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Document n° GEN 14
GEN 14 Aide memoire world council of churches and human sexuality
1. FromNew Delhi to Canberra
It is over forty years ago when, at the request of its member
churches, the World Council of Churches (WCC) began to address the issues of
human sexuality. The foci and
nature of the work done have been influenced by the aspects the churches felt
challenged to address at a given time.
The survey carried out by Birgitta Larsson best explains how the Council
dealt with the issue of human sexuality in the period between the New Delhi
Assembly (1961) and the Canberra Assembly (1991). The major findings were published in "A
Quest for Clarity" (Birgitta Larsson, The
Ecumenical Review, Vol. 50/1, WCC Publications, Geneva.
1998).
Several Assemblies made reference to new questions facing the church.
The New Delhi Assembly, for instance, stated:
The
churches have to discover what positions and actions to take in regard to sex
relations before and after marriage; illegitimacy; in some culture polygamy or
concubinage as a social system sanctioned by law and customs; in some Western
cultures short-term marriages, or liaisons, ease divorce; in all parts of the
world mixed marriages (inter-faith, inter-confessional and inter-racial) with
the diminishing of caste and class systems and of racial prejudice… All this, and much else, forces the
churches to re-examine their teaching, preaching and pastoral care and their
witness and service to society.
The Uppsala Assembly (1968) took the entry point of the debate on
“birth control”, but continued to state:
Family patterns change in different social settings, and Christian
marriage can find its expression in a variety of ways. We should like materials elaborating the
problems of polygamy, marriage and celibacy, birth control, divorce, abortion
and also of homosexuality to be made available for responsible study and
action.
Inspired
by the reflections on “alternative life-styles” by the ecumenical consultation
on Sexism in the 1970s (June 1974, Berlin), the Nairobi Assembly (1975) called
for “a theological study of sexuality, taking into account the culture of the
member churches”:
Whereas we recognize the urgent need to examine ways in which women
and men can grow into partnership of mutual interdependence, it is recommended
that the WCC urge the member churches to
1.
Affirm the personhood and mutual
interdependence of individuals in families;
2.
Affirm the personhood and worth of people
living in different life situations.
The
Christian Church is in a key position to foster and support the partners to
marriage in their search for mutuality.
The church is in the same unique position in respect to persons living in
different life situations (e.g. single people living in isolation, single
parents), extended families and persons living in communal patterns. There is evidence that these people are
not fully accepted by many societies and are often ignored by the
church.
In the period since the Canberra Assembly, the issue of homosexuality
progressively took centre stage.
Gay and Lesbian Caucus met during the Canberra Assembly and drafted a
letter to the new moderator of Central Committee asking that work on sexual
orientation be transferred from Family Life Education to Justice Unit. The decisive turning point was, however,
the 1994 Central Committee meeting in Johannesburg. The Unit III Committee report was hotly
debated in the plenary in response to references to violence against women,
particularly lesbians. The
announcement of Harare as the venue for the
Eighth Assembly prompted a Dutch journalist at a press conference to raise the
question about reports of police in Zimbabwe randomly arresting gays in the streets
of Harare. As the preparations for the Harare
Assembly got underway, the WCC was increasingly confronted with strong reactions
from gay groups and gay-friendly churches, condemning the fact that the
Zimbabwe government continued to
attack homosexuals in the country as severe violations of human
rights.
A first staff workshop, facilitated by former WCC staff member Alan
Brash, was organized in July 1995.
Alan Brash also produced a statement on the issues at stake that was
later published in the Risk Series.
In December 1996
a meeting bringing together Orthodox and Protestant church
leaders and theologians in Antelias
spent much time on sexual orientation issue and agreed on the human rights
aspects of the issue. This was,
however, later challenged by Orthodox as well as by some Protestant voices in
the WCC prompting a WCC human rights consultation in 1998 to reject any
reference to sexual orientation in a document for Harare.
The WCC received on the other hand correspondence from some member
churches emphasizing the human rights aspect, particularly the United Church of
Christ in USA and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Netherlands which subsequently
withdrew their participation from the Assembly.
A small consultation in 1997 in Geneva underlined that issues of human
sexuality which were already on the agenda of many of the member churches and
that the different approaches and positions taken posed serious new challenges
to the quest for the visible unity of the church. Contributions to this consultation were
published by The Ecumenical Review in
1998. This more constructive
ecumenical approach to the issue was strengthened by the idea to prepare for the
Harare Assembly Padare sessions on sexual orientation that would allow for
mutual encounter and discussion in a safe environment.
