There has been a lot of nonsense written about the CDF statement. It is remarkable, after 40 years of dialogue intended to improve mutual understanding between Catholics and Protestants, that intelligent Protestants and even highly placed Protestant leaders show ZERO understanding of the Catholic view of the nature of the Church.
The word “church” has two meanings in the Catholic understanding: (a) there is the universal (or “Catholic”) Church, i.e. the one Church of Christ, and (b) there are local or “particular” churches, i.e. the churches of particular regions or groups.
The “particular” churches are bound together to form the one universal Church by various bonds: holding the same teachings, having the same sacraments and priesthood, and having a common structure of authority into which each particular church is integrated. An example of a particular church would be a diocese or a collection of dioceses forming a province, say.
The pope is saying that the “eastern Orthodox” churches are indeed particular churches and are “sister churches” of the Roman Catholic particular churches. They have the same faith and sacraments. Because they do not recognize the authority of the pope, their integration into one organized body with all the rest of the particular churches is impaired. So there is an impaired unity between the eastern Orthodox particular churches and the Roman Catholic ones.
The Protestants are in a different situation. Protestants, considered as individuals, are certainly Christians. But the denominations to which they belong are not “particular churches” in the same way that eastern Orthodox and Catholic dioceses are. They do not share the same faith and sacraments and do not have the sacramental priesthood of bishops, priests, and deacons.
What is new here? Absolutely nothing! This is what Vatican II taught, and what the Catholic Church has said for the last forty plus years. Only, it seems a lot of people were not listening. Many people read into the statements of Vatican II what they wanted to hear, both liberal Catholics and non-Catholics. It is because of these misreadings that the CDF felt a need to clarify what the Catholic Church’s teaching has always been. It was not meant as a “put down”, but as a clarification of what a “church” is, as the Catholic Church understands it.
That is an EXCELLENT point! The Catholic position has not changed. It may be more comfortable to “dialogue” with cronies who are equally clueless about the Church’s ancient teaching and powerless to change it, but true ecumenism (as opposed to feel-good photo-ops and “prayer services”) is dealt a real disservice when one side (in this case, many mainstream - read liberal - Protestant bodies) has spent DECADES in “dialogue” and in efforts for “mutual understanding” without ever taking the time to really understand the other side’s LONG-HELD and CLEARLY STATED position.
And then to run to the press, adding fuel to this week’s already-blazing anti-Catholic media fire, whining and acting surprised by the Catholic Church’s restatement of (to reiterate) its own long-held beliefs. There is a picture of disingenuous engagement if there ever was one.
T for terrible.