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From John Paul to Benedict:
A vision of unity
Dear friends,
Greetings of peace from Conception Abbey.
What an historic moment we have lived through with the passing of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. It is still too close to comment on the full significance of the events that brought worldwide attention to the Roman Catholic Church. Yet it is worthwhile to reflect, even if briefly, on how Benedictine communities have been linked to the ministry of Pope John Paul, and what may have influenced Pope Benedict’s choice of name.
Pope John Paul’s papal ministry will be remembered for many outstanding achievements, one of which is his efforts at ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, and he especially encouraged this outreach to Benedictine communities as places of prayer and hospitality. During the Congress of Abbots in both 2000 and 2004, he told the world’s abbots that the work of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue that can be fostered in a special way in monasteries where each guest is “welcomed as Christ” (RB 53:1).
In his encyclical Ut unum sint (“That they all may be one”), John Paul noted, “Dialogue is not simply an exchange of ideas [...] it is always an exchange of gifts.” This sense of mutual respect is what John Paul strived toward throughout his papacy. Of special interest to him was union with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. He took the occasion of the centenary of Pope Leo XIII’s apostolic letter Orientalium Dignitas (“The Dignity of the Oriental Churches”) to issue his own apostolic letter, Orientale Lumen (“Light from the East”). Here he noted the wonderful exchanges that have taken place between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in the past century, highlighting their shared heritage. Then, in Ecclesia in America (“The Church in America”), John Paul further expressed his desire in an intimate way: “The universal Church needs a synergy between the particular Churches of East and West so that she may breathe with her two lungs, in the hope of one day doing so in perfect communion between the Catholic Church and the separated Eastern Churches” (par. 17). Despite his hopes and efforts, such union has not happened. That is work he leaves to his successor.
There was much to distinguish Pope John Paul’s work in inter-religious dialogue. He called gatherings of religious leaders in Assisi from 1986 through 2002. John Paul believed such gatherings to be intimately related to the Church’s mission of preaching the gospel to all nations. Then, in 2001, on a trip to Syria he became the first pope to visit a mosque, opening doors to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
On a more personal note, my involvement on the diocesan Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Committee has afforded me the blessing of friends among our Jewish brothers and sisters in the Kansas City area. Upon the passing of Pope John Paul, this is what two of them wrote to me and our community on behalf of the American Jewish Committee:
“The Jewish community also will remember Pope John Paul with particular affection for his monumental efforts in Catholic-Jewish relationships, his historic visit to a synagogue, for honoring the victims of the Holocaust with a memorial concert at the Vatican, for establishing full relationships between the Holy See and the State of Israel and for making an official visit to the State of Israel. His condemnation of anti-Semitism in all its expressions and his call to foster friendship, esteem and fraternal relations will remain as his legacy in our memories. He was indeed an example of righteousness. May his Memory Be for a Blessing.”
In his opening homily to those gathered in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Benedict XVI vowed to continue the work of Pope John Paul in advancing the spirit and teaching of the Second Vatican Council, and to work as a source of unity and reconciliation in our Church and in the world. He does this in the spirit of St. Benedict whom he has taken as his patron. In the first sentence of his Rule Benedict tells the reader “to listen with the ear of the heart,” an instruction that impacts both shepherd and flock, both listening to God and both listening to one another in mutual respect. And to listen “with the ear of the heart” is a rare kind of listening that demands more than intellectual reasoning; it calls for compassion, understanding, trust, and mercy – all of which flow from a heart surrendered to the teaching of the gospel.
Pope Benedict XVI has great interest in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. This October we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Vatican Council II Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostrae Aetate). It will be an occasion to rekindle and celebrate the strides made in the past four decades, and to recommit ourselves to moving much further in years to come. Such strides are important to Benedictines, for they enable us to join others, who do not necessarily share our communion, in prayer and service to neighbor, in breaking down barriers, and in opening new doors of friendship and mutual respect.
We are honored that Pope John Paul called on Benedictines to join him in his important work. And we are delighted to know that Pope Benedict XVI esteems our tradition so favorably as to take our patron as his own. May we all cherish what St. Benedict taught and live it with passion.
Sincerely in Christ,
Abbot Gregory J. Polan, OSB
We welcome your comments:
communications@conception.edu
www.conceptionabbey.org
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