Perspectief 2014-25

Perspectief 30 Communion in Taizé Church is fundamental for Catholic communion ecclesiology and the cornerstone for the Catholic goal with the ecumenical process: restoring full visible ecclesiastical communion. 4.1.2 Communion ecclesiology and ecumenism Corresponding to this ecclesiology, “the restoration of unity amongst all Christians,” 6 has been the goal of Catholic involvement in ecumenical dialogue. Koch describes this goal as “die sichtbare Einheit im Glauben, im sakramentalen Leben und im kirchlichen Amt.” 7 The ecclesiological documents of Vatican II Unitatis Redintegratio and Lumen Gentium have opened up Catholic ecclesiology for the participation of other Churches and ecclesial communities in its own communion. The famous phrase “ subsistit in ” 8 indicates that the Catholic Church being communion does not necessarily exclude other Churches or communities from belonging to the same communion. Although its full meaning is debated, the phrase at least states that the full unity or communion of the Church subsists in the Catholic Church, but that other Churches and ecclesial communities to a greater or lesser extent share in the communion of the Catholic Church. For the Catholic Church, the goal of ecumenism is to restore full communion amongst all Christians, so that they are visibly united in the one Church, as they are already ontologically. Although originally shared by most parties involved, in the current state of the ecumenical process this visible unity does not seem to be the ultimate goal anymore: “Vielen scheinen sich met dem heutigen Zustand der Verschiedenheit der Kirchen abgefunden zu haben und sich mit dem faktischen Pluralismus zufriedenzugeben.” 9 Koch analyses the Protestant and Orthodox ecclesiologies with their stress on the local Church to be an explanation for this paradigm shift in ecumenism. However, 6 Unitatis Redintegratio , 1. 7 Koch, Kurt, Dass Alle Eins sein. Ökumenische Perspektiven (Augsburg: Sankt Ulrich Verlag GmbH 2006), 25. 8 Unitatis Redintegratio , 4. 9 Koch, Kurt, Die Kirche Gottes. Gemeinschaft im Geheimnis des Glaubens (Augsburg: Sankt Ulrich Verlag GmbH 2007), 268.