Will Francis weaken papal primacy for ecumenism?

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Will Pope Francis soften the “infallible” dogmas about the primacy of the Bishop of Rome for ecumenism, or will it end in an ordinary “pawning”? An announced letter causes a lot of nervousness in advance.

Update: The letter has been published. It’s purely cosmetic – Info

New papal position in the course of ecumenism?

On Thursday, the Vatican plans to publish a statement written by Pope Francis on his position as the primacy of the church. The framework set out for this concerns ongoing ecumenism, because the title of the letter was announced in advance and it refers to the encyclical “Ut unum sint” by Pope John Paul II from 1995. In this encyclical, John Paul II called for those with a Christian orientation Churches to consider viable paths for ecumenism.

Primary target group: Eastern Church

The Catholic press is also eagerly awaiting the wording of the announced letter from Pope Francis. There is talk of a possible attempt to “square the circle” (Source) because the Pope’s claim to absoluteness has long since been formulated. This is aimed primarily at the Eastern Church, as the dispute over the recognition of the Bishop of Rome has been going on for almost 1,000 years. On July 16, 1054, the so-called “Oriental Schism” was completed. There was a separation between the Western Church, headquartered in Rome, and the Eastern Church, headquartered in Constantinople.

Looking back at history

In addition to the dispute over the recognition of the Bishop of Rome as head of all churches, there were also different views on the ritual of the Eucharist. Eventually there were forced closures of the Latin churches (Western Church) in Constantinople and mutual excommunications. Initially, the papacy attempted to gain the goodwill of the now separated Orthodox Church by sending military assistance to the defense of Constantinople.

But it remained side by side. However, 150 years after the separation, the French and Venetians conquered the capital of the Eastern Church, plundered it completely and established a “Latin Empire”. Of course with Latin clergy from the Western Church. Until 1453, the Roman emperor still ruled in the eastern church’s catchment area, most recently the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. However, the “remnant” of the once Roman Empire ended with the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans. The new ruler was then called Sultan Mehmed II.

Both parties made a final attempt at reunification in 1439 at the Council of Florence. However, no agreement was reached. The final break between the Western Church and the Eastern Church, which continues to this day, occurred in 1484. It was not until 1965 that Pope Paul VI showed renewed ambitions for mutual rapprochement. During the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965) he lifted the excommunication of the then Patriarch Athinagroas of Constantinople in 1054. The “quality” of this measure only maintains its “value” within these similar-minded religious communities.

Reaffirmation of the claim to absoluteness

However, during the First Vatican Council (1869 – 1870) things were changed. The Roman Church (re)defined the Pope as the incontestable head of all churches. The established jurisdictional primacy (“management power”) states:
“So whoever says that the Roman bishop only has the office of supervision or leadership and does not have full and supreme power of legal authority over the entire church – and not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in what concerns order and Government of the Church spread all over the world belongs -; or whoever says that he only has a larger share, but not the entire fullness of this supreme power, or that his power is not orderly and immediate, as well over the entire and individual churches as over the entire and individual pastors and believers, he is excluded.“

Anyone who does not recognize the primacy of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, must expect exclusion, which in turn means excommunication.

A supreme power given as a “birthright” is also established in the Code of Laws of the Roman Church (CIC). This is what Canon 331 reads:
“The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the office given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the first of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his office he possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely.“

(Apparently) already established in antiquity

But this formulation was nothing new. The Church declared the Bishop of Rome’s claim to absoluteness as early as 381 at the first Council of Constantinople. It was clearly stated that the Bishop of Rome is the head, the apostolic head and the Bishop of Constantinople is number two. To what extent this formulation, which was recognized by both sides, had any real validity remains to be seen. Augustine of Hippo knew nothing about this. Apparently, this primacy of jurisdiction on the part of Rome has endured, as has the “Donation of Constantine” that this church once claimed..

High-flying in the 11th century

With Pope Nicholas II (1058 – 1073) the Church of Rome experienced a temporary zenith of its arrogance. Nicholas was the first pope to be crowned with the triple papal crown (tiara). He thus defined himself as the head of heaven, earth and the underworld. So the entire spectrum. Pope Gregory VII (1073 – 1085) took over Nicholas’ flight of fancy and formulated 27 statements about the “primacy of the pope”. An excerpt:
– The Roman Church was founded by the Lord alone
– Only the Bishop of Rum can rightly be called universal
– The Bishop of Rome can depose emperors
– The Bishop of Rome may not be judged by anyone
– The Pope is the only person whose feet all the princes kiss

Pope Innocent III (1198 – 1216) expanded the primacy package with his determination (Bulle Venerabilem) that the pope had the right to appoint the kings and also to decide whether they were qualified for their role. In addition, Innocent stated that papal primacy had already been recognized in antiquity. So a “posthumous statement of facts”, today referred to, among other things, as “alternative facts”.

Another milestone was the dogmatic teaching laid down at the First Vatican Council that the church and the pope were infallible. This automatically also affects the establishment of papal primacy, since this was ultimately pronounced within the “infallibility” of the Pope (“ex cathedra”).

This should interest everyone

According to the church’s self-defined environment, there can actually be no new regulation of the “incontestable, non-justiciable, infallible, undoubted representative of God on earth” that would amount to a reduction. The tension prevailing within Catholic circles over the announced letter from Pope Francis is therefore understandable. The term “squaring the circle” describes the supposed dilemma quite well.

The non-Catholic rest of the world should also pay close attention to the decisions and, above all, actions of the “Primate in Rome”. More than 1,600 years of history proves that just the fingernail of the little finger is enough to have your entire arm torn off by the Roman Church. As long as this church had the power to do so, it enforced its claim to primacy with all ruthless force. She went over corpses. And it is in her nature that she never revised her claim to power. It will never do that, especially not when you are only half a foot away from the same political position that defined the “Dark Ages” and lasted until 1798.

The “fatal wound” on one of the beast’s heads (Revelation 13 – Info) has almost completely healed. The second animal with the “horns of a lamb” is already busy raising the image of the first animal with a “dragon voice”. (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version