Separated brethren

History

The concept and wording was published as early as 1793, in a discourse which examined two papal briefs to the Bishop of Chiusi-Pienza. Frank Flinn wrote, in Encyclopedia of Catholicism, that in 1959 Pope John XXIII "addressed Protestants as separated brethren," in Ad Petri cathedram (APC), which Flinn saw as "an important step toward recognizing Protestants as legitimate partners in a future dialogue."{{efn|The excerpt, from APC, 63 cited by Flinn, is translated on the Vatican website as "the communities that are separated from the See of Blessed Peter" and a related excerpt, from APC, 64, is translated on the Vatican website as "those who are adorned with the name of Christian even though separated from Us and from one another." Using English translation from {{cite journal It does not refer to a sisterhood between Catholic and Orthodox Churches, nor between Catholic and Protestant Churches. Farrugia noted Austin Flannery's translations in Vatican Council II, "OE 29 speaks of the 'separated Churches' and OE 25 of 'any separated Eastern Christians', and OE 29 of 'Eastern separated brethren'." J. M. R. Tillard goes into detail, in New Catholic Encyclopedia, about "the development of a carefully nuanced vocabulary, consistent with Vatican II Ecclesiology," which evolved from "the idea of membership in favor of that of incorporation" and has its categorization found in the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium (LG) which Tillard describes:

• Catholics are defined as being incorporated' (incorporatio), qualifying the term with the adverb 'fully' (plene) and emphasizing that full incorporation requires the presence of the Holy Spirit."
• Non-Catholics and catechumens are defined as being linked' (conjunctio) to the Church, again carefully stressing the role of the Holy Spirit in each case."
• Non-Christians are defined as being related' (ordinantur), a term that suggests a dynamic relationship, an orientation toward the Church." "Every shade of difference in meaning among these terms is important," emphasizes Tillard. "But the terms acquire their full force only in the light of the most authoritative commentaries on them," UR and Nostra aetate (NA). "Then, supposing the nuances indicated, the richness of such expressions as the following becomes clear: 'Churches and ecclesial communities'; 'separated brethren'; 'separated Churches and ecclesial communities'; 'full communion'—'imperfect communion'."

"But thanks to its ecclesiology," wrote Tillard, "Vatican II was able to affirm at the same time that Churches or ecclesial communities separated from the Catholic Church are part of the single Church, and that nevertheless incorporation in Christ and His Church possesses within the Catholic Church the fullness that it does not have elsewhere." Tillard's view, however, went far beyond the texts of the Second Vatican Council, which never stated that "churches or ecclesial communities" separated from the Catholic Church were somehow "a part of it"; indeed, the Council itself in the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum explicitly stated just the opposite: "The Holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government[...]." Tillard's view was further refuted in the document Dominus Iesus issued by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2007, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) clarified "the authentic meaning" of the ecclesiological expression "Church" which "according to Catholic doctrine", the texts of the Second Vatican Council and those of the Magisterium since the Second Vatican Council do not call Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the 16th century as "Churches" because "these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church." William Whalen wrote, in Separated Brethren, that separated brethren' refers to Christians united by baptism and committed to Jesus Christ but divided by theological beliefs." Whalen explained, that Protestant Reformation Christians broke "the bond of common faith" and "they became separated brethren." "All Christians who are baptized and believe in Christ but are not professed Catholics" are separated brethren, according to John Hardon in Modern Catholic Dictionary. "More commonly the term is applied to Protestants." Likewise, "separated brethren" according to Catholic Answers, in This Rock, "refers to those who, though separated from full communion with the Catholic Church, have been justified through baptism and are thus brethren in Christ." UR "teaches that 'all who have been justified by faith in baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church'." J. A. Jungmann and K. Stasiak wrote, in New Catholic Encyclopedia, that "the Second Vatican Council's call for a greater spirit of ecumenism among churches and ecclesial communities reflects the understanding that Baptism is the effecting and the sign of the fundamental unity of all Christians." The 1983{{nbsp}}CIC states that "in a case of necessity any person with the right intention, confers baptism licitly." "Those baptized in a non-Catholic ecclesial community must not be baptized conditionally unless, after an examination of the matter and the form of the words used in the conferral of baptism and a consideration of the intention of the baptized adult and the minister of the baptism, a serious reason exists to doubt the validity of the baptism." See "The Catholic Church recognizes as valid baptisms performed by other churches and ecclesial communities if these two conditions are met, and if there is no serious reason to question either the intention of the minister and the free acceptance of Baptism by the one baptized."}}

Exclusions

As Mormonism is polytheistic in its understanding of the Trinity,{{efn|The theologies of God in Christianity and God in Mormonism are different. Also see Richard Abanes in Inside today's Mormonism. Pope John Paul II said: "The Christian doctrine on the Trinity, confirmed by the Councils, explicitly rejects any form of 'tritheism' or 'polytheism'." See Luis Ladaria, later head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote in 2001, that the reasons for deciding that "it is not Christian Baptism" are that a "divergence on Trinity and baptism invalidates the intention of the Mormon minister of baptism and of the one to be baptized." Contrast with Alonzo Gaskill in FARMS Review of Books. Cardinal Urbano Navarrete Cortés clarified, in L'Osservatore Romano, "that in all of the effects of the pastoral, administrative and juridical practices of the Church, the Mormons are not to be considered as belonging to an 'ecclesial community not in full communion with the Catholic Church', but simply as non-baptized."

Baptism conferred by The Christian Community, founded by Rudolf Steiner; The New Church, founded by Emanuel Swedenborg; conferred with the formula "I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier"; or, conferred with the formula "I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer" are also deemed invalid.

Notes

References

References

1. Kroll, Paul. (October–November 2007). "Church History Corner: Vatican II and the Future of Church Unity". Christian Odyssey.
2. Oakes, Edward T.. (19 December 2007). "Are Protestants heretics?". [[First Things]].
3. {{Bibleverse. Romans. 2:12-16. KJV
4. Wicks, Jared. (Jul 2012). "Still More Light on Vatican Council II". [[The Catholic Historical Review]].
5. Wells, Christopher. (2009). "The Singular Grace of Division's Wound". Ecclesiology.
6. [Archbishops and Bishops of Tuscany?]. (1793). "Acta Congregationis archiepiscoporum et episcoporum Hetruriae Florentiae anno MDCCLXXVII". Goebhardt.
7. Flinn, Frank K. (2007). "Protestant Reformation". Facts on File.
8. (2010). "Leo XIII". Oxford University Press.
9. Pope Leo XIII. (30 November 1894). "''Orientalium dignitas''".
10. Catholic Church. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. (25 March 1993). "Directory for the application of principles and norms on ecumenism".
11. Smith, Joseph Jr.. (1938). "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith". Deseret News Press.
12. Howsepian, A. A.. (Sep 1996). "Are Mormons theists?". Church History.
13. Ostler, Blake T.. (September 1997). "Worshipworthiness and the Mormon concept of God". Religious Studies.
14. Pope John Paul II. (5 May 1999). "General audience".
15. (9 March 1991). "Notification regarding the validity of the baptism conferred by the "Christian Community" or "Die Christengemeinschaft" of Rudolf Steiner".