Folia Theologica et Canonica 11. 33/25 (2022)
Sacra theologia
POPE BENEDICT XVI AND THE GROWING ECUMENISM 19 Conclusion The basic principle and rule of ecumenism is that we “go forward”. However, according to Joseph Ratzinger, this does not mean that we want concrete connections. “We Catholics”, - confesses the cardinal theologian -, “are convinced that the one Church already exists in its essential form in the Catholic Church, as taught by the Second Vatican Council (LG 8). To this extent, we do not imagine joining models, but a believer’s progress under the leadership of the Lord, who knows the way and in whom we trust. We can only strive to courageously focus our faith on the essence, so we recognize what is truly essential in it, and open ourselves to the Lord, and in this pursuit of the essence, turn to him so that he, alone, will lead us.” In 2016, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI published a volume of interviews entitled Last Conversations, in which the issue of Christian unity is also discussed. Knowing the ecumenical realism of Benedict XVI, as well as the results of the discussions with Protestants and Orthodox during his time, it does not come as a surprise to us when he declares: “Those who know the realities cannot expect a church unification in the true sense of the word to happen here. We can struggle to listen to each other again and again and learn from each other. The point is that the faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not lost”.23 Abstract The 20th century was the century of Ecumenism: the World Council of Churches was established (1948), the Roman Catholic Church made a significant turn towards the Christian churches at the Second Vatican Council (1962—1965). In the unifying world, the churches also joined together. The last two decades of the 20th century never saw such a rapprochement between different denominations. From 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed the Cardinal of Munich, Joseph Ratzinger, to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In about a quarter of a century, many agreements, meetings and documents were signed that can be linked to his name. Such was the case, for example, in 1983, on the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther, the Catholic tribute to the reformer, in 1989 the organization of the first European Ecumenical Assembly together with European Protestants in Basel, in 1993 the birth of the II Ecumenical Directory, in 1995 the publication of the first 23Cf. XVI. Benedek, Utolsó beszélgetések Peter Seewalddal (Last Conversations with Peter Seewald), Budapest 2016. 234. Before this was published, he himself studied, approved and authorized the text being prepared. See also István Pákozdi’s review on Seewald, R, XVI. Benedek, Utolsó beszélgetések (Peter Seewald, Benedict XVI, Last Conversations), in Vigilia (2017/1) 76.
