The Unity of Christians

Description

The unity of Christians is discussed and longed for everywhere in the Christian world. The activities of the World Council of Churches in recent years, and of the Second Vatican Council, which opened in 1962, have stimulated the discussion of the points at issue and excited our hopes, revealing the real desire among Christians of every denomination for complete and lasting unity. Cardinal Bea has altogether exceptional authority in any discussion of the position of the Catholic Church with regard to the unity of Christians. John XXIII appointed him President of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, which handled all questions relating to unity for the Council. He has travelled widely, in all countries of Europe and in the U.S.A., meeting leaders of all the Christian Churches, and discussing these problems with them. He is earnestly convinced that the work of the reuniting Christians is primarily the work of God and, for that reason, he makes no rash forecasts for the future. His perceptive is wide and open; the truth cannot change, but human perception of it can grow in depth and in clarity. He knows that lasting reform and real unity must spring from deeper love of fellow Christians and of God’s will; he urges us to respect all Christians; to test our hopes and plans for action by the Word of God in Scripture and in the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church. In the pages of this book he treats of the dilemma of disunity and our hopes for unity from many angles and at many levels; he stresses the basic requirement, which is charity; the biblical foundation of all Christian faith and devotion; the need for pastoral interchanges between seperated Christians, for joint action in social and international questions where this is possible; he discusses the contribution which research workers and university teachers can make towards a change in the intellectual climate of Christendom. He explains in detail the working of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity.

This is the first collection of Carinal Bea’s writings and speeches; it has been edited for the English-speaking world by Bernard Leeming, S.J., whose own work for the unity of Christians is widely known. The foreword is by the Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, Archbishop O’Hara.