The Padares on sexual orientation were experienced by most of the
participants as a helpful contribution by the WCC to create a space for
dialogue. This became even more
important after the very difficult experience of the Lambeth Conference of the
Anglican Communion, which rather deepened the differences and divisions within
the Anglican Communion on sexual orientation. As in other churches, the focus on a
decision by a decision-making body or an authoritative statement on the issues
at stake proved to be rather counterproductive. The approach of creating an enabling
ecumenical space for mutual encounter, analysis, and dialogue seem to be more
promising.
Based on the Padare sessions the Programme Guidelines Committee
recommended to the assembly a shift of
focus from sexual orientation to human sexuality. The Programme Guidelines Committee
report emphasized the need for the WCC to address issues of personal and
interpersonal ethics, and noted:
The WCC should offer space and direction for conversation and
consultation enabling member churches to discuss these difficult issues -
including human sexuality - which cause division within and among its members
churches.
The assembly further urged the WCC "to engage in a study of human
sexuality, in all of its diversity, to be made available for member
churches."
3. Post Harare Developments
Further reflections on the recommendations by the Programme Committee
convinced the Council that the process should move beyond stating the issue as
merely a difficult one to be avoided because of potential conflict or divisions,
to a situation in which spaces are opened up for discussion, debate, analysis
and action. It would be apparent
that, because of the openness that has developed in some churches, there was
less denial of the importance of the issues and their impact on members of the
community and churches. There is
more clarity on methods of how to talk about human sexuality. Many member churches are involved in
discussions of different aspects of human sexuality although it has to be noted
that few have yet moved to specific programme or educational
work.
At the Harare Assembly it was clear that the churches did not feel it
appropriate to establish a specific programme on human sexuality. The mandate of the Assembly was not to
start a programme but to "provide space" through which the member churches are
enabled to discuss the difficult issues related to human sexuality. For this reason the General Secretary,
with the support of the Officers, decided to approach the issue in the following
way.
A. Reference Group on Human
Sexuality
The General Secretary invited a number of representatives from member
churches to form a WCC Reference Group on Human Sexuality. The terms of reference of the group
are:
·
To advise the general secretary on the
development and content of the WCC work related to human sexuality, taking into
account the link with all other areas of WCC work that have bearing on the
implementation of the governing bodies recommendations.
·
To advise and accompany the WCC ‘s Human
Sexuality Staff Group (see following section) in carrying out the
recommendations of the WCC governing bodies, helping to evaluate its work and
offering advice on further development of the work.
·
To ensure the participation of
representatives from WCC member churches in their confessional, cultural and
religious diversity.
The group met on several occasions - November 2000, July 2001 and
April 2003
in Geneva.
The work done includes:
·
Following up on WCC programmatic work
linked to the issue of human sexuality
·
Set up a list server (e-mail group) for
sharing ideas and information within the Reference and Staff
Groups
·
Development of a timeline of work up to
the 2006 Ninth Assembly
·
Detailed analysis of the church statements
received and preparation of the Bossey Seminar 2001 (see section on Bossey
Seminars below) following the WCC General Secretary's invitation to all WCC
member churches to submit their official statements on all aspects of human
sexuality.
·
Review of a congregational study guide
prepared by the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg, South
Africa.
·
Gathering stories from the regions for a
Risk Book (March 2005)
·
National seminars to take place
(2003-2004) on biblical texts, similar to the third Bossey Seminar, in Asia
(Bangalore, India), Lebanon, Fiji, Nairobi, Latin America and the Caribbean,
North America, and Europe in preparation for the plenary presentation to the WCC
CC in 2005. One member of the
reference group will organize the meeting and another one from outside the
region will participate. Funds will
be raised for such participation and organization of the
meetings.
B.
Staff group on human
sexuality
The General Secretary appointed a Human Sexuality Staff Group within
WCC. The terms of reference for the
group requires that it “develop a process that responds to the mandate from the
Assembly (which shall be facilitated) in ways which will enable the member
churches to engage in dialogue with one another as well as with
congregations.”
