Abstract
Following the election of Pope Francis, there has been a significant thaw in ecumenical relations, and there are grounds for thinking that this will continue into the future. The twelve chapters, written both by experienced ecumenical theologians as well as younger scholars that have been gathered together in this collection, offer one of the first detailed assessments of the impact of Francis’ papacy on ecumenical dialogue. Drawing on ecumenical methodology, as well as many practical examples and illustrations, the authors discuss the developments in culture and missiology as these affect the practice of ecumenism, particular in response to theologies of hope as well as inter-religious dialogue and pluralism. What emerges is a clear sense of hope for the future in a rapidly changing world and even a sense of optimism that real ecumenical progress might be made.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, trans. Norman Kemp Smith (London: Macmillan, 1929), 635.
- 2.
For a flavour of the ecumenical mood in the early 2000s, see the essays collected in Carl E. Braaten (ed.), The Ecumenical Future: Background Papers for in One Body Through the Cross, the Princeton Proposal for Christian Unity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004).
- 3.
See Christopher Asprey, “The Universal Church and the Ecumenical Movement” in Francesca Aran Murphy and Chistopher Asprey (eds), Ecumenism Today: The Universal Church in the 21st Century (Farnham, Ashgate, 2008), 3.
- 4.
Anglicanorum Coetibus (2009) at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apc_20091104_anglicanorum-coetibus.html (accessed 16 August 2015).
- 5.
Other early assessments were by Paul Vallely, Pope Francis: Untying the Knots (New York and London, Bloomsbury, 2013). Since the Conference, there have been a number of other biographies of Pope Francis including: Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope (London: Allen and Unwin, 2015); Jimmy Burns, Francis: Pope of Good Promise: From Argentina’s Bergoglio to the World’s Francis (London: Constable, 2016); Elisabetta Pique, Pope Francis: Life and Revolution. A Biography of Jorge Bergoglio (London: DLT, 2015).
- 6.
See Graeme Smith and Werner Ustorf, Oxford 1937: The Universal Christian Council for Life and Work Conference (Studies in the Intercultural History of Christianity) (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2004).
- 7.
See the papers collected in: Gerard Mannion (ed.), Where We Dwell in Common: The Quest for Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Palgrave, 2016); Mark D. Chapman and Miriam Haar (eds), Pathways for Ecclesial Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century (New York: Palgrave, 2016); Vladimir Latinovic, Gerard Mannion and Peter C. Phan (eds), New York: Palgrave, 2016). Other conferences have been held in Belgrade (Serbia), Dayton-Ohio (US), Leuven (Belgium), Utrecht (Netherlands, one of two events in 2010), Durham (England), Kottayam (India), and Hawarden (Wales).
- 8.
See esp. JĂĽrgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope: on the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Eschatology (New York: Harper & Row, 1967). More generally, see Markus MĂĽhling, T&T Clark handbook of Christian eschatology (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015).
- 9.
The historical and social implications of Christian hope are discussed in the recent WCC document “Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes” presented at the Tenth Assembly at Busan, Korea, in 2013. At: https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/mission-and-evangelism/together-towards-life-mission-and-evangelism-in-changing-landscapes (accessed 16 August 2016). See also Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium of 24 November 2013 at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html (accessed 16 August 2016).
- 10.
See also Francesca Ambrogetti and Sergio Rubin, Pope Francis: His Life in His Own Words (New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013). This was originally published in 2010.
- 11.
See http://www.ceceurope.org/ (accessed 16 August 2016).
- 12.
See Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of the Priest (1997) at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/rc_con_interdic_doc_15081997_en.html (accessed 15 August 2016).
- 13.
See, in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the words of the Lutheran Pastor in Bethlehem, Mitri Raheb at the Atlanta Summit of American and Palestinian Churches “Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence” (April 19-20, 2016): “Hope is knowing that the world might come to an end tomorrow and yet to make the decision today to go out into the garden and to plant an olive tree. Optimism is what we see, and hope is what we do”. At: http://www.cmep.org/content/when-optimism-fails-why-atlanta-church-summit-matters (accessed 15 August 2016).
- 14.
Pope Francis, address to students at the Fr. FĂ©lix Varela Cultural Center, Havana on 20 September 2015 at: https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/september/documents/papa-francesco_20150920_cuba-giovani.html (accessed 15 August 2016).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chapman, M.D. (2017). Introduction: Hope in the Ecumenical Future. In: Chapman, M. (eds) Hope in the Ecumenical Future . Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63372-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63372-5_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63371-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63372-5
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)