International Contacts Between Mennonites and Catholics
by John A. Radano
For its relationship with Mennonites, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is in touch with the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) whose central office is in Strasbourg, France. Those communities from different parts of the world adhering to the MWC consist altogether of about one million persons.
There were two important contacts in this past year. First, the President of the MWC, Dr. Mesach Kristeya accepted the invitation of Pope John Paul II to participate in the “Day of Prayer for Peace in the World” January 24, 2002, in Assisi, and read one of the ten statements of commitment in the third part of that day. Second, another session took place of the international dialogue organized by the MWC and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The Anabaptist Tradition
The Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century was not a coherent single movement, but rather consisted in a variety of reforming movements characterized not only by diversity but sometimes also divergence. The Mennonites are part of the Anabaptist tradition and have been called one of the “historic peace churches”. In the Netherlands, those who followed the priest Menno Simons, who left the Catholic Church and adopted the Anabaptist way, came to be known as “Mennonites”.
At the time of the Reformation in the early sixteenth century, their ancestors in Switzerland first related to the reform movements inspired by Luther and Zwingli, but later criticised these as not being radical enough. They separated themselves from the Catholic Church, but on some points also went far beyond what the main Protestant Reformers thought was valid. They differed from the latter in that they determined, for example, that infant baptism was unacceptable and therefore they would re-baptize (from which the name “ana-baptist”) as a sign of a person’s full conscious acceptance of the Gospel. They also called for a complete separation of church and state while the classical Reformers valued and needed the participation of the city councils or prince rulers in their reforming movements. Indeed various 16th century Reformed and Lutheran Confessions included explicit condemnations of different Anabaptist positions. Eventually they came to adopt a stance of non-violence and pacifism which they continue to witness to today. Envisioning that a “restoration” of the Church was necessary, they tried to live with the simplicity of the New Testament community from which they believed the Church of that time had departed. Since they held views which were considered by others as too radical and harmful for society, and heretical from the perspective of the Church, the Anabaptists were persecuted in various Protestant and Catholic countries. Today their experience of martyrdom is still part of the living memory of Mennonites.
The International Dialogue
The fifth session of the International Mennonite-Catholic Dialogue, which began in 1998, took place at the headquarters of the Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pennsylvania, USA, October 25-31, 2002. The purpose of this dialogue is to come to a deeper mutual understanding. It does not have the specific purpose of seeking full communion. It has also been the clear intention of the dialogue to seek a healing of memory between these two Christian families.
Over the years this dialogue has consistently dealt with two tracks. One has been historical, examining periods of history where conflict between Mennonites and Catholic has taken place, such as the 16th Century, or areas which the two have interpreted differently, such as the beginning of the Constantinian era. The other track has been more contemporary and theological, examining the contemporary understanding of each concerning the meaning of the Church, the Sacraments (Mennonites say “Ordinances”) of Baptism and the Eucharist, and, since Mennonites are called one of the “peace churches”, the question, of what a “peace church” is. This particular meeting focused on a draft text of a report of this phase of dialogue, produced at a drafting committee meeting in May, 2002 and tried to improve it. This was the last plenary session of this phase and it is hoped that the report will be finished in 2003.
Local Contacts
The local setting for this meeting, the city of Akron, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the midst of the Amish settlements there, added an important dimension to the meeting. Contacts with the Amish were a reminder of the significant diversity within the Anabaptist family. There have been divisions among the Anabaptists over the centuries. The Amish who emerged in the 17th century, took their name from a Mennonite reformer name Jacob Amman who criticized some Mennonite communities of his time for being too lax on certain issues. They opted for a stricter community life. Both Mennonites and Amish belong to the Anabaptist family. But Mennonites today, while holding to their traditional religious values, are integrated in many ways into the larger society where they live. The Amish, on the other hand holding to a strict interpretation of Scripture, separate themselves in important ways from the larger society by living in Amish communities, very often on farms, and avoiding modern conveniences such as electricity and automobiles.
The Catholics were warmly welcomed at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Center where the meeting took place. The MCC is independent of MWC, but the two work closely together. The Director of the MCC, in explaining its work, which includes charitable work and financial support for Mennonite projects in different parts of the world, made a point of showing that the MCC cooperates very well in different places with Catholic organizations such as Caritas and Catholic Relief Services. He spoke of cooperation, for example, in projects in Hong Kong.
On Sunday the dialogue was invited to the Akron Mennonite Church for their service, and again warmly welcomed. After the service there was a meeting with congregation members, since a good number wished to hear something about this dialogue. We ended the visit to the church with lunch. Here we received a good sense of a contemporary Mennonite community Then, one afternoon the dialogue group took a field trip in which it visited several towns in the Amish area of Pennsylvania with quaint names such as “Bird in Hand”. In one town there was a significant museum of Amish history and culture. The group visited two Amish farms, and had dinner in an Amish home. All together we received a good presentation that day of the life and religious spirit of the Amish, another part of the Anabaptist family.