With the decree on Ecumenism the Catholic Church abandons its own isolation which was grounded in the feeling of self-sufficiency. This decree contains some assertions which uphold Roman «ecclesiocentrism» and an «ecumenical» method of «return». Besides this conservative position, however, the decree includes other assertions which stress the sacramentality of the Church, the presence of the sacramentality particularly in Oriental Churches, the «noteworthy» values of non-catholic people, the will to forgive and to ask forgiveness in a charitable climate. Such a document should not be regarded as a goal but, on the contrary, as a starting-point (pp. 597-615).

The controversial topics with the Churches stemming from the Reformation are examined in the perspective of the dialogues developed by the Roman Catholic Church after the promulgation of the Decree on Ecumenism. Among these questions are the relation between Scripture and Tradition, the doctrines of Justification, the Eucharist as memorial and real presence and mixed marriages. The point of convergence, which surpasses the impasse of confessional oppositions, born from the conversations with the Anglican Communion, Lutherans, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Methodists, is, with all the problems still remaining, an attempt to re-establish fellowship in view of restoring full communion. This aspect is examined especially in the perspective of the theological project concerning «conciliar fellowship», which is here viewed as the scope of the bilateral dialogues, and under the sponsorship of Faith and Order, the multilateral dialogues on «the Unity we Seek» (Nairobi 1975 Assembly of the WCC) and «Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry» (Lima Document, Vancouver 1983 Assembly). In this realm, attention is focused specifically on the question of the local church, which all the churches stemming from the Reformation present as the ecclesiological starting point for reaching the universal communion of the Church («conciliar fellowship»). The ecclesiological perspectives of Vatican II on the local church, which have opened the way to a new interpretation of the divisions between Christians, is the frame in which «conciliar fellowship» is being considered. This broader ecclesiology is linked with the question of the recognition of ordained ministries. The Lima Document, which is crossroad of the bilateral dialogues on this topic, proposes as a solution solid bases for further evolution, depending on the «reception» which the Churches will open themselves to the Spirit, to prayer and reflection, means offered to them by the dialogues. A list of the dialogues examined is appended (pp. 539-586).

The A. intends to show the influence that, 20 years after the Council, the Roman Catholic Church, in following the directives of UR, has valued; he does so by underlining some doctrinal principles held fundamental for the passage to a truly ecumenical era. The first principle underscored is that of the «perpetua indigentia» and the «perennis reformatio». The Church has inherited this principle with sincerity and determination, however with a displacement of accent which favors the interior movement of conversion and leaves at a distance the exigences of transforming, with the heart, even institutions. The second principle underlined takes up the limits of «perennis reformatio»: the customs, discipline and emendation of doctrine; in this latter sphere one has the impression that the principle of distinguishing between «depositum fidei» and «doctrinae enuntiandae modus» has not been inherited with necessary responsability. The third principle underscored is that of the hierarchy of truth. it seems as if the churches were persuing the unity of identity and not that of the «communio». For this they must begin to have deep experiences and become involved in «communio» , so as to learn from the inside of this experience what the path to unity is (pp. 484-515).

In this article the A. tries to trace how the insights of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the Decree on Ecumenism, have been put into service of the search for Christian Unity. In the first part, he seeks to outline those elements of UR which were to engage the whole Church (hierarchy and faithful) in the search for unity. UR numbers 6 (call for continual renewal which is based on a profound conversion), 22 (baptism as the bond of unity among Christians), 3 (the Spirit of Christ uses other Churches as means of salvation), 15 (the Eucharist as means of building up and further grow of the Church of God), 4 (division of the churches inhibits the Church from expressing the fulness of catholicity), and 1 (division not only contradicts the will of Christ but is a scandal to the world and damages the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to every living creature): these elements of the Decree are used to illustrate how the Council saw the Church as engaging in the ecumenical movement. The instruments suggested were study, prayer, reciprocal knowledge of each other, ecumenical formation, collaboration and above all theological dialogue. In the second part of the article, the A. shows how these instruments were used by the Catholic Church in its search to carry out the task given by the Council. Included herein is a brief summary of the results of the major dialogues held thus far. Finally in the last part of the article entitled «Christian Unity and Contemporary Europe», Card. Willebrands shows the role of European culture and history in the process of carrying out the task confided to the churches to seek fulfillment of the will of Christ «that all may be one» (pp. 441-460).