Anabaptists & Catholics had dialogue?
BTW-I noticed in reading this online, the Catholics have a ploy of getting Protestants to let their guard down---RE-READING of history together.....Beware of this Jesuit-like trick....
"1. In the spirit of friendship and reconciliation, a dialogue between Catholics and Mennonites took place over a five-year period, from 1998-2003. The dialogue partners met five times in plenary
session, a week at a time.
2. This was a new process of reconciliation. The two dialogue partners had had no official dialogue previous to this, and therefore started afresh. Our purpose was to assist Mennonites and Catholics to overcome the consequences of almost five centuries of mutual isolation and hostility.
3. This report is a synthesis of the five-year Catholic-Mennonite dialogue.
4. Three chapters follow the Introduction. The first of these, “Considering History Together,” summarizes the results of our common study of three crucial eras (and related events) of history that have shaped our respective traditions and have yielded distinctive interpretations. These are 1) the rupture of the sixteenth century, 2) the Constantinian era, and 3) the Middle Ages as such. The aim of our study was to re-read history together for the purpose of comparing and refining
our interpretations.
5. In the second chapter, “Considering Theology Together,” we report on our common and differing understandings of the Church, of Baptism, of the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, and of peace. In each case, we state the historic theological perspectives of the Catholic Church and of the Mennonite Churches.
6. Chapter III is entitled “Toward a Healing of Memories.” In a sense, every interchurch dialogue in which the partners are seeking to overcome centuries of hostility or isolation is aimed at healing bitter memories that have made reconciliation between them difficult. The third chapter identifies four components that, we hope, can help to foster a healing of memories between Mennonites and Catholics.
7. The members of this dialogue offer this report, the results of our work, to the sponsoring bodies in the hope that it can be used by Mennonites and Catholics not only within their respective communities but also as they meet together, to promote reconciliation between them for the sake of the Gospel.
A common re-reading of the history of the church has proven to be fruitful in recent inter-church dialogues. The same is true for our dialogue. Mennonites and Catholics have lived through more than 475 years of separation. Over the centuries they developed separate views of the history of the Christian tradition. By studying history together, we discovered that our interpretations of the past were often incomplete and limited. Sharing our insights and our assessments of the past helped us gain a broader view of the history of the church.
First of all, we recognized that both our traditions have developed interpretations of aspects of
church history that were influenced by negative images of the other, though in different ways and to different degrees.
Secondly, both our traditions have had their selective ways of looking at history. Two examples readily come to mind: the interplay of church and state in the Middle Ages, and the use of violence by Christians. We sometimes restricted our views of the history of Christianity to those aspects that seemed to be most in agreement with the self-definition of our respective ecclesial communities.
The experience of studying the history of the church together and of re-reading it in an atmosphere of openness has been invaluable.
Such acts of repentance contribute to the purification of memory, which was one of the goals enunciated by Pope John Paul II during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The purification of memory aims at liberating our personal and communal consciences from all forms of resentment and violence that are the legacy of past faults.... a common re-reading of history may help us in purifying our understanding of the past as a step toward healing the often-painful memories of our respective communities."
Holy See-The Roman Curia
BTW-I noticed in reading this online, the Catholics have a ploy of getting Protestants to let their guard down---RE-READING of history together.....Beware of this Jesuit-like trick....
"1. In the spirit of friendship and reconciliation, a dialogue between Catholics and Mennonites took place over a five-year period, from 1998-2003. The dialogue partners met five times in plenary
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| Witmarsum, 'Koepelkerk' This protestant domed church is built on the site of a former church, where the then-pastor Menno Simons left the Catholic Church. |
2. This was a new process of reconciliation. The two dialogue partners had had no official dialogue previous to this, and therefore started afresh. Our purpose was to assist Mennonites and Catholics to overcome the consequences of almost five centuries of mutual isolation and hostility.
3. This report is a synthesis of the five-year Catholic-Mennonite dialogue.
4. Three chapters follow the Introduction. The first of these, “Considering History Together,” summarizes the results of our common study of three crucial eras (and related events) of history that have shaped our respective traditions and have yielded distinctive interpretations. These are 1) the rupture of the sixteenth century, 2) the Constantinian era, and 3) the Middle Ages as such. The aim of our study was to re-read history together for the purpose of comparing and refining
 |
| 1527, the Anabaptist leader Michael Sattler was also tortured and then burned at the stake by Catholics in Rottenburg, Germany. |
5. In the second chapter, “Considering Theology Together,” we report on our common and differing understandings of the Church, of Baptism, of the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, and of peace. In each case, we state the historic theological perspectives of the Catholic Church and of the Mennonite Churches.
6. Chapter III is entitled “Toward a Healing of Memories.” In a sense, every interchurch dialogue in which the partners are seeking to overcome centuries of hostility or isolation is aimed at healing bitter memories that have made reconciliation between them difficult. The third chapter identifies four components that, we hope, can help to foster a healing of memories between Mennonites and Catholics.
7. The members of this dialogue offer this report, the results of our work, to the sponsoring bodies in the hope that it can be used by Mennonites and Catholics not only within their respective communities but also as they meet together, to promote reconciliation between them for the sake of the Gospel.
A common re-reading of the history of the church has proven to be fruitful in recent inter-church dialogues. The same is true for our dialogue. Mennonites and Catholics have lived through more than 475 years of separation. Over the centuries they developed separate views of the history of the Christian tradition. By studying history together, we discovered that our interpretations of the past were often incomplete and limited. Sharing our insights and our assessments of the past helped us gain a broader view of the history of the church.
First of all, we recognized that both our traditions have developed interpretations of aspects of
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Anabaptist Ursel van Essen (1570)
was scourged with rods twice in one day on her bare skin.
She bore all these tortures without complaint.
She was told by the court that she should not say anything on the street
on the way to her execution.
She said, "And may I not sing a little, and say something now and then?"
They tied her mouth shut so she wouldn't have the chance.
She was burned in a small hut.
|
Secondly, both our traditions have had their selective ways of looking at history. Two examples readily come to mind: the interplay of church and state in the Middle Ages, and the use of violence by Christians. We sometimes restricted our views of the history of Christianity to those aspects that seemed to be most in agreement with the self-definition of our respective ecclesial communities.
The experience of studying the history of the church together and of re-reading it in an atmosphere of openness has been invaluable.
Such acts of repentance contribute to the purification of memory, which was one of the goals enunciated by Pope John Paul II during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The purification of memory aims at liberating our personal and communal consciences from all forms of resentment and violence that are the legacy of past faults.... a common re-reading of history may help us in purifying our understanding of the past as a step toward healing the often-painful memories of our respective communities."
Holy See-The Roman Curia
