To Be Catholic Was To Be Anti-Protestant

Following the Protestant Reformation, the "Catholic church had to defend itself against Protestant attacks and criticisms, particularly through the development of a Catholic apologetics that refuted the Protestant objections, and provided proof-arguments for distinctive Catholic doctrines. In consequence, Catholic identity between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries was significantly shaped by those elements in Catholic teaching and practice that were rejected by the Protestants. To be Catholic was to be anti-Protestant, especially countries with a significant Protestant population, or regions with a history of antipathy to Catholic power structures....

Source: Fr. Peter Hocken - Pentecost and Parousia, Peter Hocken - p. 74-5

Pope Francis in 2017

On this path, we Catholics and Lutherans, from several countries, together with various communities sharing our ecumenical journey, reached a significant step when, on 31 October last, we gathered together in Lund, Sweden, to commemorate through common prayer the beginning of the Reformation. This joint commemoration of the Reformation was important on both the human and theological-spiritual levels. After fifty years of official ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, we have succeeded in clearly articulating points of view which today we agree on. For this we are grateful. At the same time we keep alive in our hearts sincere contrition for our faults. In this spirit, we recalled in Lund that the intention of Martin Luther five hundred years ago was to renew the Church, not divide her. The gathering there gave us the courage and strength, in our Lord Jesus Christ, to look ahead to the ecumenical journey that we are called to walk together.

Source: Pope Francis - Address to the members of the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland, as quoted in "Pope: Luther’s intention was to renew the Church, not divide her", Vatican Radio, 19 Jan 2017, http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/01/19/pope_luther%E2%80%99s_intention_was_to_renew_the_church,_not_divide/1286728

Jeremiah

In Jer. 14:20 Jeremiah shows that he, as an individual, is responsible to confess ancestral and national sin, since he is a member of his people, for whom he is praying: Jeremiah 14:20, "We acknowledge our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers.” No, he didn't commit the sins his people did. He didn't rebel against the Lord, worship false gods, and oppress the poor. But he did take part in confessing those sins on behalf of Jerusalem and Judah.

Source: Dr. Gary S. Greig - The Biblical Foundations of Identificational Repentance as One Prayer Pattern Useful to Advance God's Kingdom and Evangelism, April 2001

From Rabbi Jonathan Kaplan

Paul's message of comfort comes to a community whose relationship with their leader has been strained, nearly to the breaking point (2 Cor 2:1-4; 7:8) His announcement of God's comfort is purposed with provoking renewed fidelity on the part of the Corinthians to the gospel (1:1-7; 7:11-12). Central to his announcement is acknowledgement of God's forgiveness of the Corinthians' sins and the ongoing participation in God's present redemptive work (7:10-12).

Source: Rabbi Jonathan Kaplan - "Comfort, O Comfort, Corinth: Grief and Comfort in 2 Corinthians 7:5-13a", Harvard Theological Review, 104:4 (2011), p. 442-443

The Pope as the First Servant of Unity

Pope John Paul II has already described the pope as the first servant of unity. Much more will need to change in the way that the Vatican and the Catholic Church operate for this conviction to become an evident reality for other Christians. But John Paul II saw this responsibility as a necessary consequence of the bishop of Rome. If the pope has an authority over the worldwide church directly concerned with its unity, and it this authority is understood first as a service, then the pope has the responsibility to be the first servant of unity.

Source: Fr. Peter Hocken - Pentecost and Parousia, Peter Hocken - p. 99

Justin Welby - Archbishop of Canterbury

Catholics and Protestants will gather at Lambeth Palace - Welby’s London home - to express remorse and pray for Christian unity.

Although the physical atrocities against Catholics took place during the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Edward VI, Catholics (and Jews) were not allowed to vote, sit in Parliament or attend universities until the middle of the 19th century.

Source: Crux - "Archbishop of Canterbury to express remorse over Reformation violence", Crux Religion News Service, 17 January 2017, https://cruxnow.com/rns/2017/01/17/archbishop-canterbury-express-remorse-reformation-violence/

Facing the Culture of Death as a Common Enemy

The divisions that exist now are very different than the divisions that existed when I became a Catholic about fifty years ago. The divisions between Catholics and Protestants are far less important to both sides now, even though they still exist, than they were fifty years ago, because we are facing a common enemy, a culture of death, a society that is becoming increasingly anti-Christian. When a common enemy threatens, then warring brothers put their civil wars on hold for a while, important as they are. Like the Irish and the English, who've had a lot of troubles, but fought together and died for each other in the trenches in World War I and again in World War II.