Both groups have been engaged in exploring questions of human
sexuality so as to offer advice to him on these issues. The staff group has worked
on
·
Publishing two articles in the July 2002,
Volume 54, Number 3, of The Ecumenical
Review:
-
"Reclaiming the Sacredness and the Beauty
of the Body: The Sexual Abuse of Women and Children from a church Leader's
Perspective" by David Coles
-
"The Body as Hermeneutical Category:
Guidelines for a Feminist Hermeneutics of Liberation" by Nancy Cardoso
Pereira
·
Compilation of a bibliography on human
sexuality issues.
·
Linking the issue of human sexuality to
WCC programmatic work (see following section).
·
Review of a study guide on Human
Sexuality, prepared by the Anglican Diocese of
Johannesburg.
·
Preparation of the Padare on Human
Sexuality at the August 2002 Central Committee.
·
Preparing and acting as an advisory body
for planning the Bossey Seminars on human sexuality.
·
Facilitated archiving of materials - in
Spring 2002 materials and correspondence relating to these issues, especially
leading up to the Harare Assembly were properly archived and lodged in the WCC
library. This represents nearly
nine years of exploring appropriate and effective ways and methods of discussing
and addressing the issues involved.
C.
The Bossey Seminars
By providing a laboratory for testing and further developing the
approach chosen by the Programme Guidelines Committee and the Reference Group
the three Bossey Seminars became the most comprehensive contribution to the
process in the period between the WCC Assemblies in Harare and Porto
Alegre. All
three seminars were introduced by a meditation on the theme of pilgrimage (see appendix) developed
from the guidelines for the Padares at the Harare Assembly. In terms of methodology, the seminars
were also facilitated by a professional from outside WCC who tested the
consensus of the group all the way through each meeting in order to allow for
development to take place. At the
beginning all the participants were invited to make a contract of
confidentiality, attentiveness to the process and honouring of the others'
convictions.
The first Bossey Seminar
(July 2001) invited a broad range of participants from various regions to share
the cultural, local and global perspectives on human sexuality. The participants expressed that the best
kind of theology emerges from real life experience in relation to sacred
traditional theology. The degree to
which the individual participants were able to reach openness and vulnerability
determined the quality of shared reflection and theologizing. Many participants experienced the
pressure of their local culture very strongly. The interaction of culture with
practice, faith and scripture was an enduring concern. Human sexuality is simply not just about
matters of same-sex sexuality as it has often arisen in ecumenical
discussions. Rather human sexuality
is very basic to all human beings and affects them often at points of extreme
vulnerability.
Personal stories of pain, guilt, celebration were shared within a
confidential sharing space in the seminar where people spoke voluntarily of
their lives of engagement with infidelity, failures of sex lives in marriages
and relationships, identity questions, and a panoply of other experiences. These experiences could not be
categorized along the lines of gender, orientation, and culture. They were rather marked by openness and
became encounters with sacred humanness.
Traditional sexual ethics are inadequate because a) they themselves are
flawed, and b) they are inadequate to deal with the new world that the people of
God find themselves in. A new
practice and theology of sexuality need to be forged. This theology needs to reclaim the
theology of the body and to practise pastoral care and approaches that are more
appropriate for the varied human sexual experiences.
Regional experiences were shared. In Sub-Saharan Africa, massive concern
was expressed on patriarchal gender differentiation and human rights violation
of women particularly on cultural/ritual control of women’s sexualities and
violence against women. For many
African women, “the marriage certificate is a death certificate.” Sexual networking, polygamy, and other
sexual practices spread HIV/AIDS like wildfire in the continent. The use of condoms continues as a church
issue that is hotly debated. In
Asia, colonization brought massive repression
of traditional expressions of sacred sexualities. Globalization promotes commodification
of the bodies, particularly of women and children and gives rise to issues of
injustice. In North America and
Western Europe, post-modernity has a huge
impact on sexual practices. Debates
on homosexuality are dominant in church discussions. There is a deep sense of pain of family
rejection. Violence against women,
abuse of children and massive divorce rates are still major problems. In all regions, churches are in a
position of silence and shame about sexuality and sexuality exclusive to
marriage is fundamentally challenged.
The second Bossey Seminar
(April 2002) dealt with the summary and analysis of church statements collated
by the international Reference Group. The statements identified the issues and
approaches the churches were struggling with. The participants discovered the gaps
between church statements and lived realities and that most of the responses are
coming from the north. Two inputs
on confessional perspectives were given by the Finnish Orthodox Church and the
United Methodist Church, USA. While
various forms of life in communities were celebrated, the dimensions of
challenges in human sexuality varied in different communities - monastic
communities, mixed marriages, marriages within the traditional faith
communities, and gay and lesbian communities. There were painful moments created by
hardening of church positions on human sexuality. Other issues and responses presented
during the seminar were HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and responses of non-governmental organizations and
sexual abuse among clergies or church leaders and a church response from
Aotearoa-New Zealand.
