Welcome to Part Two of my three-part reflection on the two prayer vigils that framed the first part of the 2024 Session of the Synod Assembly, the Penitential Vigil on October 1 and the Ecumenical Vigil on October 11. You can read Part One here.  

Penitential Vigil, Ecumenical Witness Part Two: Imperfect Communion, Mutual Recognition

In my last reflection, I highlighted the two prayer vigils that framed the first part of the 2024 Session of the Synod on Synodality, the Penitential Vigil on October 1 and the Ecumenical Vigil on October 11. In this article, I’ll take my cue from the Ecumenical Vigil as well as the increased presence of Orthodox, Protestant, and other observers this year (16 as opposed to 12 last year) by considering the experience of the ecumenical movement and what it might offer to the increasing synodality of the Church. In other words, I’ll consider the task of Synod Study Group 10, “which is dedicated to the reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in ecclesial practices” (2024 IL #107). The ecumenical movement is itself an act of repentance for ecclesial division and a great invocation of the Holy Spirit to renew and restore our unity in God. Over the last few decades, ecumenism has made tremendous strides towards an “imperfect communion” among Churches and ecclesial communities who do not share the Sacrament with each other, whether they have very similar or very different Eucharistic practices and beliefs as Roman Catholics. Unitatis Redintegratio, Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism, introduces the concept, albeit with some trepidation, this way:

Those who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Without doubt, the differences that exist in varying degrees between them and the Catholic Church…do indeed create many obstacles…to full ecclesiastical communion. The ecumenical movement is striving to overcome these obstacles. But even in spite of them it remains true that all who have been justified by faith in baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as sisters and brothers in the Lord by children of the Catholic Church (#3, Flannery Translation. Emphasis added).

The idea of “imperfect communion” can be a problem, because it introduces the possibility that something other than “full communion,” the visibly-identifiable bonds of a common ecclesial life effected and signified by sharing the Eucharist, can nevertheless be a real communion. As I explored in Part Two, the IL, following Vatican II, puts so much emphasis on the Eucharistic core of the Church as the source of its unity. Yet there can still be sources of division within the full communion of the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches (that is, those who share a common table around the Roman Pontiff), and other sources of unity with Christian “sisters and brothers” outside of this communion. My purpose here isn’t to deny the differences between “full” and “imperfect,” or even to untangle the potential paradoxes these introduce. What I’m interested in for this article is to consider how the ecumenical movement can provide an example to the Synod and the Catholic Church of common deliberation and fellowship, which can in turn inspire and spur Catholics to greater unity and mutual love with each other. The ecumenical movement’s journey through “imperfect communion” doesn’t merely pose a problem; in the hands of the Holy Spirit, it poses this very challenge to Catholics and to all Churches and communities facing differences, disagreements, and other “obstacles to” unity. “The ecumenical movement is striving to overcome these obstacles,” precisely by relying on the truth that “all who have been justified by faith in baptism are incorporated into Christ” and ought to be “accepted as sisters and brothers in Lord” by those of other Churches and communities. How much more then should those who share full communion accept each other as “sisters and brothers in the Lord”? How does the ecumenical movement offer this inspiring challenge to unity? Ecumenism, as an act of dialogue, fellowship, and encounter, is a fundamentally synodal act. By that I mean that Christians of different traditions take steps forward along the journey of faith together (remember, syn-hodos means “the way together”), through intellectual discussion – including intensive sober reflection on theological differences – common worship and prayer, and personal fellowship and conversation.  Most importantly, it models the very sort of “conversation in the Spirit” that Pope Francis and others have called for in the Synod, such as in the 2023 IL (Section A 2, “A way forward for the synodal Church: Conversation in the Spirit). Ecumenical dialogue is tasked with gathering those of different churches to discern what the Holy Spirit may be saying and where he may be guiding all of us, by hearing and sharing how we have listened and struggled to attend to God’s voice in our different ecclesial contexts. These dialogues require mutual recognition of the same “common baptismal dignity” prayed for by Cardinal Schönborn (which I quoted in Part One); they require the partners to see and accept each other as “sisters and brothers in the Lord.” Otherwise, we would not recognize the possibility that an ecumenical partner could hear from God or have anything to teach us, that they could not come alongside us in the endeavour of dialogue to learn, grow, and deepen our common Christian faith.  The Synod's Final Document released on October 26 and signed by Pope Francis offers this very recognition. Speaking of the contributions of ecumenical guests to the Synod's conversations, it recalls how "the Assembly resounded with eye-opening testimonies by Christians of different ecclesial traditions who share friendship, prayer, live together in community, are committed to serving those living in various forms of poverty and who care for our common home" (#23, Working Translation). Dialogue partners and Synod participants recognize that the Christian sisters and brothers across the table from them are nourished by the Holy Spirit in their own communities by the Word of Scripture, and that many would say they are sustained by the Sacrament of Body and Blood, even if there are different understandings of what that might mean. They recognize that the struggle to receive the tradition of previous generations of Christians and at the same time maintain a proactive, missional presence that is open to the world today is a genuine one. They therefore have something meaningful to offer, have experiences worth learning from, and above all are worthwhile fellow travellers along the Christian path. Or, more accurately, dialogue partners recognize that none of us are worthwhile travellers, especially on our own, and that God in his mercy, gathers and guides us along the way. Stay tuned for Part Three in the coming days. Watch the final episode of our weekly recap show, Step by Step: For a Synodal Church, Saturday night at 7:30 pm ET | 4:30 pm PT on Salt + Light TV. To catch up on previous episodes, and for all of our coverage on the Synod on Synodality, visit slmedia.org/synod.