Cardinal Gibbons Replies on Reunion of Christendom
To this the cardinal replied as follows:— “CARDINAL'S RESIDENCE, Baltimore. “Rev. GEO. W. KING—Dear Sir: In reply to your favor I beg to say that your aspirations for the reunion of Christendom are worthy of all praise. “This reunion would be only fragmentary if the Catholic Church were excluded. “It would also be impossible, for there can be no union possible without a solid scriptural basis, and that is found in the recognition of Peter and his successor as the visible head of the church. “There can be no stable government without a head, either in civil, military, or ecclesiastical life. Every state must have its governor, and every town must have its mayor or municipal chief with some title. “If the churches of the world look for a head, where will they find one with the standard of authority or prescription except the bishop of Rome?—Not in Canterbury or Constantinople. “As for the terms of reunion, they would be easier than is commonly imagined. The Catholic Church holds to all the positive doctrines of all the Protestant churches, and the acknowledgment of the pope's judicial supremacy would make the way easy for accepting her other doctrines. You are nearer to us than you imagine. Many doctrines are ascribed to the church which she repudiates. “Faithfully yours in Christ,
“J. CARD. GIBBONS.” “Dear Cardinal: Your reply has been read with much interest. May I not now inquire if it would not be a wise and valuable thing for the Catholic Church to set forth to the Protestant churches a possible basis of union (describing the matter in sufficient detail) somewhat after the order of the Chicago Lambeth propositions of the Episcopal Church? I know how much the Methodist Church, and, indeed, the entire Christian church, is misunderstood by many, and I conceive it more than possible, inevitably, that the Catholic Church should likewise be misunderstood and misjudged in many things. Can not the Catholic Church correct this misunderstanding on the part of Protestants, to a large degree, at least? And would not this hasten the desired reunion? “I believe the present divided condition of Christendom to be full of folly, shame, and disgrace, and have no objection to a central authority, under certain conditions of limitation or restraint. “Sincerely yours, GEO. W. KING.” [From Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.] BALTIMORE, Md., Nov. 4, 1894.—Cardinal Gibbons preached at the cathedral to-day, on “Christian Unity.” He said:— “Thank God there is a yearning desire for the reunion of Christianity among many noble and earnest souls. This desire is particularly manifest in the English-speaking world. It is manifest in England and in the United States. I myself have received several letters from influential Protestant ministers expressing the hope of a reunion, and inquiring as to the probable basis of a reconciliation. Reunion is the great desire of my heart. I have longed and prayed for it during all the years of my ministry. I have prayed that, as we are bound to our brethren by social and family and by natural and commercial ties, so may we be united with them in the bonds of a common faith. “The conditions of reunion are easier than are generally imagined. Of course, there can be no compromise on faith or morals. The doctrine and moral code that Christ has left us must remain unchangeable. But the church can modify her discipline to suit the circumstances of the case. “May the day be hastened when the scattered hosts of Christendom will be reunited. Then, indeed, they would form an army which infidelity could no longer resist, and they would soon carry the light and faith of Christian civilization to the most remote and benighted part of the globe. May the day soon come when all who profess the name of Christ may have one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, when all shall be in one fold, under one Shepherd.”