Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY 9 "TRUE" CHURCH Another problematical question is Rome’s claim to being “the one true church”. However, this often becomes a matter of semantics, since all Christians, by their choices, consider their own church nearest to being true, or else they would be somewhere else. Father Robert J. Graham, of the national Roman Catholic weekly, “America”, suggests the Vatican Council may provide a fresh interpretation on this tenet. Anolher historic problem involves the means of salvation. Protestants teach that man is saved solely by faith in God and his gracious forgiveness, while Catholics teach that both faith and good works are needed. Here, too, terminology and usage often magnify the differences. Protestants say that good works are men’s natural response to genuine faith in God’s loving mercy, thus including that element in their own way. The Rev. Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, president of the United Lutheran Church in America, says that if the cleavage on this point is to be removed, however, it will “take more than mere clarification.” He observed that a key problem was Rome's position that no dcgma could be altered, while Protestants stand ready to modify their concepts whenever convinced "out of the word of God." “We’ll find out by the Vatican Council how serious the Roman Catholic Church really is about unity”, Dr. Fry said. He added that eventual union “is technically possible.” On the other hand, he said, the Vatican Council also might widen the breach by fixing some new doctrine that Protestants could not accept, such as proclaiming Mary as co-redemptrix. Such a doctrine is advocated in some Catholic circles on the ground that Mary cooperated in bringing Christ, the Redeemer, to earth. BIBLE THE GUIDE On the optimistic side, however, many developments have brought Catholics and Protestants closer together. Protestants widely have developed a deeper respect for church traditions, for the teachings of the church fathers, for the ancient creeds and for the value of liturgy and symbolism in worship. Many Protestant and Catholic leaders suggest that it may be in the Bible that the guidelines to unity are found. “Many Catholic scholars believe that Scriptures will be the meeting place of Christians”, said Rev. Dr. C. Umhau Wolf, a Toledo, Ohio, Lutheran. “Catholic theology is becoming more Biblical and Protestant exegis more theological.” Says Father Eugene Burke, of the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C., “too much emphasis has been placed on the differences. The Bible which we all have is a logical place to begin work on what we have in common.”
