From the very first announcement, Orthodox and Protestants have looked with great interest on the forthcoming Second Vatican Council. After some early enthusiasm, however, most ecumenicists have taken a more cautious view of the results that may be expected from the Council. In a recent talk given at the Jesuit Seminary in Toronto, Canada, Father Gregory Baum, O.S.A., discussed some of the misgivings now felt by non-Catholics. The text of Fr. Baum’s talk, reprinted here from the weekly The Catholic Messenger (407 Brady St., Davenport, Iowa, $5.), follows:

In the year after the convocation of the ecumenical council by Pope John in 1959, the ecumenical climate surrounding the Catholic Church reached a level of unprecedented friendliness. The Pope had declared that the purpose of the council was the reunion of Christians. It was explained immediately, it is true, that the council would be an affair of the Catholic Church alone, but the aim of the endeavor to renew and adapt Catholic life to the needs of the modern world was to prepare the way for Christian unity. Continue reading →