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Friendship and Ecumenism
Pat Collins C.M., a popular author and lecturer in spirituality at All Hallows in Dublin, reflects on the role of personal friendships between Christians of different traditions in helping to hasten Christian unity.
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In the late 70s and early 80s Cardinal Suenens wrote a number of helpful reflections on the charismatic renewal. The second of them, entitled Ecumenism and Charismatic Renewal: Theological and Pastoral Orientations was published 1978. It is still relevant. I was particularly impressed by a short section entitled, "The Ecumenism of Friendship." In it, the Cardinal stated that, while ecumenism needs to be tackled in many ways, ecumenical friendships could achieve a great deal. With the help of God's grace, they could bring people together, create a climate of trust and overcome prejudices. Ecumenical friendships which are humble and practical could hasten the day of final reconciliation. Then he went on to cite the example of the friendship that united Viscount Charles Halifax (1839-1934), an Anglican, and Fernand Portal (1855-1926) a Catholic and a member of my own Vincentian order. They met on the island of Madeira where Halifax had gone in December 1889, with his son Charles who had TB. At the time Portal was acting as a replacement chaplain. The two men went on many walks together, during which they discussed religious issues. A deep friendship began to form between them. Over a period of time they experienced a growing desire to work together in order to foster union between their respective Churches. "The power of love" In spite of their best efforts there were many frustrations. Halifax was deeply disappointed when the Bull Apostolicae Curae declared in 1896 that Anglican orders were null and void. Fr Portal wrote a letter of encouragement to his friend: "In nature nothing gets lost; this is even more true in the realm of the supernatural. A single act of love is more effective in producing infinite reverberations than the displacement of an atom. How many acts of love towards Our Lord and the Holy Church have not you and your friends made. Sooner or later the entire Church will be shaken. Let us not get discouraged, my dear friend." Some time later Portal founded a journal called La Revue Catholique des Eglises.Among other things it explored ecumenical issues. In the Spring of 1908, Cardinal Merry del Val, who had become Pius X's Secretary of State, contacted the Superior General of the Vincentians. He said that Fr. Portal was to be removed from his post and forbidden to publish anything or to speak in public. Clearly, the ecumenist had been suspected of "modernism." In a spirit of obedience and love for the Church he abandoned his seminary job and stopped publishing the review. "Friendship remained strong" In spite of many difficulties and the Roman condemnations, the friendship between Fr. Portal and Lord Halifax remained strong. They were ready to grasp any opportunity to continue the official dialogue, which had been suspended. Both of them became friendly with Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines. Having sought the approval of Rome, Mercier, Halifax and Portal began organising meetings between Anglican and Catholic theologians in Malines. Progress was slow. However, in a prophetic way, Cardinal Mercier advocated the summoning of a great ecumenical council. Portal wrote in Jan 1925: "There will be then, I hope, an opportunity to work for the union of the Churches." Sadly, both Mercier and Portal died the following year. As a result the ecumenical flame began to flicker. It bust into new life, nearly forty years later, at the Second Vatican Council. Shortly before his death, Portal spoke these eloquent words: "Then let me tell the people of my time, as well as those of tomorrow, that there is a way to increase their strength a hundredfold…. I am speaking of friendship. A friend, a true friend, is the gift of God, even if what we experience together is simply the sweetness of being united in joy and suffering. But if we encounter a soul who harmonises with our highest aspirations, who considers that the ideal of his whole life is to work for the church, that is, for Jesus Christ, our Master, we become united in our inmost depths. And if it so happens that these two Christians are separated, that they belong to different churches, two different backgrounds, but desire with all their strength and might to knock down the barriers and actively work together to this end, will there be any limits to their power?" "Make friends with members of other denominations" I know from personal experience that those two pioneers provided a reliable template for ecumenical endeavour. Make friends with members of other denominations, do what you think is right, be prepared for opposition, even from the churches, but never loose heart. Fr Portal wrote: "The union of the Churches cannot, in fact, be achieved except by real apostles, in other words people of faith using spiritual means first of all: prayer which is the source of grace; charity which gives understanding of persons, even those from whom we are separated; humility which leads us to accept our defects and our faults. We are all guilty with respect to the Church. That is a certain fact which we must recognise. There, it seems to me, we have the essential elements of all action in favour of union."
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