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The Catholic Church and her relationship with other Christian Churches Toward a Reconciled Christianity “Our divisions are contrary to the will of Jesus and they disappoint people’s expecations. I think that we must work with new energy and dedication to bring a common witness into the context of these great ethical challenges of our time. We all know there are numerous models of unity and you know that the Catholic Church also has as her goal the full visible unity of the disciples of Christ, as defined by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council in its various Documents (cf. Lumen Gentium, nn. 8, 13: Unitates Redintegratio, nn.2, 4, etc.) This unity, we are convinced, indeed subsists in the Catholic Church, without the possibility of ever being lost (cf. Unitates Redintegratio, n. 4.); the Church in fact has not totally disappeared from the world. On the other hand, this unity does not mean what could be called ecumenism of return: that is, to deny and to reject one’s own faith history. Absolutely not! It does not mean uniformity in all expressions of theology and spirituality, in liturgical forms and in discipline. Unity in multiplicity, and multiplicity in unity: in my Homily for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on 29 June last, I insisted that full unity and true catholicity in the original sense of the word go together. As a necessary condition for the achievement of this coexistence, the commitment to unity must be constantly purified and renewed; it must constantly grow and mature.”
The Catholic Church and her relationship to other religions Toward a Place of Friendship and Reverence for Each Other “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.”
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