This week in Christian history: John Knox dies, Vatican II, Women's Christian Temperance Union founded

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Vatican II Embraces Protestants - November 21, 1964

A view shows faithful gathering in St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican March 29, 2015.
A view shows faithful gathering in St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican March 29, 2015. | (Photo: Reuters/Max Rossi)

This week marks the anniversary of when the Second Vatican Council issued a decree on ecumenism championing Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians as "separated brethren."

Known as the "Unitatis Redintegratio," the decree expressed hope over the calls for unity among different Christian churches and noted that one did not need to be a member of the Catholic Church to be saved.

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"Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated brethren," stated the decree.

"Nor should we forget that anything wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our separated brethren can be a help to our own edification. Whatever is truly Christian is never contrary to what genuinely belongs to the faith; indeed, it can always bring a deeper realization of the mystery of Christ and the Church."

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