I enjoyed participating in the Blessing of Pets at All Saints Episcopal Church on October 8 ^th. There is a nice ecumenical “vibe” here on Tybee and I looked forward to looking with the other churches on the Island.  But some of us remember the days when it was forbidden to even enter a Protestant Church and since we are still sadly not in full communion with other Christian Churches, Catholics should not receive Communion in non-Catholic Churches.
 
I hope and pray that one day there will be unity and full communion among Christian Churches, so I will be in attendance this Sunday October 22, 2017, at 5:00 p.m., when Bishop Hartmayer and Reverend H. Julian Gordy, Bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will co-preside at a prayer service commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  The service at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah will include prayers for Christian unity.  The service will be like the service that was held in October 2016 in Lund, Sweden, that was led by Pope Francis and the Leaders of the Lutheran Church.
 
The Reverend Fleming Rutledge, Episcopalian priest, noted author and theologian will be preaching at this Sunday’s event.  Her particular expertise is the intersection of Biblical theology with contemporary culture, current events and politics, literature, music, and art.  She is also a teacher of preachers.  I think Fr. Timothy Radcliffe makes some good observations about such celebrations:
 
On October 31, Protestants all over the world will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the day when Martin Luther is said to have nailed his ninety-five theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. Should Catholics also celebrate? We may hesitate because that day marks a crucial stage in the tragic collapse of Christian unity in the West. Jesus, our common Master, prayed that we be one (John 17:21). Protestants and Catholics alike were complicit in the subversion of that most precious gift.
 
Whatever the rights or wrongs of Luther’s break with Rome, God’s fertile grace worked in the event. It gave us a renewed awareness of the supremacy of the Word of God, as well as an appreciation for the beauty of the lay vocation and the sacrament of matrimony. So let us celebrate that.
 
Luther’s great protesting cry challenges us still. How can the Church hold within its embrace those who today are impelled to say "No!"? It is often said that Catholicism reaches for "both/and" (both grace and freedom, both Scripture and tradition, both faith and works), whereas Protestantism demands a negation (Scripture not tradition, faith not works). This is what the great Protestant theologian Karl Barth referred to as that "damned Catholic ‘And.’" The Catholic "And" must find space if possible for those who say "No."
 
So many people in our beloved Church are bursting with some great "No!" It may be stirred up by the Church’s response to sexual abuse, or the neglect of women’s dignity, or a stifling clericalism. Those who protest bear a witness we need to hear, even if we do not always accept everything they say. Our tent must be stretched open for them. They summon us to be more Catholic in its deepest sense: "universal."
 
Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, is former master general of the Order of Preachers.

Fr. Jerry Ragan