NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
For Immediate Release
April 7, 2004
At first thought, a small group of Mennonites and a Vatican delegation seem to be unlikely conversation partners. But maybe not. Five-plus years after they first met for a formal Dialogue, seven representatives from Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and seven from the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity have issued a Report of their conversations. Its title hints at the intention of the meetings, as well as their tone–“Called Together to Be Peacemakers.”
But the conversations and the Report are only one part of the process for MWC. Another part is just beginning. Mennonite World Conference is forwarding copies of the Report to all of its member churches for their “study and reaction.” The English document has been translated into French; a Spanish translation is underway.
“On the MWC side, we are now entering a broadening stage in the process,” explained MWC Executive Secretary Larry Miller, who was one of the participants in the conversations. “This Report is not a kind of Encyclical handed down from the MWC office. Instead, it is intended to be reviewed and explored by Mennonites and Brethren in Christ around the world–from the point of view of their own contexts and convictions.”
Member Churches Invited to Join the Process
This approach allows Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches to be full players in the ongoing search “to overcome the consequences of almost five centuries of mutual isolation and hostility” (paragraph 2 of the Report), which have often characterized relationships between Anabaptist-related churches and Catholic churches.
Recognizing that some MWC members “find themselves in difficult situations as a minority within predominantly Catholic societies,” Mennonite World Conference thought it essential that its member churches join the effort toward greater understanding between Catholics and Anabaptist-Mennonites, both historically and going forward.
“At this point, on the MWC side, the Report represents only the positions of the seven members of the MWC delegation to the conversations. It has not been received or approved or commented on by MWC,” said Miller. “This approach is somewhat of an innovation, as far as I know. Instead of MWC simply issuing a report, or taking it first to its governing body to be formally accepted, we are taking a two- to three-year period during which member churches can respond. The MWC General Council will review both the Report and the responses from member churches when it meets next, in 2006.
“Furthermore, MWC welcomes member churches convening consultations which would study the Report from their own local perspectives, as well as examine Catholic-Mennonite relations in their own contexts. If desired, MWC will make one or more MWC delegation members available for these consultations. The Pontifical Council is also ready to make a Catholic delegation member available for several such consultations if we desire. In addition, the Pontifical Council is ready to receive a delegation composed of MWC members who want to talk directly to the Vatican about the Report or other concerns in Catholic/Mennonite relations in their own setting,” said Miller.
Blurring Important Differences?
Should Mennonites and Brethren in Christ be concerned that MWC is softening defining differences with the Catholic Church or compromising key principles? The Report itself highlights six areas that ought to have further study by each group, in order to reach fairer appraisals of their own, and each other’s, doctrines, practices, and attitudes. Extensive space is given to listing Mennonites’ and Catholics’ “Convergences” and “Divergences” about three major topics: “The Nature of the Church,” “Sacraments and Ordinances” (including baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and “Our Commitment to Peace.”
MWC delegation member Neal Blough (a theologian based in Paris) described the five week-long exchanges as “nervous in the beginning, but very quickly honest and forthcoming. I vividly remember the occasions when we were tense or angry with each other, and then went to a meal together and finished the day in prayer. Knowing each other allowed this kind of honesty. It wasn’t always easy, but we may have found a model for how to speak when we have important disagreements.”
Will the Conversations Really Change Anything?
“Major differences separate Catholics and Mennonites, but speaking of them, and trying to deal with them, can repair our relationships as divided Christians,” Blough commented further. “In my own context in Paris, I have seen that consistently keeping in touch and in dialogue makes a positive difference. Catholics that we know here do not consider Mennonites to be a sect; they respect our peace witness and other aspects of our theology. But they do not expect Mennonites to become Catholics.”
Miller points out that “Catholic delegation members asked ‘forgiveness for any sins which were committed against Mennonites’ [paragraph 202]. Since the Catholic Church is a world church, the positions taken by the Pontifical Council delegation will be considered seriously by Catholic leaders both in Rome and around the world, and thus can be useful for Mennonites everywhere in improving relations with Catholics.
“As a ‘peace church,’ honest and careful conversation with ‘adversaries’ should be the normal thing for us to do. Yet, we haven’t done that with the Catholic Church at the international level since the beginning of the Anabaptist-Catholic conflict. In this context, Mennonite delegation members asked forgiveness for their frequent failure to demonstrate love towards Catholics and for thoughtlessly perpetuating hostile images or false stereotypes of them [paragraph 204]. I hope that this exchange at the international level will be useful for Mennonites and Catholics who desire to build good relationships at the national and local levels. By God’s grace, it will be.”
-Phyllis Pellman Good, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for Mennonite World Conference