Catholicity and conscience

Peter Wallace, a member of the OPC's Committee on Ecumenicity and Interchurch Relations, has a helpful article in the month's Ordained Servant, "Catholicity and Conscience" (http://www.opc.org/os9.html?article_id=128). He argues that on the American Church scene, and particularly in reformed circles, the scruples of one's conscience have been allowed to trump all obligations towards ecumenical practice, that this is a relatively recent development, and that we should work to bring catholicity and conscience back into greater balance.

I generally agree; I've argued in lectures on ecclesiology (particularly when discussing subscription to confessions) that if the pope cannot be head of the Church, then neither can your conscience. Still, all other things being equal, given our presbyterian doctrine of Christian liberty (Westminster Confession of Faith ch. 20), I'd rather defer to conscience than impose what some might consider unbiblical practice in the interests of ecumenicity.

Wallace suggests several ways catholicism can be better practiced on the local level. My essay "All Ecclesiology Is Local," which appeared in the June 2002 (11.1) issue of Ordained Servant, touches on similar themes. You can download it at http://www.opc.org/os_archive.html.