ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT. It was not until the 20th century that progressive Protestant churches initiated the ecumenical movement. Two world wars fostered ecumenism when soldiers of different faiths got to know and respect each other. The wars also made many churches realize they needed to put aside their disagreements to work for peace. Conservative Protestants and Catholics held back, seeing ecumenism as giving in to relativism. (1)

Many Catholics growing up in the 1950s considered Protestants as heretics outside the true church. In school and at home, Catholics heard stories of prejudice and discrimination from the white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP} establishment. The 1960 election proved that anti-Catholicism was still alive and flourishing. In polling, John Kennedy’s religion was singled out as an extremely important variable in the election. (2)

Ecumenism was still formally rejected until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). (3) On February 5, 1962 the Rev. James R. Gillis, O.P. dean of the Aquinas Institute School of Theology, having received permission from the Most Reverend Leo BINZ called a meeting. Six theologians both Catholic and Protestant, met to discuss ecumenism. To indicate the formality of the meeting, the first issue was how to address each other. The Protestants, all holding doctorates, were to be called "doctor." The priests were to be address as "father." (4)

Rev. Gillis had attended a conference the year prior to the Second Vatican Council. Leaving the conference, he felt Dubuque offered a unique opportunity because it was home to a Lutheran seminary, Presbyterian seminary and a Catholic seminary. (5)

There were significant moments in the early history of the ecumenical movement in Dubuque. The first feature of the new Protestant-Catholic relationship occurred on October 7, 1962. Protestants visited Catholic churches in Dubuque in the first formal contact in recent times. On February 2, 1962 dialogues between the theologians of the three seminaries--AQUINAS INSTITUTE, Dubuque Theological Seminary see:UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, and WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY began with three other meetings following. On January 9, 1963 after returning from the first session of Vatican II, The Most Rev. James J. BYRNE spoke to the faculty and students of Wartburg. Catholic priests and Protestant ministers in the Dubuque Ministerial Association at a luncheon on August 4, 1964. Seven additional meetings occurred between 1964 and 1965 marking the first formal contact of pastors in many years. The sacredness of inter-faith marriages led in March 1965 to the formation of the Pastoral Marriage Counseling Service. The articles of incorporation of the Association of Theological Faculties in Iowa were sign on June 1 1965 between the three local seminaries and the School of Religion of the University of Iowa. The same year on June 21st the Institute of Pastoral Ecumenism was opened. For the first time, significant numbers of lay people became involved in the movement. The institute, an idea of the private Dubuque Area Citizens Council on Community Relations, led to "living room dialogues" where people discussed the Bible and other religious subjects. (6)

The first community-wide ecumenical worship service was held on October 31, 1965. Catholics and Protestants have since them worshiped together on World Days of Prayer. The first ecumenical summer school for students of the three seminaries began on June 27, 1966. The "firsts" continued on April 9, 1967 with the First Midwest Ecumenical Dialogue with Catholics, Jews and Protestants meeting to discuss religious beliefs. Subsequent dialogues were considered major religious events. The decade ended with the Dubuque Theological Seminary moving into housing with the Aquinas Institute School of Theology. (7)

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Source:

1. Reese, Thomas, The Ecumenical Movement is As Important Historically as the Reformation," The National Catholic Reporter, October 31, 2017, Online: https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/ecumenical-movement-important-historically-reformation

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. "Ecumenism," Telegraph-Herald, April 12, 1970, p. 50

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid., p. 60

7. Ibid.