Facing an unprecedented shortage of priests, Roman Catholic officials in Saskatchewan have begun a massive restructuring that will lead to radical changes in the church. Shortages have affected rural areas for several years, but now the church can’t supply a priest to every parish in the city of Saskatoon. “I am very concerned about the diminishing number of priests. It’s challenging our identity (as a church),” said Rev. Ronald Beechinor, the administrator for the Diocese of Saskatoon, who is performing the duties of bishop until a new one is named. “We’ve got to make substantial changes.”

Many of the area’s 95,000 Roman Catholics from more than 100 parishes attended meetings this fall to suggest ways to deal with the loss of as many as 10 priests by next June. The reports from the seven deaneries in the area were discussed last weekend and a final plan should be ready by February.
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In the movement for Christian unity, does dialogue just lead to more dialogue, or at some point does concrete action toward unity actually come from it? You be the judge.

Canadian Anglicans and Evangelical Lutherans:
The Waterloo Declaration, prepared in 1997 between the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCIC), has been widely circulated in synods in both churches in Canada and around the world, and to ecumenical partners. In the light of responses to it, a slightly revised version of the declaration has been prepared by the Joint Working Group.

American Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Churches:
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and the Presbyterian Church USA are now in full communion with each other.
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Inspired in part by the Jubilee 2000 campaign against debt and by the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, a unique alliance to harness the collective energies of the worldwide church to promote justice and peace issues has been launched in Geneva.
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As the Reverend Ken Newell, a prominent Presbyterian evangelical, spoke on BBC Radio Ulster in 1981 about his commitment to peace in Northern Ireland, he had no idea that members of the Redemptorist Order at Clonard Monastery in West Belfast were listening in.

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