PUBLIC MORALITY AND THE PETRINE MINISTRY: A PROTESTANT PERSPECTIVE ON A RENEWED MORAL PAPACY

• Clint le Bruyns Department of Systematic Theology & Ecclesiology Stellenbosch University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/82-0-906

Abstract

The vast array of problems and challenges plaguing South African society can only be confronted by a new working relationship between different ecclesial traditions. With church division and fragmentation seriously impeding constructive engagement in the public morality sphere, the present moment demands that churches seek new and creative ways of dealing with old problems for the sake of the common good. The purpose of this article is to provide an ecumenical ethic that may assist Protestants and Catholics in their mutual desire for moral integrity in the public arena. To proceed in this fashion necessitates a reflection on the Petrine ministry, which presently features as the greatest ecumenical problem in Protestant-Catholic relations. Yet, with recent decades reflecting a growing tendency for Protestants to view the Petrine ministry as an authentic and potentially propitious structure of the churches, this former stumbling block may very well become a new stepping stone in Protestant-Catholic efforts at public morality in the South African context. This article will attempt to build a case for Protestants to accept the Petrine office as a Petrine service of moral leadership that may potentially benefit all churches, albeit not in its present form.