In the early 1960s a new Lutheran church was dedicated in the North End of Woonsocket. Ecumenical events on the local level were rare in those days so my curiosity about the affair had to be subtly handled. A seminarian at the time, I sat in the church’s last row and did not accept a program when offered by the usher lest someone think that I was actually participating in the Protestant service. By the time ordination arrived in 1966, inter-religious collaboration had matured to a great extent. That year the deacons to be ordained Catholic priests attended the initiation of the new Episcopal clergy at their cathedral and the Episcopalians attended our liturgies at the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul. By the time of my first assignment, Pawtucket had an organized ecumenical group – Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Maronites, Syrians and Roman Catholics — which I happily joined. The same was true of the West Warwick/Coventry area in the early 1970s. Then Roe v. Wade happened.
The Diocese of Providence has had a distinguished history of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue thanks to the early efforts of Father Edward Flannery, Father Thomas Trepanier, Father Edward St. Goddard, and more recently, to the faculty at Providence College. But on the local level, the toleration especially of abortion, homosexual marriage and gender confusion by the mainline Protestant churches frankly put the kybosh on much religious dialogue. Certainly there are still occasional ecumenical prayer services held in various localities – Woonsocket, Rumford, Warren, come easily to mind. Lately some Evangelical churches, usually not too keen on Roman Catholicism, have welcomed Catholic participation in local ceremonies precisely because both church communities are pro-life and pro-family.
In the early 1960s the Second Vatican Council hoped for more unity among churches with the decree “Unitatis Redintegratio” recognizing that other Christian churches possess elements of truth and grace and urging respectful dialogue among all Christians hopefully leading to full unity. The Council’s declaration “Nostra Aetate” which called for the Church to respect the dignity of Jews under the Old Covenant and to dialogue with other non-Christian religions has also had less impact, at least within parish life, than the Council Fathers had intended. Yet their intent was deliberate.
In October 2024, during the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis wrote that the participating Church leaders wanted to “express our shame at the scandal of division among Christians, the scandal of our failure to bear common witness to the Lord Jesus.” So ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue are still integral to Church life, a duty each generation must face. This coming Sunday’s first reading from the Acts of Apostles relates in great detail the death of St. Stephen, the Church’s first martyr, who was not of Hebrew Jewish background but rather a Greek speaking Jew. Even the very early Church knew its divisions. After a lengthy account of Jewish history (50 verses), Stephen shakes a condemning finger at his Hebrew Jewish audience and insists, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.” This was a death sentence.
St. Luke’s account of St. Stephen’s last moments carefully emphasizes the similarity of the death of Stephen with the death of Jesus. Jesus died outside the city walls; Stephen died outside the city walls. Stephen said “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” Christ prayed, “Lord into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” St. Stephen asked, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” The similarity of the two deaths offered a keen message to the early Church and renews that message to the Church today. The holy death of St. Stephen, a Greek Christian, was a message to Hebrew Christians that all persons, all nationalities, all backgrounds, are welcome to seek the Kingdom of God. Pope Francis spoke similar words just last October: “Let us trust the Holy Spirit, who draws us to unity in the harmony of a multi-faceted diversity.” Authentic Christianity might well manifest itself in assorted ways as the rites of the ancient churches testify. But essential Church unity was clearly the will of Christ and the mark of Christ as this Sunday’s Gospel testifies: “…that they may be brought to perfection as one, so that the world may know that you sent me…” Church division in faith and morals is a scandal to the world and an insult to her founder.