The third Bossey Seminar
(April 2003) focused on Bible studies.
Three approaches were used in the study of the Bible - body of Christ,
pilgrimage, and trinity. The study
of the Bible and the sharing from confessional perspectives provided a lively
entry point in identifying issues on human sexuality that had not been explored
in the past. These situations have
arisen from the realization that family structures or patterns are
changing. There is an increasing
number of mother-headed families where the male role has become irrelevant
causing fathers to be thrown out of the homes; more people would like to remain
single or get married but not raise children. In Africa, because of AIDS, families are beginning to be left
to the care of grandmothers and even children as parents die of AIDS. In Europe and North
America gay and lesbian communities would like to raise their own
children through adoptions or through children they brought from previous
relationships, or through in vitro fertilization. Other issues identified were on
disabilities and sexuality, polygamy, fidelity, extra marital and pre-marital
sex, homosexuality, abortion and contraception. The participants affirmed the sharing of
stories and challenged the prescriptive and normative model of engaging in the
issues of human sexuality. The
participants affirmed an enabling and facilitating approach to theology, ethics,
and Bible studies in dealing with the varied dimension of human sexuality. The whole experience affirmed the nature
of theology that is provisional, that shows signposts along the life journey,
and that is not prescriptive. There
is a need to explore eschatological reversal and counter culture as another lens
in reading the Bible.
D.
Work on
HIV/AIDS
Churches engaged early with HIV/AIDS, and many have excellent care,
education and counseling programmes.
But the challenge to the churches is felt at a deeper level than
this. As the pandemic has unfolded,
it has exposed fault lines that reach to the heart of the church’s theology,
ethics, liturgy and practice of ministry.
Today, churches are being obliged to acknowledge that they have – however
unwittingly – contributed both actively and passively to the spread of the
virus. The difficulty in addressing
issues of sex and sexuality has often made it painful to engage, in any honest
and realistic way, with issues of sex education and HIV prevention. The tendency
to exclude others and certain interpretations of the scriptures have all
combined to promote the stigmatization, exclusion and suffering of people with
HIV or AIDS. This has undermined
the effectiveness of care, education and prevention efforts and inflicted
additional suffering on those already affected by the HIV. Given the extreme urgency of the
situation, and the conviction that the churches do have a distinctive role to
play in the response to the epidemic, what is needed is a rethinking of the
mission, and the transformation of structures and ways of
working.
The work on curricula for theological education that has begun
includes the need for more positive affirmation of the human body and of sexual
relationships. HIV/AIDS forces the churches to engage more openly and in a
pastoral way with issues of human sexuality.
E. Violence against
women
The issue of violence against women has been on the agenda of the WCC
for over a decade now. In their
analysis of the violence, women today increasingly make a link with issues
related to human sexuality and violence.
Whenever there is war or conflict, there is reference to the rape and
sexual violence against women. What
makes it even more difficult to bear is the evidences of sexual violence against
women and children even in refugees centres in the hands of humanitarian aid
workers. But sexual violence against women is a reality in times of peace
too.
Regrettably,
sexual violence takes place even in the so-called safe environment of the
church. Recent revelations of
sexual abuse by clergy is a closely guarded secret and happens in many churches
in all parts of the world. Women in
the WCC constituency also point to the violence that lesbian women experience in
most societies. All this has made
women identify more clearly the link between the violence they experience and
their sexuality. WCC is committed
to working with women in challenging the churches to speak out more clearly on
these issues and to offer solidarity and pastoral support to women who
experience violence.
F.
Other
important contributions
Links
continue to be made between the Reference Group and current WCC programmes
through the work of the staff group on
·
theological
anthropology
·
ETE (Ecumenical Theological Education)
curricula
·
EDAN (Ecumenical Disabilities Advocates
Network)
·
Biotechnology
In the process of this work contacts have been established with
church related organizations addressing issues of human sexuality in their own
contexts (e.g. European Forum of Lesbian and Gay Christian Groups Assembly in
Spring 2003). One way of linking
such organizations within and between regions is to facilitate participation of
individuals from other contexts.
