- Feb 5, 2002
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Princeton professor Robert P. George is a Catholic formed by three different Christian traditions. His father’s father was an Antiochian Orthodox who came to America fleeing religious oppression in Syria. His mother’s father was a southern Italian Catholic who came here to escape poverty. And he grew up in West Virginia among Evangelicals, including a Southern Baptist best friend whose mother took them to Billy Graham movies. Here he reflects on Catholics’ relation to their Protestant brethren.
Something profound has happened. Catholics generally don’t refer these days to Protestants as “errant” brothers, much less “heretics.” We acknowledge that we have things to learn and not just things to teach. What Catholic, for example, would claim not to have something to learn from the thought and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Any Catholic who said that would be foolish. As would any Protestant who said he didn’t have something to learn from the work and witness of St. John Paul II or St. Teresa of Calcutta.
We’ve had divergent paths. We’ve been separated for too long, but in our separation both Catholics and Protestants have learned things, and have built things. We have acquired spiritual treasures we need to make available to each other.
For example, Catholics have nurtured a tradition of philosophical reflection that goes all the way back to pre-Christian thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle and the Roman jurists. That is a gift Catholics can bring to Protestants. Protestants have nurtured a love for the word of God in Scripture and a depth of understanding the Bible, and using it in devotional practice, which is not common among lay Catholics. This is a gift that they have to share with their Catholic brothers.
Barriers Came Down
Continued below.
What Protestants Can Learn From Catholics, and Vice-Versa - Catholic Herald
Something profound has happened. Catholics generally don’t refer these days to Protestants as “errant” brothers, much less “heretics.” We acknowledge that we have things to learn and not just things to teach. What Catholic, for example, would claim not to have something to learn from the thought and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Any Catholic who said that would be foolish. As would any Protestant who said he didn’t have something to learn from the work and witness of St. John Paul II or St. Teresa of Calcutta.
We’ve had divergent paths. We’ve been separated for too long, but in our separation both Catholics and Protestants have learned things, and have built things. We have acquired spiritual treasures we need to make available to each other.
For example, Catholics have nurtured a tradition of philosophical reflection that goes all the way back to pre-Christian thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle and the Roman jurists. That is a gift Catholics can bring to Protestants. Protestants have nurtured a love for the word of God in Scripture and a depth of understanding the Bible, and using it in devotional practice, which is not common among lay Catholics. This is a gift that they have to share with their Catholic brothers.
Barriers Came Down
Continued below.
What Protestants Can Learn From Catholics, and Vice-Versa - Catholic Herald
