jepta 2001 21 - European Pentecostal Theological Association

The Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association, Vol. XXI, 2001
elements of the reality which is the Church.' In this way, the Roman Catholic
Church, while recognizing the existence of other Churches (and thereby their
legitimacy), is able to maintain its place of primacy in her understanding herself.'
'Primacy' is a notion that belongs to the texture of hierarchical thinking. Within
this type of thinking, it is important that the bond with the primus - the source of
authority - is maintained. Within the context of the Catholic Church, this means
that the communion with Rome is maintained and the primacy of the Pope is
recognized and honoured.' Within the logic of this hierarchical conception of the
Church, these conditions are not trivial; they are part and parcel of the Catholic
conception of what the fullness of the Church is.
I am well aware of the fact that the way these things are formulated here is
perhaps somewhat crude. The language in Roman Catholic documents usually
exhibits a high degree of intellectual sophistication and theological refinement,
expressing many shades of nuance. But underneath all the sophistication and
refinement, there is a deep-seated conviction: After all is said, the Roman
Catholic Church is still the mother-Church, and the other ecclesiastical
communities - at least in the West - are regarded as ~ffspring.~ That conviction is
authenticJ and commands our respect, even when we di~agree!~ When we enter
I Unitatis Redintegration, / 3.
Lumen Gentium, / 8 and Unitatis Redintegration,/3. The word used here in Latin is subsistio
['subsists'] rather than esse ['is'], which is much stronger.
The 'primacy' of the Pope seems to be of greater importance to the operation of the Catholic
Church than the doctrine of infallibility. Is it too farfetched to suggest that this doctrine was
promulgated at the lSt Vatican Council to buttress the primacy of the Pope after the bleak years
for the papacy in the late lath century and the immense popularity since the time of the
Restoration subsequent to Napoleon's final defeat Note that the fathers of the Second Vatican
Council recognize that ecumenism is not a veiled way of 'bringing schismatics back into the
fold': "[ ...I it is evident that the work of preparing and reconciling those individuals who wish
for full Catholic communion is of its nature distinct from ecumenical action" (Unitatis
Fedintegration, / 4).
See "Perspectives on KoinoniaW,/34. For this conviction, a number of reasons can be adduced
by Catholics. These include the historical continuity of the Church to the Apostles of Jesus; the
appointment of Peter as the first 'primate' of the Church; the historical fact that the
ecclesiastical communities of Western Christianity can be shown to have branched off fiom
either the Roman Catholic Church itself or from the original break-away churches, etc.
Moreover, it is the largest religious organization on Earth.
' Pentecostals and other communities of faith in fact hold similar self-conceptions, albeit on
other grounds. The fact that in Dialogue these sorts of deep-seated convictions are confronted
and called into question fiom the other end of the table makes this endeavour dangerous in the
eyes of many.
TO be sure, this awareness is not equally strong everywhere. In the Netherlands, this
conviction is largely confined to ultra-conservative circles within the Roman Catholic Church.
As always, there is a correlation between the degree of exposure and fellowship across church
boundaries and the strength or weakness of convictions that tend to exclude 'others'.
The Place of the Church in the Economy of Salvation. Roman Catholic and
Pentecostal Perspectives: Room for Rapprochement Huibert Zegwaart
upon Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, we do well to recognize that
this conviction does play a role, if only somewhere in the background.
One more point I would like to make in this connection relates to the selfunderstanding
of the Church in the fill sense of the word which does not lead to
extreme claims for herself on the part of the Roman Catholic Church.' It rather
functions as a positive affirmation, without any intention to draw negative
consequences from it. For instance, this affirmation does not lead to a denial of
the legitimacy of other Christian Churches; nor does it lead to denying that
outside of the Roman Catholic Church, people can be saved for eternit~.~ The
conclusion seems unavoidable:
Ecclesiology plays an important part in Catholic spirituality, and in Roman
Catholic theological reflection, it is prismatic, adding a marked ecclesiological
colouring to other areas of theology.
SOME PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
PERSPECTIVE FOR THE DIALOGUE
Within the previous phase of the Dialogue, the place of the Church in the
economy of salvation cropped up in relation to several topics: evangelization and
proselytism.
In some of the discussions, the topic of evangelization turned out to be directly
linked to the issue of temtory, that is to say in relation to the presence of the
Roman Catholic Church in certain areas where Pentecostalism is growing rapidly.
In fact, in some of these areas, notably, Latin America, the Roman Catholic
Church has formed the religious establishment for centuries. To Roman
Catholics, the mere visibility of the Church in those regions, and the influence
she exercises upon culture and public life, are seen as a form of evangelization in
its own right,' to say nothing of the fact that the (daily) celebration of the
I
For instance, one is careful not to draw the conclusion that "therefore the Roman Catholic
Church is the church in its fullness." Such an inference would entail the exclusion of all others;
and would entail the identification of the visible church with the invisible church on Earth.
Alternatively stated, it would entail the identification of the Roman Catholic Church with the
Kingdom of God as it exists within history. These consequences, would of course be
outrageous, and at loggerheads with the decrees of Vaticanurn I1 ("Decree on Ecumenism", and
Lumen Gentium).
' "Outside the Church there is no salvation", as the medieval adagio ran. Two terms in this
statement are the subjects of discussion:
- 'salvation': what does it mean; what is its scope
- 'outside': this begs the question as to the boundaries of the church. Even in
medieval times, this question was discussed in relation to the realm in which the Holy Spirit
works.
' Cf. "Perspectives on Koinonia", // 9 1-93..