Papal Primacy And The Episcopate

Micheal Buckley argues that a theology of papal primacy, as opposed to an idealogy, must focus on its nature as a unique relationship whose term or purpose is the unity of bishops amond themselves and through them the unity of the entire Church.

An essential and reliable reference work and manual of the Christian faith this book provides both students and interested readers with a basic text presenting the findings of modern scholarly thought and research. Ecumenical in spirit and approach, no responsible and inquiring Christian can afford to be without it.

Papal primacy has grown with the Church, and it remains a reality embedded in the Church as a living community begins to change.

The mixed results of the ecumenical dialogue since the Second Vatican Council have made it clear that the primacy of the Bishop of Rome remains the single most serious obstacle on the path of ecumenism. In his landmark 1995 encyclical Ut unum sint, Pope John Paul II reiterated the constant teaching that the Catholic Church "has preserved the ministry of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the Bishop of Rome." He also invited leaders and theologians of other Christian communities to engage in a "patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject...to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation." This book explores in depth the discussion of papal primacy in the Catholic-Orthodox, Catholic-Lutheran and Catholic Anglican dialogues, along with an appendix on the concept of "Sister Churches." Each chapter describes how the primacy is viewed in the respective churches or ecclesial communities, then it analyzes the documents of the official ecumenical dialogue and realistically evaluates the results achieved thus far.