A Catholic Clergy Perspective: Ecumenism Part I: Christ’s Prayer and the Call to Unity by Father Glenn Baaten

Friday, August 8, 2025

Ecumenism Part I: Christ’s Prayer and the Call to Unity by Father Glenn Baaten

Dear Friends in Christ,

I would like to present a three-part article concerning Ecumenism—the promotion of the visible unity of the Church.

In this first part, we will reflect on Christ’s call for unity in His high priestly prayer recorded in the Gospel of John. In the second part, we will examine the history of division within the Church, focusing on the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. Lastly, we will explore the development of the modern Ecumenical movement throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Church affirms the great marks of her identity in the Nicene Creed: she is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. These are the essential and immutable qualities of our beautiful Church—and notably, the list begins with oneness.

Christ’s Prayer for Unity

Consider these words from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one...
May they be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one...
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

This prayer reveals two deeply interconnected truths:

1. The Church’s oneness is intrinsic to her very nature.

2. That oneness is also essential to her mission in the world.

The Unity of the Church Flows from Christ

The catholicity of the Church flows from her unity in Christ. The term catholic comes from the Greek words’ kata (“according to”) and holos (“whole”), meaning “according to the whole.” This speaks about two aspects of the Church’s identity:

· External universality—her visible unity across the globe

· Internal unity—her oneness in Christ Himself

Christ is not divided; He is one in Himself. Therefore, the Church, which is His Body, is also one. As St. Paul teaches: “Christ is the head of the Church, His body” (Ephesians 5:23). The Church is Jesus’ visible Body, and Jesus’ Body is the Church. This is the foundation of our unity.

Unity as Witness to the World

Our visible unity is not only a reflection of who we are in Christ—it is also the foundation of our witness to the world. As Jesus prayed, “...that they may be one... so that the world may believe...” (John 17:21). The mission of evangelization is tied to our unity. Christ commissioned us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

When the Church is divided, her witness is weakened. Disunity obscures the Gospel and confuses the world. Conversely, unity becomes a powerful sign that the Father truly sent the Son. This is why St. Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 4:

“Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

The Church’s Commitment to Ecumenism

The Catholic Church’s commitment to Ecumenism—the visible unity of all Christian believers—is a commitment born of Christ’s own will. It is not a modern idea or optional mission; it is Christ-directed and Christ-ordained.

So, we must be one!

· Christ demands it.

· The Church affirms it.

· The world needs it.

In the next installment, we will examine the painful history of division within the Christian Church, including the East-West Schism and the Protestant Reformation. May our hearts remain open to the unity Christ desires for all His followers.

Father Glenn Baaten

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Bishop Kevin W. Vann, JCD, DD, D MIN

He was ordained on May 30, 1981, and was assigned to graduate studies in canon law at the Angelicum in Rome, with residence at the graduate house of the North American College, the Casa Santa Maria dell’ Umilta. Pope Leo XIV, when a priest, also attended these classes at the same time. Upon returning to the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, Father Vann participated in the work of the Diocesan Tribunal and the Tribunal of Second Instance in Chicago. He served as pastor of parishes ranging in size from 35 to 1,300 families, two which had large schools. He taught canon law at Kenrick Seminary. Before he was named bishop, he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield, Vicar for Priests and the Diocesan contact for Hispanic Ministry. Bishop Vann was ordained and installed as the third bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Forth Worth, Texas, on July 13, 2005, at Texas Christian University’s Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. In Texas, he collaborated closely with other bishops through the Texas Catholic Conference and Region X, which includes dioceses of States of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He is the former Texas Bishops’ Liaison to the Texas Mission Council and Texas Catholic hospitals. And, through the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Bishop Vann was a leader in the Texas Conference of Bishops, providing leadership for various initiatives at the national level, including service on ad hoc committee which assisted the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to guide the incorporation of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church of the United States. On September 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced Bishop Vann’s appointment as the fourth bishop of Orange, the 11th largest diocese in the country and the second-largest west of the Mississippi with 1.3 million multicultural Catholics. He continues to lead the historic effort to transform the former Crystal Cathedral from a world-renowned center of Protestant worship into the West Coast’s most visible center of Catholicism.

