BAPTIST-CATHOLIC RELATIONS IN 2001
For international contacts with Baptists, the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity is in touch with the Baptist World Alliance.
The Alliance's headquarters are located in Falls Church, Virginia, USA,
near Washington, DC. The constituency it represents includes some
40,000,000 baptized believers. Baptists give baptism only to those who
are able to consciously make an act of faith, and not to infants. Thus
when one includes the children in families of the baptized believers,
the number is closer to 100,000,000.
There has been one phase of international conversations between the
Baptist World Alliance and the Catholic Church which took place
1984-1988 and published a report entitled Summons to Witness to Christ
in Today's World (1990). The PCPCU would like to continue with a second
phase of international dialogue and is waiting for the BWA to approve a
second phase.
In the meantime, cordial contacts continue. For example, the BWA
invites a representative of the Catholic Church (along with
representatives of various Christian World Communions) to attend the
Baptist World Congress which is held every five years. The Catholic
Church, through the PCPCU, invites the BWA to send a representative to
various events, more recently for example to the ecumenical events of
the Jubilee year, and most recently to the Assisi Day of Prayer for
Peace on 24 January 2002.
Meeting in Rome, 3-4 December 2000
In December, 2000, a BWA international delegation of about 15 persons
came to Rome for one and one-half days of discussion, at the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity, as an initial step to prepare the
way for a second phase of dialogue. A part of that discussion included
the presentation by the Baptist Prof. James Leo Garrett of issues which
would need to be taken up in a second phase of dialogue. These included
the Petrine ministry; Marian dogma and spirituality; sacraments as ex
opere operato; authority, scripture, tradition, magisterium. But
since the BWA was yet not ready to begin a second phase of dialogue, in
order to ensure continuing contacts, the BWA proposed that a next step
could be a similar gathering in 2001 where the two sides could continue
discussion, if not official conversations. Buenos Aires was suggested as
the site.
Meeting in Buenos Aires, 6-7 December 2001
It was agreed to meet in Buenos Aires Argentina 6-7 December 2001 at
the International Baptist Theological Seminary, and to focus on
relations between Catholics and Baptists in Latin America. Thirteen
Baptists and nine Catholic leaders took part in the discussion. The
Baptists included two leaders from the BWA headquarters in the USA and
other participants from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and
Venezuela. The Catholic delegation included Cardinal Walter Kasper,
President of the PCPCU, and others from the PCPCU including Bishop Marc
Ouellet, Secretary, Mons. John A. Radano and Fr Juan Usma Gomez, as well
as other participants from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile.
The meetings were co-chaired by Dr. Denton Lotz, General Secretary of
the BWA, and Cardinal Kasper. The first day, 6 December was dedicated to
"theological issues between Baptists and Catholics in Latin
America". Presentations were made, on the Baptist side, by Dr
Tomás Mackey (Argentina), Dr Fausto Vasconcelos (Brazil), Amparo de
Medina (Colombia) and Josue Fonseca (Chile), and on the Catholic side by
Bishop Julio Terán Dutari (Ecuador), Rev. Jorge Scampini O.P.,
(Argentina) and Rev. Gabriele Cipriani (Brazil). These presentations
gave insights into the historical background to current relations
between the two sides especially the clashes between the two, as well as
perspectives they have towards each other today. Today they also
mentioned some of the issues surfaced by Prof. Garrett as those which
Baptists and Catholics need to discuss in dialogue. They surfaced other
concerns as well. One concern expressed by the Catholic side is that
Baptists in Latin America sometimes do not recognize the Christian
identity of Catholics. One concern of Baptists is that Catholics
sometimes call them a "sect". While some changes for the
better have taken place, there is still much misunderstanding, and
suspicion of one another, and the need for dialogue in order to inform
one another accurately of the theological positions which each side
holds.
The discussion on the second day focused on a paper given by Cardinal
Kasper on the theme "The concept of 'communio' as a
framework within which to discuss issues of concern", such as
Petrine ministry, marian dogma etc. Cardinal Kasper explored the
ecumenical significance of a theology of "communion". In this
framework he also made some initial points which might be taken into
consideration in discussion of some of the issues on which Catholics and
Baptists differ. But he did not claim to give a full treatment to these
questions. That still remains for future dialogue. An initial response
from the Baptist side to the Cardinal's paper was given by the Reverend
Harold Segura Carmona of Colombia. An open discussion then took place.
On the evening of December 6th, a celebration of prayer, a service of
the Word, was organized in the chapel of the Baptist seminary, and was
open to the public. Persons from various Christian traditions attended
including the Reverend Melidá Ritchie, a Methodist pastor in Argentina
who is a former vicemoderator of the World Council of Churches, and Dr
Norberto Padilla the Secretary for Cults of the Government of Argentina.
Some Observations
In a certain sense this two day meeting was unique. While organized
by the BWA and the PCPCU, it brought together for the first time, some
Baptists and Catholics from different countries in Latin America.
Although there were persons present on both sides from some of the major
countries of Latin America, this was not in the strict sense a regional
Latin American meeting.
The atmosphere was cordial. One would hope that some of the Baptists
and Catholics who came from the same countries would continue to stay in
contact in their own countries and even find ways to meet on a regular
basis. This remains to be seen.
At the end of the meeting one of the Baptists, Dr Raúl Scialabba,
proposed the idea of some sort of "forum" in Latin America
which would foster these contacts. Some expressed interest in this.
Whether something can come of this remains to be seen.
There were some moving moments in the meeting. At one point one
member from each side expressed personal regret for negative
attitudes often expressed by members of each of these Christian
communions toward the other side.
Finally, this was a useful meeting and important in many ways. But in
another way it was an interim step taken to maintain contacts between
the BWA and the PCPCU in this period while awaiting the possibility of a
second phase of international dialogue. This meeting was able to bring
Baptists and Catholics into contact with each other, and if those
contacts continue it will be even more fruitful. But, an international
dialogue is able to produce a carefully and mutually worked out report,
(as resulted in 1990 from the first phase of dialogue) in which the
sides can state together, in print, which aspects of Christian faith
they share in common, and where they differ. This sort of report, which
usually takes the intense reflection afforded by an international phase
of dialogue lasting some years, cannot be produced by a brief two day
meeting. The report of a dialogue would be a major resource in assisting
the reconciliation of two communities of Christians who have been
bitterly separated for 400 years. It would provide the theological
rationale they need for taking steps toward reconciliation.
Hopefully, the meeting in Buenos Aires will be a step creating the
confidence necessary to move toward this kind of international dialogue.
January 8, 2002
|
