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course, nothing is more important for a Catholic than that schisms and dissensions among
Christians be radically abolished and that all Christians be united … But under no circumstances
can it be tolerated that faithful Christians and ecclesiastics be under the leadership of heretics
(non-Catholic)…”
Pope Pius XI (1922-39) said: “The Apostolic See has never allowed Catholics to attend
meetings of non-Catholics; the union of Christians can only go forward by encouraging the
dissidents to return to the one true church.”
Pope John XXIII (1958-63) wrote: “When we have realized this enormous task (ecumenism),
eliminating what, from a human point of view, would be an obstacle, on a path we seek to make
more easy, we shall present the church in all her splendor, without spot or wrinkle, and we shall
say to all the others who are separated from us, Orthodox, Protestants, etc.: ‘See brothers, here is
the Church of Christ! We have done our best to be true to her’.”
His Papal Encyclical Pacem in Terris, was a bit more radical as it “called for world
government, disarmament and socialism,” and was compared to the program advocated by
Communism.
On October 11, 1962, Pope John held the first Ecumenical Council at St. Peter’s Basilica in
Rome to modernize the Church. Over 2,700 gathered, including the entire Roman Catholic
hierarchy, 28 non-Catholic prelates, representatives from most major Protestant denominations,
and dignitaries from Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Middle East. A few months after the
initial meeting, the Council reconvened with 2,500 ecclesiastical dignitaries, and 50 observers
from non-Catholic denominations. After Pope John died, Billy Graham said at a press conference
in Bonn, Germany: “Pope John brought an entirely new era to the world. It would be a great
tragedy if the cardinals elect a Pope who would react against the policies of Pope John and bring
back the walls between Christian faiths.”
A year later, on September 29, 1963, Pope Paul VI (1963-78) made an appeal for Christian
unity, and said that the Ecumenical Council’s ultimate goal was the universal union of all
Christians. He wrote:
“The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the
Second Vatican Council. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only …
For it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is ‘the all-embracing means of
salvation,’ that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation…”
On March 26, 1967, Pope Paul wrote:
“Who can fail to see the need and importance of thus gradually coming to the
establishment of a world authority capable of taking effective action on the juridical and
political planes? … Delegates to international organizations, public officials, gentlemen
of the press, teachers and educators– all of you must realize that you have your part to
play in the construction of a new world order.”
One observation that was made about him was that he was elected in the 6th year of the
previous Pope’s reign, in the sixth month (June), he was 66 years old, and he had completed four
sets of 66 Popes. There had been talk of a merger with the World Council of Churches, to form
the Christian Catholic Church of the United Church of Christ, and Pope Paul even contributed
$10,000 to the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission. He wrote a Papal Encyclical that “called on