Father Glenn Baaten

A priest of the ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a community with the Catholic Church made up of former Anglicans and Episcopalians. He Currently serves as Parish Administrator of St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church in Irvine and as Chaplain of Santiago Retreat Center in Silverado. His ministry within the Diocese of Orange, California, is a collaborative appointment by Bishop Steven Lopes and Bishop Kevin Vann. Fr. Glenn was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on June 24, 2016, the Feast of St. John the Baptist. His journey to the Catholic Church followed years of faithful ministry in Protestant communities. He was ordained a Presbyterian pastor in 1998 and served a PCUSA parish in Cincinnati, Ohio. After returning to California in 2010, he discerned a call to Anglican ministry and was ordained in the Church of England tradition in 2013. He relinquished his Anglican holy orders and, after catechesis, was received into the Church on Christmas eve of that year. Fr. Glenn has been married to Cathy for 42 years. They are the blessed parents of two adult children and grandparents of three. His ministry is marked by a strong commitment to evangelization, Christian unity and sacred beauty of the liturgy. As a follower of Christ these many past decades – most especially as a priest – Fr. Glenn is committed to sharing the grace and love of Jesus to all and living the depth of that faith in the fulness of the Catholic Church.

Deacon Jim Merle

Deacon Jim was ordained 20 years ago on April 30, 2005, and lives in Southern California where he has served the Catholic Church on parish, diocesan and national levels. He periodically writes Pastoral Letters for church bulletins, as well as articles for the Diaconate community’s “Bowl & Towel” and the diocesan newspaper in addition to “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective,” recently renamed “A Catholic Clergy’s Perspective” with the addition of Bishop Kevin W. Vann and Fr. Glenn Baaten as periodic writers. On the parish level he has served at three parishes involved in helping with Sacramental training, Faith Formation and annulments. His diocesan involvements include a six-year term on the Diaconate Personnel Board, a founding committee member of the God’s Servants Committee (an educational component of quarterly meetings for active deacons), as a Master of Ceremonies at Confirmations, ordinations, installations and other ceremonies, an Advanced Master Catechist Certification to teach theological and certification classes and recently was selected to head up a Deanery Council of Deacons and their wives to support their ordination faculties and activities in each of the seven deaneries. On a local and national level, he coordinated the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) diocesan board for 14 years. CCHD is the domestic social justice arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) which distribute parishioner’s donations for non-profit organizations to empower the impoverished, marginalized and disenfranchised who have social justice needs. In his early career he was a writer/reporter for a well-known Chicago newspaper, as well as owning a public relations/advertising firm. He is now semi-retired and works parttime in two professional practices he owns. On a personal note, he is married 57 years, helped rear four children with his wife, a grandfather to 10 grandchildren and a great grandfather to six great grandchildren.

BLOG INTRODUCTION

Scripture is like the eyes into God’s soul. Whether from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) or the New Testament, we can garner, as best we can, who God is (what He feels and how He thinks in human terms). The original and current purpose of this blog, which began in 2019, is to take a three-year cycle of A, B and C Gospels and readings from each Sunday and provide a perspective as it pertains to our current lives as seen through the eyes of a Catholic clergy who serve Catholics in words and deeds per their ordination. Since completing the three-year cycles, it has been expanded to investigate the areas of Commentaries, Scripture and Theology. It is because of that the blog will now have writings from Bishop Kevin Vann, Ordinary of the Diocese of Orange, California, Father Glenn Baaten, a former Anglican priest, ordained into the Roman Catholic Church as a priest, and Deacon Jim Merle, who recently celebrated his 20th year ordination and started this blog. Bishop Vann and Father Glenn will author articles on a periodic basis based upon the time they have to devote to the blog. Deacon Jim will continue to offer weekly articles, still based on the three-year cycle along with various current events that challenge us to balance our humanity with our spiritual lives. The hope is that you, our subscribers, will see this as something of value to help you grow closer to the Lord.