Two Churches One Love *by Alasdair Heron (Dublin A PC K £1) The last ten years have seen the growth in many countries of associations of inter-church families. These are families of mixed marriages who are helping one another to share as much as possible of the Church traditions of both parents.
Though they represent a relatively small percentage of all mixed marriages, these families are qualitatively of great importance in the ecumenical scene experiencing, as they do, greater bonds of unity than thc average separated Christians.
An important milestone was reached in 1973 with the publication of "Two-Church Families," a practical. guide based on the experience of the members of the English Association of Interchurch
The following year, the Irish School of Ectimenics held an international consultation for the purpose of relating the practice and experience of these families to the official theologies of the Churches.
Among the more important papers of that consultation, published in "Beyond Tolerance,' edited by M. Hurley (Geoffrey Chapman) was one by Dr Heron, then a lecturer at the School of Ecumenics, Now Professor of Theology at New College, Edinburgh, Dr Heron has produced for popular consumption, and in the clearest, most readable style, what qualifies as a profoundly stimulating theological companion for "Two-Church Families," a source of basic information, practical advice and helpful ideas for both clergy and lay people involved in any way in inter-church and mixed marriages in general.
Dr Heron is a Scottish Preshetei ein. He is, nevertheless, very lair and accurate in dealing with the Catholic legislation on mixed marriages, going to great pains to give credit for the recent changes in It.
He sets out, in his own words, to let both sides he heard and, while discussitig the positions of the different Churches, to avoid trying to persuade readers to subscribe to one side or the other.
Personally. I regretted that selfimposed limitatiun by the author at one point the claim by the Catholic Church that an ecclesiology determined by divine law leaves that Church with considerably less freedom of movement in mixed marriages than that enjoyed by the Protestant Churches. Perhaps, later, Dr Heron will tackle this question which all too uften is seen inaccurately as just a crude version of "outside the Church there is no salvation."
As an Irish Catholic, this reviewer will be pardoned for mentioning his regret that the "Irish Directory on Ecumenism" (1976),