Source: Peter Kreeft - Conversion to Catholicism, Catholic Education Resource Center, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/apologetics/dr-peter-kreeft-s-conversion-to-catholicism-part-2.html

The Judensau

Debate has carried on for some time over whether the Judensau should remain. Some Christians and Jews feel it needs to stay there as a potent reminder and warning about anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism. Other Christians and Jews argue that it has no place in a house of worship and, further, that the memorial’s extreme language about the death of God’s name does little to improve matters. A renewed petition for the Judensau’s removal has grown in anticipation of the 2017 celebrations, stating that “it is time to remove this statue and replace it with something more honoring to the God of Israel, respectful of the Jewish people, and bringing dignity to a Christian place of worship instead of retaining a sculpture that is unseemly, obscene, insulting, offensive, defamatory, libelous, blasphemous, anti-Semitic and inflammatory.”

Source: Sarah Hinlicky Wilson - "Is the Reformation over? Yes and no.", The Christian Century, 1 March 2017, https://www.christiancentury.org/article/reformation-over-yes-and-no

Fr. Peter - “Kairos moment of great opportunity”

Francis’s outreach to Pentecostals and evangelicals has been marked his insistence that the “current of Grace” represented by the Renewal is fruit of the one Holy Spirit calling the Christian Churches into unity, not through proselytism or purely intellectual dialogue but in revealing their oneness in diversity.
Under Francis, the conciliar and the charismatic renewals are being brought together, Hocken says, in a “Kairos moment of great opportunity.”

Source: Austen Ivereigh - "Jubilee in Rome highlights charismatic fruits in Francis’s Pentecost papacy", Crux, 3 June 2017, https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/06/03/jubilee-rome-highlights-charismatic-fruits-franciss-pentecost-papacy/

Austrian Tour of Repentance

What was the point of this tour? It was not just an informative trip for history buffs; the idea was for today’s Christians to identify with those who have gone before us; for us as Austrians to identify with the guilt and sin of our forefathers in the manner they treated these believers whose only crime was that they believed in God in a manner not authorized by the state and the church. Like Daniel and others in the Bible we wanted to bring these sins before God and say, „We and our people have sinned.“ While we realize that no-one can repent of sins for another, the effects of sinful acts excert an influence for many generations, especially if the original sin and the attitudes that led to it have not been dealt with, and our burden was to bring these effects to God and, so to speak, lift the curse that still lies over parts of our country because of this history.

In the process we truly became brothers and sisters in Christ: Lutherans seeing Catholics expressing sorrow over their Church’s past misdeeds; Catholics and Lutherans being accepted by Free Church Christians who normally feel that they are the only real game in town; both Lutherans and Catholics expressing regret for the treatment of the Anabaptists whom Free Church Christians consider their spiritual ancestors: it was a beautiful work of reconciliation wrought by the Holy Spirit.

Source: Austrian Round Table - Report on the Reformation Commemoration Tour of Austria, August 16-26, 2016, http://versoehnung.net/Story/Gedenkfahrtblog/

St. John Maximovich of Shanghai and San Francisco

Adam and Eve, before their Fall, were in full accord and of common spirit with one another at all times. Having sinned, alienation was immediately sensed. Justifying himself before God, Adam blamed Eve. Their sin divided them and continues to divide all of mankind. Emancipated from sin, we approach God, and, filled with His grace, we sense our unity with the rest of mankind. Such unity is very imperfect and lacking, since in each person some portion of sin remains. The closer we approach God, the closer we approach each other, just as the closer rays of light are to each other, the closer they are to the Sun. In the coming Kingdom of God there will be unity, mutual love and concord. The Holy Trinity remains eternally unchanging, all-perfect, united in essence and indivisible.

Source: St. John Maximovich of Shanghai and San Francisco - "On the Holy Pentecost", quoted in Orthodox Church Quotes, http://www.orthodoxchurchquotes.com/tag/unity/

JI Packer - Why I Signed It

In an essay published in 1994, titled “Why I Signed It,” he defended the statement and his continuing involvement in the project. “I am a Protestant who thanks God for the wisdom, backbone, maturity of mind and conscience, and above all, love for my Lord Jesus Christ that I often see among Catholics, and who sometimes has the joy of hearing Catholics say they see comparable fruits in Protestants.”

