Buch, Englisch, Band 253, 390 Seiten, Format (B × H): 165 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 680 g
Buch, Englisch, Band 253, 390 Seiten, Format (B × H): 165 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 680 g
Reihe: Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theolo
ISBN: 978-90-429-2735-3
Verlag: PEETERS PUB
Johannes Cardinal Willebrands (1909-2006) certainly was one of the major
players in the turn of the Roman Catholic Church to ecumenism. Through his
stimulating role as secretary of the Catholic Conference for Ecumenical
Questions (1952-1962), he prepared the ecumenical openness of the bishops
of the Second Vatican Council. As secretary of the Secretariat for
Promoting Christian Unity (1960-1968), and as President of the
Secretariat, later Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
(1968-1989), he played a central role in setting up ecumenical structures
within the Roman Catholic Church, and starting bilateral dialogues with
the churches and ecclesial communities that are not in communion with the
Bishop of Rome. On the occasion of the centenary of his birthday (4
September 1909), two symposia were organised in memory of J. Willebrands,
in Utrecht and in Rome.The majority of the papers presented at both
conferences now become available in this volume.
After a biographical
introduction (A. Denaux), four contributions pay attention to
‘Willebrands’ formation and early commitment to ecumenism’ (A. Houtepen,
T. Merrigan, P. De Mey, T. Salemink). The next part focuses on
‘Willebrands and the development of the Catholic view on ecumenism during
the Second Vatican Council’ (M. Velati, W. Thönissen, J. Wicks). Four
contributions of this volume focus on ‘Willebrands and ecumenism’,
commenting both on his relations with the Eastern Christian Churches (M.
Van Parys) and with the churches of the West and to the World Council of
Churches (J. Radano, W. Henn, G. Gassmann). Willebrands also played an
important role in the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish
people. This aspect of his work is highlighted in the next four
contributions (M. Lamberigts-L. Declerck, M. Poorthuis, P.F. Fumagalli, J.
Banki). The volume closes with Cardinal Kasper’s address on the legacy of
Cardinal Willebrands and the future of ecumenism, with some witnesses of
close friends and collaborators of the cardinal (T. Stransky, P.-W.
Scheele), and with a bibliography of Willebrands, provided by the
co-founder of the Willebrands Archives and co-organiser of the Utrecht
conference, Maria ter Steeg.
