1 Ecumenism and the Catholic Health Ministry Spiritual Care Champions November 4, 2008 John F. Wallenhorst, Ph.D. Vice President, Mission & Ethics Bon Secours Health System

2 Objectives Understand some core concepts about ecumenism and interfaith dialogue Understand how Vatican II and Catholic theology advanced ecumenism and interfaith dialogue Understand how ecumenism practically affect the delivery of care, including pastoral and spiritual care services, and self-understanding of the Catholic health ministry

3 Agenda Personal & Pastoral Experience Spirituality, Ecumenism & World Religions Catholic Approach Second Vatican Council American Catholicism – John Courtney Murray “The Church to Come” – Karl Rahner Health Care Application Discussion

4 Personal & Pastoral Experience Personal Experience Religious tradition of one’s family Development over time; maturation Current understanding of church Pastoral Encounters Understanding of common spiritual ground Respect for person’s tradition Once again, encountering ambivalence in many

5 Spirituality, Ecumenism & World Religions

6 Ecumenism & World Religions Common Spiritual Constitution Ecumenism World Religions

7 Common Spiritual Constitution Dignity of the Person Made in God’s image and likeness Divine origin and destiny Development Call to Community Person flourishes (or not) in community Emergence of tradition Reform and development

8 Ecumenism Broadly Oikouneme = inhabited world; household Greater unity and cooperation among religions Dialogue without organic unity Mutual respect Interfaith pluralism

9 Ecumenism More Narrowly Unity of Christian Churches Approaches: Catholic: Full unity Eastern Orthodox: Reluctance Anglican: Communio in sacris; full communion and intercommunion Protestant: both denominational unity and cooperation World Council of Churches, 1958; 340 churches Joint Declaration on Doctrine of Justification, 1999 Rejected by some evangelical Christians

10 World Religions Interfaith Pluralism Acceptance of other religions and forms of religious expression Some truth and true values exist in all religions Supports freedom of religious and protects religious expression Encourages dialogue and cooperation Not necessarily equivalent to religious relativism Belief that all religions provide equal access to the truth

11 World Religions ReligionNumber of Adherents 1Christianity1.9 billion 2Islam1.1 billion 3Hinduism781 million 4Buddhism324 million 5Sikhism19 million 6Judaism14 million 7Bahá'í6.1 million 8Confucianism5.3 million 9Jainism4.9 million 10Shinto2.8 million

12 “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” - Acts of the Apostles 2

13 Catholic Approach

14 Foundations Stress on full unity of the Church One, holy catholic, apostolic All marks of the Church only in Catholic Church Lack of all marks = “false” churches Institutional Church is the Church Hierarchical and monarchical Church is perfect, absolutely independent society Extra Ecclesiam nula salus

15 Second Vatican Council Remote Context 19 th and 20 th century scholarship: Scripture, biblical languages, history, liturgy Emergence of Catholic Social Teaching New engagement with the world and world issues

16 Second Vatican Council Lumen Gentium (1964) Dogmatic Constitution on Church Affirms marks of Church and foundation by Christ Elements of salvation found in other Churches Church of Christ “subsists” in the Catholic Church Gaudium et Spes (1965) Pastoral Constitution on Church Addressed to the world Universal call to holiness; human community Concern for social alienation, poverty, suffering and war

17 Second Vatican Council Unitatis Redintegratio (1964) Decree on Ecumenism Seeking restoration of Christian unity Acknowledges Church identity of Christian Churches Scripture, God’s Spirit, Baptism Admits both sides to blame for rupture Nostra Aetate (1965) Declaration on Relationship to non-Christian Religions Human community from God “Rejects nothing that is true and holy…” Often reflects truth Special, close union of Christians and Jews

18 American Church John Courtney Murray ( ) We Hold These Truths Reflections on religion and public life Religious freedom and separation of Church and state Participation in public debate; without censorship or coercion Appeal to public virtue Dignitatis Humanae (1965) Declaration on Religious Freedom Unequivocal affirmation of religious freedom Other Academic and religious freedom in schools and universities Development of doctrine requires dialogue with non-Catholics and atheists

19 The Church to Come Karl Rahner ( ) Universality of grace Church is always in history and society “Diaspora Church” Age of Christendom is over “Anonymous Christianity” Church to Come Declericalized Focused on service Moral, without moralizing Concrete and spiritual Open

20 Health Care Applications

21 Health Care Applications Mission Ministry of the Church Broadly understood and respectful Catholic identity as an expression of common humanity Administration Ministry leaders Spiritually motivated Commitment to faith-based work More than the veneer of religion

22 Health Care Applications Ethics Within context of whole Catholic tradition Social context and community responsibility Virtue ethics: existing moral sensitivity and role of habit Not just focus on ethical prohibitions Pastoral and Spiritual Care Care for persons in their wholeness Respect for diversity of religious experience and expression Appropriate and thoughtful accommodation Promotion of religious respect throughout organization Spiritual environment

23 Church with a Worldly Vocation Worldly Vocation Tension between compelling vision and practical realities World and work as arena for meaningful religious action Concrete choices and actions for infusing religious values in the “secular” realm John Coleman

24 Discussion

25 Questions & Conversation What are some of the challenges? Personally Professionally Organizationally How do you address those challenges? What is the role of the ecumenism in the Catholic health ministry?

26 Thank you.