Source: J.I. Packer - As quoted by Timothy George in "Packer at Ninety", First Things, October 2016, https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/10/packer-at-ninety

The Churches Should Face The Challenge Together

Many people in Germany today have no real knowledge of the Christian faith, and they do not seem interested in understanding, let alone embracing it. If the churches take their mission seriously to “go to all nations and make them my disciples” (Mt 28:19), it should be a priority for them to engage these people in dialogue. Instead of dealing with this challenge by themselves, churches should face it together, learning from each other’s experience and encouraging each other. Focusing on their common faith can only strengthen the bond among the churches. Also, trying together to communicate the Christian faith in an understandable way can lead the churches themselves to a deeper understanding of their own faith. The 500th anniversary of the Reformation can be seen as an opportunity to remind the public—Christians and non-believers alike—of what the Christian faith is all about: God’s love in Christ for us humans and for all creation. That is why the churches in Germany have decided to make the anniversary a celebration of Jesus Christ (“Christusfest”).

Source: Council of Churches in Germany (ACK) - "The Ecumenical Situation in Germany", republished by Gramoor, http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/prayer_worship/ecumenical_situation_in_Germany.html

The Slaughter of Amish Schoolgirls

[Referring to the 2006 Pennsylvania slaughter of Amish schoolgirls]

But as far as open anger or hostility goes, the Amish hold, as they have for centuries, that it is destructive - a waste of energy that will hold them hostage and ultimately kill them, just as their daughters were held hostage and killed by someone else's anger. To these devout followers of Jesus, the only answer is the one he offered on the Cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?, pp.210

The Lord's Prayer - Do We Really Mean It?

Recited by millions from childhood on, the Lord's Prayer includes the plea, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Familiar as it is, I often wonder whether we really mean what we say when we repeat these words, and whether we sufficiently consider their meaning. To me, at least, they imply that once we recognize our own need for forgiveness, we will be able to forgive. This recognition does not come to most of us easily, because it demands humility. But isn't humility the essence of forgiveness?

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?

Where is our Repentance as Christians?

We sinned, but where is our repentance as Christians? The Lord expects us to face up to facts. ... We Christians need to face our catalogue of failures squarely. The scandal of division. Impenitance for our crime against Israel. Complacency and self-righteousness.

Source: M. Basilea Schlink - Repentance: The Joy-Filled Life, p. 35

Both Victim & Victimizer Are Prisoners

To make matters worse, some people claim that when a victim forgives an abuser, he is implying that he - the victim- is at least partly to blame. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. Forgiveness is necessary simply because both victim and victimizer - who in most cases know one another (or are even related) - are prisoners of a shared darkness in whcih both will remain bound until someone opens the door. Forgiveness is the only way out, and even if an abuser chooses to remain in the darkness, that should not hold the victim back.

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?, pp.136-137

Jesus Prayed It ... So Can We

In 1935, Abbé Paul Couturier, a priest of the Archdiocese of Lyons, sought a solution to the problem of non-Roman Catholics not being able to observe the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. He found the solution in the Roman Missal as the Association for Promotion of the Unity of Christians had done seventy-eight years earlier in England. Couturier promoted prayer for Christian unity on the inclusive basis that “our Lord would grant to his Church on earth that peace and unity which were in his mind and purpose, when, on the eve of His Passion, He prayed that all might be one.” This prayer would unite Christians in prayer for that perfect unity that God wills and by the means that he wills. Like Fr. Paul Wattson, Abbé Couturier exhibited a powerful passion for unity and had sent out “calls to prayer” annually until his death in 1953.

Source: Rev. Thomas Orians, S.A. - "BACKGROUND: Brief History of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017", by Rev. Thomas Orians, S.A., Associate Director of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/background/brief_history.html

US Anti-Catholicism 100 Years Ago

Anti-Catholicism stretches back to the nation's colonial times, when some states barred Catholics from holding office, and continued through the mid-1800s, which saw the Know-Nothing party's campaign against Catholic politicians. Lynch mobs killed Italian immigrants and arsonists burned down Catholic churches.

Perhaps no publication captures the animus toward Catholicism at the start of the 20th century as vividly as the Menace, launched in an old opera house in Aurora in 1911, when the city's population was only a little over 4,000.

The Menace wasn't the country's first anti-Catholic newspaper, but it quickly became one of the biggest, eventually selling anti-Catholic books and launching a lecture series. Its editor, the Rev. Theodore C. Walker, claimed its target was not rank-and-file Catholics but the Catholic Church itself.

Source: Matt Pearce - "A century ago, a popular Missouri newspaper demonized a religious minority: Catholics", LA Times, 9 Dec 2015, http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-catholic-scare-20151209-story.html