Reports and experiences of the participants at these events will
contribute to the data that WCC is collecting and will be shared with the
churches and others who express interest.
The Programme Committee report to the 1999 meeting of the Central
Committee stated that, "new attention is needed to the spiritual dimensions of
caring for life, particularly as they relate to ethical questions arising from
bio-technology, birth control, abortion and human
sexuality."
4. Towards the Ninth
Assembly in 2006
A.
For staff and reference group
discussions:
·
The Bible and human sexuality -
hermeneutics of the whole approach and how to interpret the Bible on this issue
(different interpretations combined with different world views lock us into the
debate)
·
Human sexuality in the context of the
breakdown of the family. The General Secretary raised this issue with the
participants in the last Bossey Seminar and it has been a constant theme in all
the seminars; sex education is done in the family in all cultures; how to fill
this gap against the breakdown of family grouping is a huge
challenge
·
Sexual abuse of children in church; how
can the WCC speak out on issues of abuse in the churches; not only in the Roman
Catholic church but also in WCC member churches, e.g. Australia,
Canada
·
Study Process on HIV/AIDS and Violence
Against Women; the Bossey seminars along with correspondence received from
different regions, indicate that the violence against women is an issue that
must be taken up in the context of HIV/AIDS. In cooperation with the WCC women's
programme and different partners in the regions addressing this issue, a study
process will be initiated in 2004.
B.
Hearing during CC
2003.
C.
An issue of The Ecumenical Review dedicated to the
issue in preparation of the plenary presentation to the CC in
2005.
D.
Risk Book to be published to encourage and
facilitate discussion in the churches after the CC 2005 and prior to the General
Assembly in 2006.
E.
Central Committee 2005 Hearing
Presentation.
F.
Preparation of a report and a proposal for
the 2006 WCC Ninth General Assembly to be done within the framework of the
Reference Group meeting in 2005.
The above items will be considered and organized by the Staff Group
on human sexuality, in close consultation with the Reference
Group.
The Reference Group hopes that from the work done, the churches will
be helped to realize that the issues of human sexuality that members are
wrestling with are not only about homosexuality. There are diversities in human sexual
experience that should be celebrated and addressed through open spaces for
discussion.
G.
Preliminary
Conclusions
There have been many contacts and inquiries from member churches and
groups in churches asking for more information on human sexuality to enrich
their own discussions. Some of
these discussions have been provoked, partly through discussions on HIV/AIDS,
partly through educational curricula and, not the least, because it is one of
the human rights issues currently on the agenda in many communities and
churches.
Three insights seem to be central throughout the journey of the WCC’s
response to issues of human sexuality:
·
to concentrate on the mainstreaming of
positions and the production of authoritative statements is obviously
counterproductive and deepens the rifts within and also among churches; there is
a need for ecumenical spaces for encounter, analysis, dialogue and education
following an enabling and pastoral approach to the issues at
stake;
·
to neglect the diversity of contexts and
the different issues that are of concern for the churches in different regions
is not helpful; the recommendation of the Harare Programme Guidelines Committee
to move from sexual orientation to human sexuality in its rich diversity
provided useful guidance;
·
the entry point should always be the
celebration of the gift of life and human bodies instead of a narrow focus on
normative and prescriptive guidelines.
As a global fellowship of churches the WCC is in a unique situation
to engage in dialogue with member churches holding different views and positions
on human sexuality. By not being
part of the local and national church scene the WCC is privileged to offer a
space for fruitful encounter rather than being directly involved by the
immediate debates. The churches'
response to the request of the WCC General Secretary has made the Council a
trusted custodian of the diverse church perspectives on the issue. This challenges WCC to develop the
capacity for listening and hearing different church voices telling different but
authentic stories and experiences.
One of the fruits of this capacity to listen and discern is the
Council's growing ability to challenge and help the churches to overcome the
syndrome of denial - at least as is evidenced by the outcome of the three Bossey
seminars that were organized in follow-up to the recommendations by the
Programme Guidelines Committee.
This would be a huge step forward towards a better understanding and
higher level of mutual acceptability.
WCC also plays an important role of communicating to the wider
fellowship what the churches are saying and doing about the issue of human
sexuality. This way the Council
brings churches into living contacts with each other on this otherwise
potentially dividing issue and offers the global ecumenical platform to deal
with it responsibly.
