The head of the Vatican’s education office has described the religious education curriculum introduced by the government of Quebec as bordering on “anti-Catholic”.

Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, stepped into the row over religious education, which has divided the Canadian province, when he criticised the Ethics and Religious Culture programme. It was implemented last September and has replaced all other RE curricula in the province’s state schools and Protestant and Catholic schools.

Eighty-two per cent of Quebec’s 7.5 million population are at least nominally Catholic, and boycotts of the course are occurring throughout the province. Cardinal Grocholewski said: “Talking in the same way about all religions is almost like an anti-Catholic education, because this creates a certain relativism.” He said this approach could ultimately be anti-religious, since young people are left with the impression that each faith is a fictional narrative. Speaking to the Zenit news agency in Rome, he also said that teaching all religions equally “violates the right of parents to educate their own children according to their own religion”.

Some Quebec schools have suspended pupils who take part in the boycotts. Loyola High School, a private Jesuit school in Montreal, is suing the province after its request that it be exempted from teaching the programme because it was “contrary to its faith mission” was denied.

• Read the complete news article in The Tablet, February 28, 2009
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Vatican’s new YouTube channel has posted the following short video about a dialogue this past week between the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and a Muslim partner, the Permanent Committee of Al-Azhar for the Dialogue with Monotheistic Religions.

Watch it here
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism is sponsoring an ecumenical Lenten study of reforms that shape the Christian church of the 21st century. Nick Jesson, one of the presenters, describes the series as “a forward look so we can understand where the church came from and how we are building it for the future.” The study
… Read more » … lire la suite »

In a pastoral letter to the faithful in his diocese, Roman Catholic Bishop Luc Bouchard of St. Paul in Alberta, Canada decried that “the integrity of creation in the Athabasca Oil Sands” – the largest reservoir of crude bitumen in the world and the largest of three major oil sands deposits in Alberta – “is clearly being sacrificed for economic gain.”

… continued
… Read more » … lire la suite »

An Ecumenical Lenten Study of five reforms that will shape the church of the 21st Century. Join Sandra Beardsall and Nick Jesson as we examine the bricks and mortar of Christ’s church and plan for the years ahead. This is a community-build, everyone has a part in building the house of God.

Topics include:

Mar. 2 @ 6:45 pm • Checking the Blueprints — Listening Anew to the Word of God in Scripture;
Mar. 9 @ 6:45 pm • Firming Up the Foundation — Rethinking the nature and mission of the church;
Mar. 16 @ 6:45 pm • Moving the Walls — Reimagining the life of worship;
Mar. 23 @ 6:45 pm • Barn-Raising Together — Searching for Christian unity; and
Mar. 30 @ 6:45 pm • Meeting the Neighbours — Inter-religious relations.

Five Monday evenings beginning March 2 at St. James’ Anglican Church, Saskatoon (corner of Dufferin & 12th Street)
Sessions begin at 6:45 pm. No registration required.
Each evening will include prayer, fellowship, an introduction to the theme, and group discussion.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Alors que le système financier mondial vacille, de nombreux militants de la société civile et des Eglises voient la crise actuelle comme une chance pour pousser à la mise en œuvre de réformes radicales depuis longtemps nécessaires. Ils pourront s’atteler à cette tâche dès début avril, lors d’une réunion du G20 à Londres.

…
… Read more » … lire la suite »

As the global financial system falters, many civil society and church activists see the crisis as an opportunity to press for long-overdue, radical reforms. The first opportunity for them to do so will come in early April, when the G20 will meet in London.

… continued
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Le métropolite Kirill de Smolensk et Kaliningrad, qui a été intronisé à Moscou 16e patriarche de l’histoire de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe sous le nom de Kirill Ier, a souligné qu’il est de son devoir d’assurer l’unité au sein de l’Eglise afin de préserver la foi. Cependant, certains observateurs considèrent qu’il a davantage les qualités d’un “leader politique” que son prédécesseur.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has awarded the Cross of St Augustine to Monsignor Donald Bolen for his service to Anglican-Roman Catholic relations. In a private audience at Lambeth Palace the Archbishop paid warm tribute to the theological acumen and spiritual discernment that Monsignor Bolen had put unreservedly at the service of Anglican-Roman Catholic relations during his seven-year assignment to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome.

… continued
… Read more » … lire la suite »

It came during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s announcement of the Second Vatican Council – news that Pope Benedict had decreed that the “Lefebvrists”, the four bishops excommunicated for disobedience and who have never fully accepted the Council, could return to the Church.

The Pope instructed the Congregation for Bishops to “remit” the excommunications of four leaders of the schismatic Society of St Pius X (SSPX) otherwise known as Lefebvrists. The four men — Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso del Gallareta — incurred automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication in June 1988 when they were illicitly ordained bishops by renegade Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (d. 1991), who founded the SSPX in 1970 and the Seminary of Ecône in south-west Switzerland.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

C’est le métropolite Kirill de Smolensk et Kaliningrad qui a été élu à la tête du Patriarcat de Moscou de l’Eglise orthodoxe russe, par une victoire écrasante. Le métropolite Kirill occupait déjà par intérim la fonction laissée vacante par le patriarche Alexis II, décédé en décembre 2008.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Pope on Shoah: Never again may violence humiliate the dignity of man!

