Communion Ecclesiology: Ideology or Path to Dialogue?

Abstract

Is communion ecclesiology an ideology or a path to dialogue? In the year 2000 I wrote a book that addressed this topic.1 I concluded that although communion ecclesiology can be co-opted and put to the use of narrow ends, when it is understood as a broad, inclusive category that coalesces many of the key themes of Vatican II, it can operate as a framework that embraces a significant degree of pluralism, as it helps Church leaders and theologians to move forward. I still agree with that position. One of my main themes was that theologians cannot just let what I identified as the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) version stand alone as the only valid version of communion ecclesiology; we must develop it along the lines of a conversation that values the contributions of diverse participants.2