The Four Marks Of The Church — Unity

By DON FIER

Part 2

The sole Church of Christ in which we profess our firm belief possesses four distinguishing characteristics — unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity — that are inseparably linked to one another. Clear identification of these fundamental elements, referred to as the “four marks of the Church,” dates back to the earliest ecumenical councils in the Church’s history (Nicaea in 325 and Constantinople I in 381). They are distinctive properties by which the Catholic Church can be recognized, and to which no other church or ecclesial community can lay claim.
As we began our analysis last week of her first essential property, unity, we saw that the Catechism immediately identifies three reasons why this mark is primary. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this important point of our faith as follows: “The Church is one because she has as her source and exemplar the unity of the Trinity of Persons in one God. As her Founder and Head, Jesus Christ re-established the unity of all people in one body. As her soul, the Holy Spirit unites all the faithful in communion with Christ” (n. 161).
In other words, the oneness of the Church originates from the unity of the Most Holy Trinity, from her one foundation who is Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11), and from her one life-giving principle, the Holy Spirit, who is not only the source of her gifts and charisms, but also the source of her “unity in diversity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 809).
At first glance, unity and diversity might strike one as being mutually exclusive terms. However, as the Catechism explains, “From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God’s gifts and the diversity of those who receive them” (CCC, n. 814).
The unity of the Church, then, which encompasses a multiplicity of races, cultures, languages, and peoples who enjoy a wide variety of talents, gifts, and roles, might be thought of as a reflection of the Holy Trinity, which is three distinct Persons without compromising the unity of the Godhead. In like manner, as the Catechism insightfully teaches, “the great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church’s unity” (CCC, n. 814).
Nonetheless, the unity of the Church is perhaps the most difficult mark to grasp. As alluded to last week, divisions in the Church date back to apostolic times and continue unabated today. There are literally tens of thousands of Christian denominations, a number that grows with each passing year. Many also are the number of disillusioned souls who claim allegiance to no church and live as if God does not exist, or at least as if He has no relevance in their lives.
How can this be? The error of disunity, simply put, is a consequence of sin, both original and personal. As expressed by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Original sin, with its attendant inclination to evil, has introduced a constantly active ‘bacterium’ into the world. Every sin, including the most hidden one, subverts or destroys unity” (p. 114).
Before examining more carefully the wounds to unity, the Catechism now looks at the bonds that promote unity. Three visible unifying bonds are identified: 1) profession of one faith as received originally from the apostles; 2) common celebration of divine worship, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments; and 3) an unbroken apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders (cf. CCC, n. 815).
As framed in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, “Those baptized are fully in the communion of the Catholic Church on this earth who are joined with Christ in its visible structure by the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments, and ecclesiastical governance” (canon 205). But above all, as St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Colossians, charity “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14).
It would be good at this juncture to take special note of a phrase just cited from canon 205 of the Code: “fully in communion with the Catholic Church.” As Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, explains in his Pocket Catholic Catechism (PCC), there is an important distinction between belonging to the Church and being a member of the Church. “Strictly speaking,” says Fr. Hardon, “only those who fully accept all that the Church teaches as revealed truth are members of the Church. Those who are baptized and in varying degrees accept some of the Church’s prescribed teachings are said to belong to the Church” (p. 82).
Vatican Council II’s Constitution on the Church provides valuable elucidation for this critical point: “The one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic . . . subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure” (Lumen Gentium, n. 8 § 2).
The word subsists was carefully chosen by the council fathers and is key to understanding this teaching. It indicates that the true Church founded by Jesus Christ “fully and permanently resides” in the Catholic Church. As articulated in the Decree on Ecumenism, “it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is ‘the all-embracing means of salvation,’ that [our separated brethren] can benefit fully from the means of salvation” (Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 3 § 5).
Fr. Hardon explains that behind the choice of the word subsist “stands the claim that the actual fullness of Christ’s heritage to His Church — the fullness of His revealed truth, the fullness of the sacraments He instituted, the fullness of authority to govern the People of God in His name — resides in the Catholic Church of which the Bishop of Rome is the visible head. Other Christian bodies share, in greater or less degree, in these elements of sanctification and truth that exist in their divinely intended fullness…[only] in the Roman Catholic Church” (PCC, p. 82).

Authentic Unity

As noted earlier, history testifies to numerous conflicts that have resulted in the sad and tragic separation of large communities from full communion with the Church. The council fathers are sensitive to note that fault is not one-sided — that “often enough, men of both sides were to blame” (UR, n. 3 § 1). The underlying source of dissension, human sin, causes “ruptures that wound the unity of Christ’s Body” (CCC, n. 817) in various ways.
Once again citing the Code, the Catechism distinguishes three: “Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him” (canon 751).
Although the original antagonists who caused separation bear great responsibility, the gravity of which is known to God alone, the Catechism is vigilant to note that one cannot assess blame for the sin of separation to those who are born and raised in the faith of communities not in full communion with the Catholic Church. If they have been properly baptized, they “are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church” (CCC, n. 1271).
In fact, as the Decree on Ecumenism lovingly states: “The Catholic Church embraces them as brothers, with respect and affection” (UR, n. 3 § 1), for “many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of [the Catholic Church’s] visible structure” (LG, n. 8 § 2).
In a spirit of true ecumenism, it is incumbent upon Catholics of goodwill to build upon that which we share with our separated Christian brothers and sisters: Sacred Scripture; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity; the action of the Holy Spirit; etc. (cf. CCC, n. 819). Yet, at the same time, it is crucial that the truth not be compromised, for the council rejects as “foreign to the spirit of ecumenism” (UR, n. 11 § 1) anything that would water down the integrity of Catholic doctrine or obscure its meaning.
Indeed, it is precisely because the unity of Christ’s true Church subsists in the Catholic Church that Catholics are especially accountable for promoting authentic unity. For as proclaimed in the Gospel of St. Luke: “Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required” (Luke 12:48).
The Catechism closes its section on the first mark of the Church by listing several ways by which we can work toward unity, but with a solemn reminder that “human powers and capacities cannot achieve this holy objective” (UR, n. 24 § 2; cf. CCC, n. 822); however, “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). It is with humility and a commitment to personal conversion that we must take up the task. But most of all, we must join in the prayer uttered by Jesus to His Father, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21).

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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)