The Apostolicity of the Church is the title of the current study document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity. With this document, the Commission completes the 1995-2006 fourth phase of the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue at the global level. The study document of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) is aimed at contributing toward deepening communion between the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran churches. The document has been sent to the respective churches of the mandating bodies and to the wider public of persons and groups engaged in the ecumenical movement. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Theologians from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) participating in the second meeting of the Lutheran-Reformed Joint Commission agreed to the need for further study on the understanding of the Church from the perspectives of the two faith traditions. … Read more »… lire la suite »
This past summer, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a statement entitled “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church.” This document immediately attracted attention, comment, spin, appreciation, and criticism from around the world. The document contains five questions and the responses of the CDF, with very little additional comment. The focus of the questions is the meaning of the word “subsists” as it appears in Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), article 8. The council declared that the one Church of Christ “constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity.”
Much of the criticism of the document has come from within the Catholic community, although notable critiques have also been issued by ecumenical partners. The criticism has addressed the exclusivity with which the new CDF document interprets the word “subsists”, and the insistence of the CDF that other churches are thereby deficient. The responses to the document were more careful and nuanced than those made in 2000 to Dominus Iesus, but many observers connected the two documents, seeing the new text as little more than a re-articulation of the earlier problematic statements.
After considerable thought about whether there was anything further productive to say about the document and the controversy stirred up this summer, I have decided to share some of my initial reflections in the days following the publication of the “responsa.” There are numerous additional perspectives that could be offered, many of which are available online. … Read more »… lire la suite »
An agreed statement entitled “Growing Together in Unity & Mission” was released today by the Anglican Communion Office and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The statement attempts to foster discussion and reflection on the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) over the past 40 years. However, the statement insists, “it is more than this: it is a call for action, based upon an honest appraisal of what has been achieved in our dialogue. Despite our present ‘imperfect communion’, there is, we feel, enough common ground to take seriously how we work together.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
A new response to the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) report entitled “Growing Together in Unity and Mission: Building on 40 years of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue” has been published by Ruth Reardon from the Interchurch Families International Network (IFIN). Reardon’s response is published in the October issue of the IFIN newsletter, “Issues and Reflections.”
The recent agreed statement between the two churches represents the first practical results of the Mississauga meeting in 2000 that charged the new commission with the task “to oversee the preparation of a Joint Declaration of Agreement, and promote and monitor the reception of ARCIC agreements, as well as facilitate the development of strategies for translating the degree of spiritual communion that has been achieved into visible and practical outcomes.” (#12) In Reardon’s response, she assesses the new statement in light of the mandate issued to IARCCUM by the bishops meeting in Mississauga. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The 23rd annual Festival of Faith will be held on Sunday, October 28th at 2 p.m. This year’s theme is “Side by Side in Faith.” The Congregation Agudus Israel (715 McKinnon Ave.) will again host the religious community of Saskatoon for this important festival.
Come join in Saskatoon’s multi-faith expression of its spiritual traditions expressed through speech, music, and dance – a celebration for all ages brought together from the four corners of the earth! Free admission. Refreshments served. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Réunis au Kenya, des responsables issus de toutes les principales traditions chrétiennes et provenant de différents pays – de l’Arménie au Zimbabwe – ont promis d’organiser des réunions aux niveaux international, régional et local afin d’aller plus loin dans la réconciliation et la compréhension.
“Reconnaissant que l’unité est le tout premier don de Dieu à travers l’oeuvre du Saint-Esprit, nous nous engageons à promouvoir davantage de compréhension et de coopération entre chrétiens, tout en respectant la diversité de nos identités, traditions et dons individuels”, ont déclaré les responsables dans un communiqué publié à l’issue de la réunion, qui s’est tenue du 6 au 9 novembre. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Aujourd’hui a été publié le Document final de l’Assemblée plénière de la Commission internationale pour le dialogue théologique catholiques orthodoxes (Ravenne, Italie, 8-14 octobre), qui avait été présidée par le Métropolite Ioannis de Pergame (Patriarcat œcuménique) et le Cardinal Kasper, Président du Conseil pontifical pour l’unité des chrétiens: “Conséquences ecclésiologiques et canoniques de la nature sacramentale de l’Eglise. Communion ecclésiale, conciliarité et autorité”. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Made public today was the final document of the plenary assembly of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The meeting was held in the Italian city of Ravenna from October 8 to 14 under the presidency of Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and His Excellency Ioannis, metropolitan of Pergamo. [Editor’s note: Ioannis of Pergamo is also known to theologians as John Zizioulas]
The title of the final document is: “Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
From Nov. 22 to 25, the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission met in Toronto to review the Full Communion relationship between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The two churches have shared this unique relationship since the Waterloo Declaration of 2001, and now, six years later, they are assessing what they’ve accomplished and where they can go. … Read more »… lire la suite »