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[Ecumenism]

#21

Dogma & Doctrine / Re: Ecumenism... prohibited in...

Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 08:38:19 PM

"Ecumenism" doesn't seem to predate 1920:

Thank you. That would explain why "ecumenism' is not mentioned in magisterial documents before then or even shortly thereafter.

Ecumenism (also spelled oecumenism) is the movement promoting unity, cooperation, and mutual understanding among different Christian denominations and churches.  Derived from the Greek word oikoumene, meaning "the inhabited world," the term originally referred to the entire Christian church or the Roman Empire before evolving in the 20th century to describe interdenominational efforts to heal historical schisms.

Historical Evolution
The concept traces back to the early church's Ecumenical Councils (4th–7th centuries), which defined universal doctrine for the global church.  The modern ecumenical movement gained momentum following the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which united Protestant missionary forces, and was significantly advanced by the World Council of Churches (founded in 1948) and the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which formally engaged the Roman Catholic Church in dialogue with other Christian traditions.

Core Goals and Examples
The primary objective is to achieve visible unity and full communion among Christians, rooted in Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one" (John 17:21).  Key initiatives include:

* Dialogue: Theological conversations between Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders.

* Joint Worship: The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and shared service projects.

* Organizations: The World Council of Churches and local ecumenical councils that foster collaboration on social justice and missionary work.
 
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.

It is rather ironic that ecumenism was instituted to heal schisms and promote unity, but is now at least a partial cause of what the Vatican has proclaimed as a new schism in the Church.

#22

General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...

Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 01:07:39 PM

Can you let me know your thoughts regarding some "competitors" I see in the space?

I taught for Varsity Tutors for 6 years (2014-2020), so I'm very familiar with their platform and how it improved over time. They had a team of about a dozen developers back then.

I'm not familiar with any of the others you mention, not even the Catholic ones. Thanks for alerting me to these. Do any of them do live tutoring?
Is there a FOSS alternative to Heritage Web? I tried it, and their site is buggy. 🐛

https://lyceum.institute/ does live seminars, too. I'm not sure what platform they use.

I also taught for https://queenofheavenacademy.org/ (similar to https://www.kolbe.org/); they use Adobe Connect and other non-FOSS, which was expensive. Keeping it FOSS would keep the costs down.

I look forward to seeing your POC. I don't know much about React at all, but the others you mention I'm more familiar with; I'm old-school (PHP).

#23

General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...

Last post by tom - July 07, 2026, 08:33:41 AM

I would like to take a lead role. I am a big fan of open-source software and think you laid a good foundation. For the initial tech stack I would prefer the front end framework to be React and the back end language to be Node.Js, Python, or Go. I am proficient in these languages, and would not want to pick up a new language for a POC atm.

Can you let me know your thoughts regarding some "competitors" I see in the space?

General tutoring sites
These services are easy to find and have built up trust throughout the years. Most people looking for a religious tutor would probably use these services first. Also, it would be hard to match their resources like video conferencing (especially Varsity Tutors live learning platform). My main question is, why do we need a Catholic branded service when all these other services can offer Catholic tutoring?

• Varsity Tutors
• wyzant
• preply
• TutorOcean

Christian tutoring sites
Not really impressed with any of these services, but wondering if capturing SEO market share here could be difficult.

• Christian Tutors of America
• Family Focused Tutors
• In Christ Tutoring

Catholic tutoring sites
Not necessarily looking for a response here, I just think findcatholictutors.com is an interesting technique, as Heritage Web has over 350 services like this such as jewishtherapists.com.

• Heritage web
• Uncatechized Catholic

#24

Catholic Resources / Re: Eucharistic Miracles

Last post by tom - July 07, 2026, 06:18:41 AM

Yeah, St. Carlo did all the heavy lifting and has inspired me to use my software development skills to help the mission of the Catholic Church. I just updated the UI, all the content comes from https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/. I admire what you are doing here!

#25

Dogma & Doctrine / Mortalium animos

Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 04:34:04 AM

Mortalium animos (6 January 1928)

This encyclical by Pius XI is the standard encyclical contra ecumenism. §2 condemns Assisi-esque prayer gatherings:

2. [...] conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission. Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. [...]