Through the involvement in this issue the WCC is becoming a
fellowship of churches in a deeper sense - it is being seen as a brother and
sister ("fellow") to those who are otherwise feeling alienated and excluded from
their fellowship and ecclesial community.
Geneva, May
2003
APPENDIX
WHEN CHRISTIANS
MEET SIGNPOSTS FOR AN ECUMENICAL PILGRIMAGE
"Rise, let us be on our way." (John
14:31)
People of the Way
1. Even before they were named
Christians, disciples of Jesus were called "The People of the Way" in the city
of Antioch.
Following Jesus, "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6), they were seen
to be on a common journey, searching for a way of life that embodied, reflected
and glorified the Good News of the Gospel. Christians over the centuries were
yearning and struggling for new life in the Spirit. People of the way, pilgrims,
sojourners and wayfarers - called to repent and turn around, and guided by the
Spirit of truth (John 16:13), their whole life became a journey towards the
community of the household and the city of God (Eph 2:19, Rev 21).
2. On their journey through history,
Christians from different nations and cultures learned to live together and
share the Good News of Jesus Christ with other people around the globe. But they
also fought, oppressed, and killed each other, like any other people interested
in their own power and wealth. Too often, mistrust and divisions among
Christians marked the way and overshadowed the message of the Gospel. While this
is true until today and has to be confessed not just as failure, but as sin,
there were also those who gave witness to Christ, who risked and gave their
lives so that present and future generations might live and believe in God.
Their example inspired the founders of the ecumenical movement to discover again
what they held in common, overcome the divisions among them, and work for
justice and peace.
3. Remembering those who ran the
race before us and were committed to work for a community of Christians that
really is a sign and foretaste of God's dwelling among the people (Rev 21),
provides us with a new sense of direction and purpose for the journey. At every
ecumenical meeting we are reminded not to forget that the search for visible
unity among the churches and a clear and truthful witness of God's compassionate
love to all humankind and creation is of the essence of the common pilgrimage of
the ecumenical movement.
At the crossroads and hostels
4. Longing for a deeper experience
of the presence of God, Christians visited holy places, the tombs of the Martyrs
or monasteries and churches of Saints. Remembering the one who is the source of
life and the bread broken for the community, some even travelled to Jerusalem and the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre. When pilgrims travelled in foreign lands, they were well
aware of the risks of their journey and their own vulnerability. They left
behind what they loved and what was dear to them - family, friends, their home,
and the support and security of their communities. Relying on hospitality
offered to them, they learned to be grateful for any safe space to rest and
strength received from each other.
5. Strangers among other strangers,
they learned to respect other people's cultures and customs and thus their own
worldview and identity was challenged by the encounter with others. They
experienced, like Abraham, that their life depended on the blessing of God in
the midst of conflicts, unexpected challenges, and the daily struggle to find
something to eat and a shelter for the night. Because of the many temptations
pilgrims confronted on their journey, St. Hieronymos as well as St. Gregory of
Nyssa emphasized that a pilgrimage was never an end in itself, but a search for
renewed relationships, reconciliation and transformation on the way.
6. At the crossroads and hostels,
pilgrims met many different people and sometimes other wayfarers with a common
destination. Often, it was welcome, helpful and enriching to travel together and
encounter each other. The pilgrimage was a unique opportunity to experience
community in faith and life across boundaries and differences. But sometimes, it
must have been disturbing and even painful to see who else embarked on the same
journey. People whom they would never accept in their community at home might
have even shared the room with them as fellow travellers. In situations like
that, it was necessary to remember that the purpose of the pilgrimage was a
spiritual journey which would change every one of them and their convictions -
just as the Apostles had to change their fundamental opinions when the Spirit
called the people of the nations into the koinonia of the Early Church (Gal
2:11-14; Acts 10, 11 & 15).
7. They were baptized into the death
and resurrection of Christ. Who would dare to be the one to throw the first
stone and destroy the peace of the pilgrimage (John 8:1-11)? Who would judge
other pilgrims on the basis of who they were or seemed to be? Were not all of
them called to the pilgrimage by the one who gave his life to reconcile the
world with God (Mt 7: 1- 5)? Trusting the guidance of the Spirit, they could
name and confront what separated them. Having deep passion for the faith in
Christ, they would challenge each other and not avoid confrontation in order to
discern what to do and where to go. But they would never harass, persecute and
oppress anyone whom they met on their way.
