Trying to understand "The Bishop of Rome" (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, 6/13/24)

"The Bishop of Rome is a study document that presents for the first time a synthesis of the responses to the encyclical Ut unum sint and of the ecumenical dialogues on primacy and synodality.

 

"The document concludes with a proposal from the Dicastery that identifies the most significant suggestions for a renewed exercise of the Bishop of Rome's ministry of unity 'recognized by all concerned' (Ut unum sint, 95)"

The Bishop of Rome 

(Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, 6/13/24)

Table of Contents

"161. The understanding and exercise of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome entered a new phase with the Second Vatican Council.... 

"165.... Dialogue partners have been challenged to avoid anachronistic projections of later doctrinal

developments and to consider afresh the role of Peter among the apostles [???].... 

"166.... they call for a.greater attention to and assessment of the historical context that conditioned the exercise of primacy in different regions and periods. 

"167. The dogmatic definitions of the First Vatican Council are a significant obstacle for other Christians. Some ecumenical dialogues have registered promising progress when undertaking a ‘re-reading’ or ‘re-reception’ of this Council.... 

"168.... In spite of... clarifications the dialogues still express concerns regarding the relation of infallibility to the primacy of the Gospel, the indefectibility of the whole Church, the

exercise of episcopal collegiality and the necessity of reception....

 

"169....new perspectives for a ministry of unity in a reconciled Church.... Based on ecclesiological considerations, a number of dialogues have maintained that there is a mutual interdependency of primacy and synodality at each level of the life of the Church....

"170. Theological dialogues, particularly with the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, recognize that principles and models of communion honoured in the first millennium (or, for the latter, until the middle of the fifth century), remain paradigmatic.... 

"171. Although the first millennium is decisive, many dialogues

recognize that it should not be idealized nor simply re-created....

"172. Ecumenical reflection has also contributed to the recognition

that the Petrine function must be understood within the context of

a wider ecclesiological perspective.... 

"175....the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches do,not recognise the present relationship with Rome of the Eastern,Catholic Churches as a model for future communion. 

"176....Subsidiarity is recognised as an

important principle if the exercise of primacy is to guarantee the

participation of the whole Church in the decision-making process....

"178. A first proposal is a Catholic ‘re-reception’, ‘re-interpretation’,

‘official interpretation’, ‘updated commentary’ or even ‘rewording’

of the teachings of Vatican I. Indeed, some dialogues observe that

these teachings were deeply conditioned by their historical context,

and suggest that the Catholic Church should look for new expressions and vocabulary faithful to the original intention but integrated into a communio ecclesiology and adapted to the current cultural and ecumenical context. [???]

"179. A second suggestion made by some ecumenical dialogues is a

clearer distinction between the different responsibilities of the

Bishop of Rome, especially between his patriarchal ministry in the

Church of the West and his primatial ministry of unity in the

communion of Churches, both West and East, possibly extending

this idea to consider how other Western Churches might relate to

the Bishop of Rome as primate while having a certain autonomy themselves. There is also a need to distinguish the patriarchal and primatial roles of the Bishop of Rome from his political function as head of State. A greater accent on the exercise of the ministry of the Pope in his own particular Church, the diocese of Rome, would highlight the episcopal ministry he shares with his brother bishops, and renew the image of the papacy. 

"180. A third recommendation made by the theological dialogues concerns the development of synodality within the Catholic

Church....

"181. A last proposal is the promotion of ‘conciliar fellowship’ through regular meetings among Church leaders at a worldwide level...."

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is" (Winston Churchill)

As I suspect very few would find it personally edifying to be more privvy to these conversations, I pray that the Holy Spirit gives us good leaders.