#26

Dogma & Doctrine / "ecumenism" in English n-gram ...

Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 04:29:25 AM

"Ecumenism" doesn't seem to predate 1920:

#27

Dogma & Doctrine / On a tangential note: reconcil...

Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 03:01:04 AM

On a tangential note: reconciling with the Syllabus of Errors:

When I searched for "ecumen" in the Syllabus of Errors I came across the following passage that seems to me like it might give some ammo to those opposed to the SSPX:

The Syllabus Of Errors
Pope BI. Pius IX - 1864
https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9syll.htm

23. Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have wandered outside the limits of their powers, have usurped the rights of princes, and have even erred in defining matters of faith and morals. — Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.

[Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X]

#28

Dogma & Doctrine / Ecumenism... prohibited in tra...

Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 02:29:43 AM

This is an issue that has come up rather prominently in the St. Louis Archdiocese. They have been having ecumenical gatherings at various places of worship for other religions and with those of other faiths in Catholic churches... Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and some African religions whose names I can't recall.

An excerpt from the preamble issued by the SSPX before the unauthorized consecrations of bishops, they list their opposition to ecumenism:

Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X
to enlighten souls in the face of modern errors
https://fsspx.news/sites/default/files/documents/profession_of_catholic_faith_en.pdf

3. I consequently reject all errors contrary to this Faith, and in particular those of liberalism, indifferentism, modernism, ecumenism, and laicism, condemned by Popes Pius IX,⁶ Leo XIII,⁷ Saint Pius X,⁸ Pius XI,⁹ and Pius XII.¹⁰ These errors obscure revealed doctrine, falsify Tradition, disfigure the sacred liturgy, corrupt morals, weaken the missionary spirit, and disintegrate the Christian social order, gravely harming the salvation of souls.

I decided to see if I could find the Church teaching on ecumenism in those documents, so I looked up the documents from the footnotes:

• 6.) Encyclicals Qui pluribus (9 November 1846) and Quanta cura (8 December 1864) with the Syllabus.
• 7.) Encyclicals Immortale Dei (1 November 1885), Libertas (20 June 1888), Sapientiae christianae (10 January 1890), and Au milieu des sollicitudes (16 February 1892).
• 8.) Encyclical Pascendi (8 September 1907) and Decree Lamentabili (3 July 1907); Encyclical Vehementer nos (11 February 1906) and Apostolic Letter to the Bishops of France Notre charge apostolique (25 August 1910).
• 9.) Encyclicals Quas primas (11 December 1925) and Mortalium animos (6 January 1928).
• 10.) Encyclicals Orientales omnes ecclesias (23 December 1945) and Humani generis (12 August 1950); Allocution to Catholic Jurists (6 December 1953).

I did a search through each, but none of them had the word "ecumenism". I realize that there could be some variance because the English versions are undoubtedly all translations and another word or phrase with the same meaning may have been used, but I suspect that the modernists would have wanted to use a different word than something that had been officially condemned by the Church if they were trying to actually change Church doctrine, or sneak around it by a back door. I did also search Denzinger's Sources of Catholic Doctrine for "ecumenism" but it was not in there either.

#29

General Discussion / Re: Need more activity

Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 01:29:22 AM

I no longer contribute to CI

That's the only other forum I've been contributing to recently. It seems not as many people post there anymore, though.

The older style, 'traditional forums' if you will, seem to be less popular now than they were some years back. I would guess that social media, such as Twitter/X, Fazedbook, Instagram and so on have pulled people away. I like X for breaking news and so on, but I like the forum format much better for discussions like the Catholic ones I enjoyed for so many years.

#30

General Discussion / Re: Need more activity

Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 01:21:52 AM

This is an incredible compilation. Having access to these clean, digital copies of the classic texts makes deep-diving into scriptural exegesis and Thomistic philosophy so much more accessible. Thanks for pulling all of these mirrors and feeds together—it's a massive help for anyone looking to build up their study library!

I very much concur.
What a blessing for His Church.