Hope for Christian Unity

HOPE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

When l first worked in Liverpool, as a young handsome curate in the mid sixties, the city was divided, not just into pro Liverpool or pro Everton,regarding football but also as anti Catholic or anti Protestant as regards religion.

This owed its origin to the massive migration of Roman Catholics from Ireland in the mid nineteenth century following upon the disastrous potato famine of the country. As a result of this, the population of the city doubled within 50 years.

In order to preserve their identity, in the midst of an alien culture and religious tradition, the migrants developed, quite unconsciously, a siege mentality which was focused upon their church and its various institutions.

At the same time, the indigenous population, faced with such a significant influx of Roman Catholics, which came to represent about 40% of the total population, felt equally threatened and insecure.

The result was the erection of barriers of deep suspicion, bitterness and hatred on both sides of the religious divide, not just in church life, but also in local politics, employment, education and housing, which often spilt over into violence. Even as late as the mid 1960s, I recall Cardinal Heenan being stoned by Protestants, and Roman Catholics staying indoors on the 12th July when the Orange Lodge, celebrating the Battle of the Boyne, would march through the streets.

Mixed marriages were frowned upon and children were often disowned for marrying outside their particular tradition. When I married a Roman Catholic in 1969, it was front page news, above the fold, of the Liverpool Echo!

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The power of these two opposing Christian traditions was symbolised by the building of their respective cathedrals, which today dominate the skyline from the Wirral.

The massive red sandstone Anglican Cathedral, designed by the twenty-one year old Gilbert Scott, who incidentally was a Roman Catholic, was commenced in 1904, but not completed until 1975. It is the largest gothic cathedral in the United Kingdom, and the fifth largest in the world.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral, originally commissioned by Archbishop Downey in 1921 as 'a cathedral in our time' and designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, was to have been second only to St Peter's in Rome, in size. It was to have been capable of seating 10,000 worshippers. Work on the crypt commenced in 1933 but came to a halt with the outbreak of the Second World War.

Escalating costs, estimated at 27 million pounds, prevented the completion of the building. Thus, in 1959, Cardinal

Heenan commissioned a more simple design by Frederick Gibbard to cost no more than 1 million pounds. This was built on top of the former crypt and opened in 1967.

Linking these two cathedrals, which are about a quarter of a mile apart, is a street called 'Hope Street'.

Today, thanks to a changing attitude following upon the Second Vatican Council, and particularly the close personal friendship and common witness of the late Roman Catholic Archbishop, Dereck Worlock, and the late Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, David Sheppard, much of the former hostility between these two Christian traditions has evaporated.

Nevertheless, there are still some who find the changed situation hard to accept. Thus, in 1982, Archbishop Runcie, who was born in Liverpool, was booed, jeered and denounced by over 200 Protestant and Orange Lodge demonstrators when he tried to give a midweek Lent address in Liverpool Parish church. Also, when Archbishop Worlock died, there was a move afoot for the appointment of a more conservative successor.

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Sadly the momentum towards Christian unity appears to have slowed down in recent times with the consequent lack of enthusiasm by church members.

But this was only to be expected for, until the mid 1960's, ecumenism was predominantly a Protestant movement. However, since the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic church's attitude towards Christian unity has begun to change. If you like, the Protestant churches have been marking time, waiting for the Roman Catholic church to catch up with those who have been involved over the past 50 years, in the search for Christian unity.

This is not easy, given the numerical size of the Roman Catholic church, its international character, and its hierarchical structure which tends to be conservative by nature.

Little wonder, that some people tend to become impatient, especially over the subject of inter-communion.

In 1997, Archbishop George Carey in a sermon in Luxembourg suggested that the new Millennium could be a suitable time for the Roman Catholic church to offer 'Eucharistic hospitality'. Others have taken the initiative into their own hands. In 1998 it was reported that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, an Anglican at the time, was regularly receiving

communion with his family in a Roman Catholic church. There were also reports at the same time of the President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, a Roman Catholic at the time, receiving communion in an Anglican church. Incidentally, in the mission field, it is not uncommon for some Roman Catholic priests and Anglican priests to deputise for each other especially in times of annual leave.

However, this is against the church law as regards the Roman Catholic church which sees 'inter-communion' as the goal, and not the means towards church unity.

Hence in 1998, the Bishops of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland issued a document called, "One Bread, One Body' which sought to put the brake on such actions.

It says, 'the Catholic church claims, in all humility, to be endowed with the gifts which God wishes to endow his church' and that the one Church of Christ 'subsists in the Catholic church.' In other words, you and I are not part of the church of Christ.

However. it does go on to acknowledge that some elements of holiness and truth can be found in other Christian communities, and to the extent that this is so, 'the one Church of Christ is effectively present in them' too, So all baptised believers share in 'some kind of communion with the Catholic church, although this communion is imperfect.'

Do note, it does not talk about 'other Christian churches' but rather 'Christian communities' since there can only be one church, namely the Roman Catholic church.

The document goes on further to say that, 'only valid ordained priests can be ministers of...the Eucharist,' and that the validity of ordination 'in the recognised apostolic succession' cannot be affirmed 'of those Christian communities [there we go again,'communities' and not 'churches'] rooted in the Reformation.' This reflects the Bull of Pope Leo XIII in

1896 whereby he indicated that at the Reformation the Anglican Church broke the line of apostolic succession and therefore our ministry is invalid!

Hence, the present Pope, in recently (1999) extending a welcome to dissenting Anglicans by inviting them to become part of the Roman Catholic church, whilst keeping their Anglican spirituality - whatever that may mean - still insists upon Anglican priests and bishops being re-ordained because he refuses to acknowledge the validity of their Anglican ordination.

In short, it would appear that the goal of Christian unity, from a Roman Catholic point of view, is still that we must all become Roman Catholics! Little appears to have changed, which merely reveals what a long way we still have to go in our mutual search for Christian unity.

But let us never give up hope.

Who would have thought that in 1982, the late Pope John Paul II would walk down Hope Street in Liverpool from the Roman Catholic cathedral, to the Anglican cathedral for worship?

Who would have thought we would see such a change of attitude between two different church traditions in the city of Liverpool given their past history?

Who would have thought we would see two different church traditions coming together in the provision of tertiary education in Hope University, in Liverpool?

There are indeed signs of hope, which can only be kept alive through constant prayer and daily witness in our mutual search for Christian unity at the grass root level.

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Let me conclude, by quoting some common-sense advice from my old friend, the late Ted Patey, who was once Dean of Liverpool Anglican cathedral.

He gives six rules as a guide to the kind of way one set of Christians should approach another set of Christians.

1 I will judge my Christian neighbour in another denomination by the best things I can see in his church and I will always think and speak about his faith at its best.

2 Because religion has to do with personal inner belief, I will not claim to understand or presume to judge my Christian neighbour until I am in a position to see him from within, and not to judge him by hearsay or external appearance.

3 I will never do anything to undermine another man's faith.

4 I will not look into the past to see who was right and who was wrong. This is fruitless and builds hatred.

5 I will not be eager to convert a man from his part of the church to mine. No church can claim all the truth, and every church has produced saints.

6 In all my encounters with Christians of other denominations, I will remember that all my doings without love are nothing worth.

May 'Hope', which links the two cathedrals in Liverpool, and which has been instrumental in changing attitudes of Christians in that city, sustain you and me in our daily search of Christian unity for which Jesus prayed on the night he was betrayed.