Markings and Cairns
8. For others following them on
their journey, pilgrims left signposts or cairns behind, marking the way. Certain
markings also emerged on the ecumenical pilgrimage of churches, ecumenical
groups and individual Christians. They experienced on their way that Christian
unity is as much a gift as it is a calling. The commitment to dialogue in the
search for visible unity responds to the promise that the Spirit will be with
the disciples and guide them wherever they go and wherever they are, liberating
them from the bondage of sin and binding them together in what belongs to each
other.
9. The study on Ecclesiology and
Ethics also mentioned shared ethical convictions in the ecumenical movement:
"the reverence for the dignity of all persons as creatures of God, the
affirmation of the fundamental equality of women and men, the 'option for the
poor', the rejection of racial barriers, a strong 'no' to nuclear armaments, the
pursuit of non-violent strategies for conflict resolution, and the imperative
for responsible stewardship of the environment - all these are ecumenical achievements, given by God as
the churches have worked together on crucial ethical issues facing humanity and
creation." (Study on Ecclesiology and Ethics, Costly Commitment, para 16)
10. But at times pressing personal
and social moral issues prompt discord among Christians themselves and even
threaten new divisions within and between churches. Addressing this difficult
problem, the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC
undertook a study on "The Ecumenical Dialogue on Moral Issues. Potential Sources
of Common Witness or of Divisions." Based on the experiences of churches in
various parts of the world as they deal with their controversial ethical issues,
this study itself has become another signpost for the common journey of the
Churches towards unity.
11. The study stated: "Other
Christians or other churches holding diverging moral convictions can threaten
us. They can question our own moral integrity and the foundations of our
religious and ethical beliefs. They can demean the authority, credibility and
even integrity of our own church. Whenever an individual or a community selects
a moral position or practice to be the litmus test of authentic faith and the
sole criterion of the fundamental unity of the church, emotions rise high so
that it becomes difficult to hear one another. Christians, while 'speaking the
truth in charity' (Eph 4: 15), are called upon, as far as possible, 'to maintain
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' (Eph 4:3) and avoid wounding
further that koinonia which already
exists, although imperfectly, among Christians.
12. Therefore, if some ethical
issues arouse passionate emotions and create awkward ecumenical relations, the
churches, should not shun dialogue, for these moral issues can also become
church-reconciling means of common witness. A variety of issues are woven into
the moral positions of communities. In a prayerful, non-threatening atmosphere,
dialogue can locate more precisely where the agreements, disagreements and
contradictions occur. Dialogue can affirm those shared convictions to which the
churches should bear common witness to the world at large. Furthermore, the
dialogue can discern how ethical beliefs and practices relate to that unity in
moral life which is Christ's will" (The Ecumenical Dialogue on Moral Issues,
para 3-5).
13. The biblical vision by itself
does not provide Christians or churches with all the clear moral principles and
practical norms they need. Nor do the scriptures resolve every ethical case.
Narratives join many instructions about proper conduct - general commandments
and prohibitions, prophetic exhortations and accusations, counsels of wisdom,
legal and ritual prescriptions and so forth. What moral theology names universal
moral principles or norms are in the biblical texts mixed with specific but ever
valid commandments and particular provisional prescriptions. The Scriptures' use
of imagery in provocative, often paradoxical ways makes interpretations of
biblical moral teaching difficult. Nevertheless, there is general consensus that
by prayerfully studying the Scripture and the developing traditions of biblical
interpretation, by reflecting on human experiences and by sharing insights
within a community, Christians and churches can reach reasonable judgements and
decisions in many cases of ethical conduct (The Ecumenical Dialogue on Moral
Issues III para 1).
14. Different churches, however, use
different methods and pathways of reflection and deliberation. Although they
share common resources such as scriptures, liturgy and sacramental life,
confessions of the apostolic faith, some moral traditions, catechisms, sermons
etc., they configure those common resources differently and have developed
different mechanisms for decision making and teaching of the church. In some
cases, different conclusions are the result which gave and still give rise to
tensions and divisions ( e.g. the Christian stance toward war - see Ecumenical
Dialogue on Moral Issues III para 5). The closer the churches come together, the
more they are confronted with new ecumenical challenges to moral formation and
deliberation. The space for dialogue and deliberation that is created in
ecumenical meetings and conferences, therefore, is a forum gathering Christians
with sometimes divergent and even contradictory opinions and convictions that
requires an ethos of humility and respect for the others and their convictions.
