While the consecration of the Church of England’s first woman bishop presents significant challenges in bringing Catholics and Anglicans into “closer communion,” ecumenical leaders say the door to dialogue remains open.

The consecration of Libby Lane as an Anglican bishop earlier this month creates a “further challenge to a hope of organic reunion”, said David Moxon, another Anglican bishop, in a Jan. 29 interview with CNA, reiterating concerns expressed by Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham.

Moxon and Archbishop Longley are co-chairs of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which aims to advance ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

In a Jan. 27 interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Longley, acknowledging the challenges presented by Lane’s Anglican episcopal consecration, stressed that it “shouldn’t affect the way in which the dialogue is continued.”
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Pope Francis on Friday received the participants in a meeting – this week – of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches those Orthodox Eastern Christian churches which recognize only the first three ecumenical councils, and rejected the formulae of the Council of Chalcedon, at which certain central Christological doctrines were dogmatically defined, most especially the dual nature – fully divine and fully human, perfectly united though without mixing, blending or alteration – of Christ.

In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered during the noon audience in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, Pope Francis praised the progress of the Commission in its dozen years of work, and called on all participants to continue their journey in a spirit of brotherhood. “I express my hope that this work will bear rich fruit for our common theological research and help us to experience ever more fully our fraternal friendship,” the Holy Father said.
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Even as their theological dialogues continue in the search for full agreement on doctrinal issues, divided Christians are called to work together for justice and peace, especially in the Middle East, Pope Francis said.

“May the intercession and example of the many martyrs and saints who have borne courageous witness to Christ in all our churches sustain and strengthen you and your Christian communities,” the Pope told church leaders from the region.

Pope Francis met Jan. 30 with members of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which include churches with large communities in Syria, Iraq and throughout the Middle East.

The Oriental Orthodox churches participating in the dialogue include the Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malankara Orthodox Syrian churches.

“At this time,” the Pope said, “we especially feel dismay and deep sadness at what is happening in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria,” where Islamic State militants continue their campaign of terror.

“I think of all those living in the region, including our Christian brothers and sisters, and many minorities, who are experiencing the effects of a prolonged and painful conflict,” he said.
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As part of the churches’ commitment to a journey of truth and reconciliation, The Presbyterian Church in Canada has learned that many facets of Aboriginal traditional spiritualties bring life and oneness with creation. Accepting this has sometimes been a challenge for The Presbyterian Church in Canada. We are now aware that there is a wide variety of aboriginal spiritual practices and we acknowledge that it is for our church to continue in humility to learn the deep significance of these practices and to respect them and the Aboriginal elders who are the keepers of their traditional sacred truths….

These practices are received as gifts and serve to enrich our congregations. Ceremonies and traditions such as smudging, the circle/medicine wheel, drum songs and drumming, and indigenous wisdom teachings have been some of the practices our church has experienced as gifts from Aboriginal brothers and sisters. We acknowledge and respect both Aboriginal members of The Presbyterian Church in Canada who wish to bring traditional practices into their congregations and those Aboriginal members who are not comfortable or willing to do so. The church must be a community where all are valued and respected. It is not for The Presbyterian Church in Canada to validate or invalidate Aboriginal spiritualties and practices. Our church, however, is deeply respectful of these traditions. We acknowledge them as important spiritual practices through which Aboriginal peoples experience the presence of the creator God. In this spirit The Presbyterian Church in Canada is committed to walking with Aboriginal people in seeking shared truth that will lead to restoring right relations.
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Connections between liturgical renewal and the ecumenical movement were explored in a public lecture Jan. 20 at St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon.

The evening presentation during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was part of the third annual De Margerie Series on Christian Reconciliation and Unity, sponsored by STM, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, and named in honour of local ecumenical pioneer Rev. Bernard de Margerie. The 2014 series also included a public workshop about music and prayer (see related article) and a workshop for clergy and lay ministry leaders about baptism.

In the public lecture, speaker Dr. Karen Westerfield Tucker described connections between liturgy and dialogue as an “ecumenism of life.”

A presbyter in the United Methodist Church and professor of worship at Boston University who serves on the international Methodist-Roman Catholic dialogue, Westerfield Tucker began with a look at the impact of the Second Vatican Council on ecumenism and liturgy, for both Catholics and non-Catholics.

“Many non-Catholic communities engaged in their own bold ventures of liturgical reform in the years following the council,” said Westerfield Tucker.
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The sharing of prayer texts and hymns between Christian denominations is a grassroots ecumenical encounter that can lead to deeper reflection and understanding.

That was the message brought to life at a workshop held Jan. 17 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church to open this year’s De Margerie Series on Christian Reconciliation and Unity in Saskatoon, held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25.

Guest speaker Dr. Karen Westerfield Tucker led participants through an exploration of a number of prayers and hymn lyrics through history, in various traditions and styles, to demonstrate how theology is expressed in our most basic tools of worship.

The simplicity and conciseness of prayer and song texts offer a “theological shorthand” that is easily and quickly shared and appropriated, said Westerfield Tucker.
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Representatives of all the Oriental Orthodox Churches are here in Rome this week for a meeting of their International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue with the Catholic Church. During the five day encounter, which began on Monday, participants hope to finalise a joint document on Communion and Communication in the first five centuries of Christianity.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are amongst the most ancient Christian communities in the world, founded according to tradition by the first apostles in Egypt, Armenia, Syria, India and Ethiopia in the decades following Christ’s death and Resurrection. They have not been in communion with either the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox world since they officially severed ties in the 5th century.
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The Catholic archbishop of Birmingham says he wishes the Church of England’s first female bishop well in her ministry and will be remembering her in his prayers. Archbishop Bernard Longley is the Catholic co-chair of ARCIC, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. He told Vatican Radio that the consecration of Bishop Libby Lane on Monday was a “historic moment in the life of the Church of England” but noted that there has long been “the presence, the witness and the work of women” as bishops within the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Reverend Libby Lane was ordained in York Minister as the new Bishop of Stockport, after the Church of England voted to adopt legislation last November to allow women bishops. Archbishop Longley said that while the ordination of women presents challenges to the Anglican-Catholic dialogue, this latest development “shouldn’t affect the way in which the dialogue is continued”.
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At the conclusion of the week of prayer for Christian Unity on Sunday, ministers and congregations from many different denominations gathered with Pope Francis in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls for Vespers marking the feast of the conversion of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Among those taking part for the first time was Reverend Tara Curlewis, former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia. An ordained minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, she’s also worked closely with the World Council of Churches and until recently co-chaired Australia’s National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews.

