Is There a Future for Denominationalism? Reflections from the Perspective of Roman Catholic Ecclesiology and from the Perspective of the Future of the Ecumenical Movement

That it is possible to publish a collective volume on denomination containing no article on the Roman Catholic Church points up this Church’s uneasy relationship with denominationalism. According to Catholic historiography we find ourselves in a time when Catholicism is no longer the exception to, nor an example of perfect assimilation to the denominational pattern of church life, but a Church with a number of distinctive characteristics in relation to that pattern. When the current challenges for denominations in the U.S. are described, these challenges mirror the topics of the day in Roman Catholic ecclesiology: the confrontation with detraditionalisation and pluralisation, independent congregations and independent denominations. In this essay I consider these parallel challenges. I will also attend to the evolution in post-conciliar magisterial teaching on the Episcopal conferences, evaluating those conferences as a potential counterpart to the denomination. In the final section of this essay I consider the relationship of the denomination to the future of the ecumenical movement. If one believes that the model of church unity to be pursued is a fellowship or communion of churches, then there is a very important role for the denominations; if one believes that the model to be pursued consists of organic unity, then the sacrifices for the denominations will be bigger.status: publishe