15. Ecumenical Space is the milieu in which,
even in a state of division, we bear witness to our common allegiance to Jesus
Christ and cooperate to advance the visible unity of the church. In this space
we affirm our common Christian identity. For this reason, we have the
possibility of a new discourse: we talk to one another in a new way. In turn, we
have a greater opportunity to discern together Christ's will for the Church in
ways that are not possible in isolation from one another. Space thus understood brings Christians
and churches into living encounter with one another (Episkope and Episcopacy and the
Quest for Visible Unity p 43).
16. The statement of the WCC's
Seventh Assembly in 1991 at Canberra, "The Unity of the Church: Gift and
Calling" described a process of how this space can take shape and grow
in:
·
recognizing each other's
baptism;
·
moving
towards the recognition of the apostolic faith in the life and witness of one
another;
·
considering, wherever appropriate, forms of
eucharistic hospitality on the basis of convergence in faith in baptism,
Eucharist and ministry and acknowledging that some who do not observe these
rites share in the spiritual experience of life in Christ;
·
moving
towards the recognition of ministries;
·
endeavouring in word and deed to give common
witness to the gospel as a whole;
·
recommitting each other to work for justice,
peace and the integrity of creation, linking more closely the search for
sacramental communion of the church with the struggle for justice and
peace;
·
helping
parishes and communities express in appropriate ways locally the degree of
communion that already exists.
Signposts for an ecumenical pilgrimage
17. Mindful of the Canberra
statement and referring to the study on "Ecumenical Dialogue on Moral Issues"
and ecumenical discussions on "Episkope
and Episcopacy" that took into consideration the longstanding experience
with ecumenical dialogues and encounters in ecumenical conferences and previous
General Assemblies of the WCC, it is possible to identify a number of very basic
guidelines for the common pilgrimage of individual Christians, churches and
ecumenical groups. They translate and interpret the commitment to processes of
dialogue in the search for Christian unity, and thus to transformation and
renewal.
18. Challenging each other, we
should
·
engage
each other in frank and serious discussions, including search and discovery,
questioning and listening;
·
interrogate each other in mutual respect, so
that no individual Christian and no church is required to deny their identity or
heritage;
·
understand what others want to be and to do in
order to be faithful disciples of Christ, even though those others - as we
ourselves - are burdened with weakness and sin;
·
restrain
from judgement, thus excluding a purely negative attitude towards one another,
but also confront as clear as possible anything that threatens the very basis of
faith as in the case of racism and apartheid;
·
continue
dialogue, even if disagreements seem incapable of resolution.
19. Experiencing new opportunities
together, we should
·
seek and
be open for the reconciliation of memories (the memories of action reaction and
separation which make it difficult to hear and accept the
other);
·
embrace
conversion and renewal;
·
gladly
take opportunities for common witness and act together in all matters except
those in which deep differences of conviction compel us to act separately (Lund
1952);
·
be
thankful for guidance into the will of the Spirit;
·
expect
help to discern what will advance the visible unity of the church.
20. Accepting obligations of being
together, we should
·
have in
mind the compatibility of attitude and behaviour within and outside of the space
where we meet;
·
avoid
actions inconsistent with relationships of fellow pilgrims;
·
be ready
to mutually support each other, act with patience and forbearance with one
another and accept the need for mutual accountability.
Nurturing each other on the way
21. As a pilgrim people, Christians
and churches are sustained by the Gospel in their dwelling in and journeying
towards truth. They are committed to a goal that is both beyond their grasp and
constantly offered as pure gift. Meeting each other on their way and walking
together, they experience the fellowship among them, the koinonia that is real and genuine by the
grace of God although overshadowed by tensions in doctrine and practice and not
yet fully realised.
22. Ecumenical meetings and
conferences and WCC General Assemblies are opportunities to experience and
nurture this fellowship, and to be enriched by the many gifts of the Holy Spirit
to individual Christians, churches and the ecumenical family as a whole.
Participants in ecumenical events again and again emphasised that praying and
worshipping together helped them to recognise that the others, although
different, are of the same Spirit. Common worship, common reflection and action,
common confession, mission, witness and service has influenced and sometimes
changed the lives of many people and churches who did participate in the
ecumenical journey.
This paper is a development of a draft prepared
by Alan Falconer and Martin Robra to describe the ethos of the Padares at the
Eighth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare (1998). It
continues to be the underlying understanding for the deliberative sessions of
the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.
Alan Falconer
November 2000
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