raised by the liturgical reform and the Second Vatican Council, but ultimately the accord came to nothing.
To this end, in January 2009 the pontiff approved a decree lifting the excommunications on the leaders of the Society, making the possibility of unity between the wider Church and the SSPX more likely.
[9][10] On 10 March 2009, Pope Benedict wrote a letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church, saying that "an unforeseen mishap for me was the fact that the Williamson case came on top of the remission of the excommunication.
The discreet gesture of mercy towards four Bishops ordained validly but not legitimately suddenly appeared as something completely different: as the repudiation of reconciliation between Christians and Jews ... Another mistake, which I deeply regret, is the fact that the extent and limits of the provision of 21 January 2009 were not clearly and adequately explained at the moment of its publication.
In an 8 June 2006 statement, the chief secretary of the Orthodox bishops' synod said dropping "patriarch of the West" while retaining the titles "vicar of Jesus Christ" and "supreme pontiff of the universal church" is "perceived as implying a universal jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome over the entire church, a claim that the Orthodox have never accepted."
From their point of view, "the geographical limits of each ecclesiastical jurisdiction" have been a key part of the structure of the church from the earliest days of Christianity.
The Orthodox synod's statement said that, with the international Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue set to begin again in September with plans to deal with the "thorny problem" of papal primacy, it would have been better not to have removed the title without consultation.
[12] A leading Ukrainian Orthodox spokesman has said that a visit to Ukraine by Pope Benedict XVI would be "untimely", according to the country's RISU news service.
They issued a Common Declaration, highlighting the previous 40 years of dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans while also acknowledging "serious obstacles to our ecumenical progress.
"[19] It is envisaged that the ordination of married former Anglican clergy will not be a major issue due to the fact that it has become relatively commonplace since the Pastoral Provision was instituted in 1980.
During the conference Cardinal Levada aimed to compare the new ordinariates to the national diocesan structures overseeing a country's military forces.
The statement quoted sections of the apostolic constitution which said that:"Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.
In the case of married clergy, the norms established in the encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Sacerdotalis coelibatus (n. 42) and in the statement "In June" are to be observed.
