John Paul II and Chiara Lubich : converging development of the dynamic principles of Ecumenism in the wake of Vatican II

Abstract

The Second Vatican Council also opens a new chapter in the Church’s history concerning the journey toward the full visible unity of Jesus’ disciples along the way of ecumenical dialogue. If the Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis redintegratio, should be read on one hand in the theological framework outlined by the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, on the other hand it certainly concretely develops the implications by entrusting the process to the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples. But this process is ultimately guided by the Holy Spirit in an unpredictable way — in accordance with the mysterious plan of God’s love. That is what the Church has experienced in the fifty years that have passed since the Council. [excerpt]