The communion of all
particular Churches with the Church of Rome: a necessary condition for unity
97.
The Catholic Church, both in her praxis and in her solemn documents, holds
that the communion of the particular Churches with the Church of Rome, and of
their Bishops with the Bishop of Rome, is—in God's plan—an essential requisite
of full and visible communion. Indeed full communion, of which the Eucharist is
the highest sacramental manifestation, needs to be visibly expressed in a
ministry in which all the Bishops recognize that they are united in Christ and
all the faithful find confirmation for their faith. The first part of the Acts
of the Apostles presents Peter as the one who speaks in the name of the
apostolic group and who serves the unity of the community—all the while
respecting the authority of James, the head of the Church in Jerusalem. This
function of Peter must continue in the Church so that under her sole Head, who
is Jesus Christ, she may be visibly present in the world as the communion of
all his disciples.
Do not many of those
involved in ecumenism today feel a need for such a ministry? A ministry which
presides in truth and love so that the ship—that beautiful symbol which the
World Council of Churches has chosen as its emblem— will not be buffeted by the
storms and will one day reach its haven.
|