She talked to Philippa Hitchen about her own ministry and about the goal of the wider ecumenical movement today…
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On Sunday and before the Angelus, the Pope recalled the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and its theme, “Give me a drink”, the sentence uttered by Jesus to the Samaritan woman.

He told the faithful gathered that the “desire for unity” of the disciples of Jesus is part of our “thirst not only material for water, but above all our thirst for a full life, free from the slavery of evil and death.”

He went on to say that “Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises because it is he who gives to the Holy Spirit, the ‘living water’ that quenches our restless hearts, hungry for life, love, freedom, peace, thirsty for God.
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Dove lovers, rejoice.

Balloons, not doves, were released as a gesture of peace Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, a year after an attack by a seagull and a crow on the symbolic birds sparked protests by animal rights groups.
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The vital role that men and women religious of different Christian Churches play in the ecumenical journey was at the heart of Pope Francis’s meeting on Saturday with participants in a conference on consecrated life and the search for Christian Unity. The three day meeting, which concludes on Sunday, comes in the context of both this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Year of Consecrated Life. Participants are concluding each day with Vespers in the Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic traditions, including the liturgy presided over by Pope Francis in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls on Sunday.
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Thousands of people are planning to embark on a pilgrimage of climate justice – either on foot or on bicycles – in many parts of the world. These faithful pilgrims, rooted in their religious beliefs, want to express solidarity with those affected by climate change – urging world leaders to produce a legally binding and universal agreement on the climate at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. These pilgrims, mostly from Europe and Africa, are mobilized by Christian organizations representing members of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Some will end their journey in Paris, uniting their voices with other faith actors at the COP 21 to be held from 30 November to 11 December 2015. “Paris is a milestone in our pilgrimage of climate justice,” said Dr Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive for Care for Creation and Climate Justice. “Yet Paris is not a destination. As people of faith, expected to offer a moral compass to climate dialogue, we need to strategize for 2016 and beyond,” he said.
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In the light of current global realities, representatives of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) met from 20 to 21 January at the Chateau of Bossey, Switzerland to explore and discuss possible areas of future cooperation. The meeting featured introductions to the work of the WEA and the WCC, and participants reflected together on current developments in society and churches, and in evangelical and ecumenical movements. They shared current plans and discussed possibilities for closer collaboration. Stressing the significance of being Christian witnesses, the meeting participants also identified various ways of responding together to the needs of communities around the world. Together the participants read the Scriptures and reflected on similar and different understandings of mission and evangelism. They prayed together and shared stories of faith. Recognizing the importance of a joint response to a suffering world, the participants agreed to continue to meet in order to identify further areas of possible cooperation.
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On 7 December 2014, Catholic priest Father Marco Agüero Vidal and Peruvian Lutheran Evangelical Church (ILEP) pastor Rev. Pedro Bullón celebrated jointly the First Communion for Catholic and Lutheran confirmands in the neighbourhood of Pamplona Alta, in San Juan de Miraflores, Lima, Peru. In this interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI), the two church leaders highlight landmarks in their journey towards “living a grassroots ecumenism.”
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The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) will jointly host an ecumenical event in the fall of 2016 as a continuation of the process “From Conflict to Communion” and to express the joint gifts received through dialogue, particularly in anticipation of the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017. 2017 also marks 50 years of ecumenical dialogue between the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church.

Within the framework of the forthcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, it is important for the LWF and PCPCU to communicate to the wider ecumenical constituency that they have begun deliberations on the details of the event that comes a year before the global Reformation anniversary.

The joint event in 2016 will highlight the solid ecumenical developments between Catholics and Lutherans which are captured in their joint report From Conflict to Communion – Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.
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Visiting a nation torn apart for 30 years by a civil war that pit Buddhists against Hindus and Muslims, with Christians both bystanders and sometimes victims, Pope Francis was expected to have something important to say about interfaith relationships. He delivered that Tuesday in Sri Lanka, telling a cross-section of the country’s religious leaders that harmony among different faiths is critical, but it cannot come at the expense of the distinctive identity of each. Citing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Francis said that the Catholic Church has a “deep and abiding respect for other religions.”
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Four French Imams, who’ve been part of a Catholic-Muslim delegation visiting the Vatican this week, have expressed their shock and condemnation of the attack on the satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’. Wednesday’s attack by masked gunmen in Paris left 12 people dead, with several others in critical condition.

In a statement at the end of their 3 day visit to Rome, the delegation, which includes Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, urges all believers to combat hatred and all forms of violence which destroy life, violate the dignity of the human person and undermine peaceful coexistence between peoples.

Pope Francis, who met with the delegation just as the attack was taking place, denounced the killings and offered prayers for the victims and their families. Also taking part in the delegation was Bishop Michel Dubost, who heads the French bishops’ council for interfaith relations. Philippa Hitchen talked to him about the Muslim leaders’ reactions to the attack and about the difficulty of promoting interreligious dialogue in France today…
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