In his weekly audience Pope Benedict categorically condemned all attempts to deny the Holocaust and explained the reasons for the lifting of the excommunication of four bishops from the fraternity of St. Pius X. … Pope Benedict’s thoughts then turned to the Shoah, the memorial of which was celebrated this week. He said “the memories and images of my many visits to Auschwitz come back to me in these days, a death camp in which blind racial and religious hatred led to the ferocious extermination of millions of Jews and other innocent victims”.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

In a letter congratulating Metropolitan Kyrill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad on his election as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia expressed the appreciation of the worldwide ecumenical fellowship for this “outstanding Orthodox theologian, leader and hierarch.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Pope Benedict XVI says he has “full and unquestionable solidarity” with Jewish people and he has warned against any form of Holocaust denial. The Pope’s statement comes after outrage at his recent reinstatement of an excommunicated bishop, who has said the genocide of Jews in gas chambers never took place.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad has been elected as the new head of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church after serving a period as interim leader and following an election in which he got an overwhelming majority of votes.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The delegates to the Church Council meeting underway in Moscow have elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunication of four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The move was considered a major concession to the archbishop’s traditionalist followers. The Vatican said the decree removing the excommunication, signed Jan. 21 and made public three days later, marked an important step toward full communion with the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1970.

… continued
… Read more » … lire la suite »

When Lynne Smith was a girl growing up in El Paso, Texas, she said she wanted to be a nun.

And so Smith followed the more conventional path … to ordained Presbyterian ministry and a first pastorate in Dodge City, Kan. But the yearning for a more contemplative spiritual life was never far from her mind.

While in Dodge City, Smith went on a spiritual retreat in 1985 sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph, “and had a deeper experience than I’d ever had before,” she told the Presbyterian News Service in a recent interview here. “It really changed my spirituality toward the contemplative.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

That they may become one in God’s hand

Inspired by the witness of churches from a divided country, Christians throughout the world will be praying “that they may become one in God’s hand” during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2009.

continued …
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Pope Benedict XVI and the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, have condemned violence in Gaza, calling for its immediate cessation following an intense bombing campaign by Israel there.

continued …
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (IASCER) held its last meeting in Kyoto, Japan, under the chairmanship of the Most Revd Drexel Gomez, Primate of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. The Commission is charged with reviewing current international ecumenical dialogues involving Anglicans, and provincial and regional initiatives towards unity with other Christians. IASCER consists of representatives from each international dialogue involving Anglicans, including the multilateral dialogue of Faith and Order, and of certain other commissions and networks, and consultants who bring particular regional or theological expertise.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

New Vatican Instruction on Bioethics

A new document entitled Dignitatis Personae was released by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Friday morning. The document on “certain questions of bioethics” is intended to update the current teaching on moral issues arising from in-vitro fertilization, stem cell technology, cloning, and other embryonic research. The last comprehensive CDF Instruction on these issues was published February 22, 1987 with the title Donum Vitae.

• The document is available on the CCCB website.
• A summary of the document was released to reporters at the morning news conference. It is available on the Vatican Information Service website.
• An excellent explanation of the document and its history is available from John L. Allen Jr. at the National Catholic Reporter.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Rev. Michael Hawkins was elected as bishop of the Anglican diocese of Saskatchewan on Saturday. The election was held at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the seat of the diocese. The bishop-elect has been rector of St. Alban’s since 2001, and also serves as Dean of Saskatchewan. Rev. Hawkins was elected to succeed Bishop Anthony Burton who took up parish ministry in Dallas last September. The diocese has announced that March 6th has been set as the date for the consecration of their new bishop.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Michael Hawkins was elected as the next bishop of the diocese of Saskatchewan on Dec. 6 at a synod held at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert. Mr. Hawkins, who has served as the rector St. Alban’s Cathedral and as dean of Saskatchewan since 2001, was voted in by a decisive margin in both clergy and lay houses on the first ballot.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church has died at his residence in Peredelkino, 40 kilometres from central Moscow, the church’s Moscow Patriarchate has announced.

No cause was given for the death on 5 December of the 79-year-old patriarch.

The previous evening Alexei held a church service in one of Moscow’s central cathedrals to mark a major religious holiday, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. It said the church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, was to gather for an urgent meeting in Moscow on 6 December following the death of its leader.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Le responsable orthodoxe arménien basé au Liban Aram Ier a, lors d’une rencontre avec le pape Benoît XVI, proposé que les Eglises du monde entier fixent une date commune pour Pâques, fête lors de laquelle les chrétiens célèbrent la résurrection de Jésus.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Lebanon-based Armenian Orthodox leader Aram I has at a Vatican meeting with Pope Benedict XVI proposed that the world’s churches set a common date for Easter, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Help us record the history of ecumenism in our community!

You are invited to share your stories about local ecumenical events or activities that have improved relationships between Christians in Saskatchewan over the years.

Stories will be collected and included in an anniversary history book being prepared by The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism to mark its 25th anniversary in 2009. Please take some time to write up an event or activity, past or present, which brought you closer to other Christians in your area. Photographs are also welcome.

Send submissions to:
The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism,
600 – 45 St. West, Saskatoon, SK. S7L 5W9
E-mail: pce@ecumenism.net

We look forward to hearing from you!
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The growth in ecumenical relations has great promise for the proclamation of the Gospel in our time, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this today when he presided at an ecumenical celebration with Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians. A delegation from the Catholicosate also participated in the event.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Les deux plus grandes Eglises d’Allemagne voient leur nombre de fidèles diminuer, mais le nombre de membres de l’Eglise évangélique d’Allemagne (EKD), principale organisation protestante du pays, a chuté sous la barre des 25 millions pour la première fois depuis la réunification de l’Allemagne, en 1990.

Fin 2007, les membres de l’EKD étaient 24,83 millions, sur 82 millions de personnes vivant en Allemagne, a indiqué l’agence de presse protestante allemande epd le 17 novembre. Aujourd’hui, l’EKD a perdu plus d’un million de membres par rapport à il y a cinq ans.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Benedict XVI’s catechesis on justification at the [November 19th] general audience and his comments regarding Martin Luther were welcomed by a Lutheran leader in Rome.

The dean of the Lutheran Church of Italy, Holger Milkau, said that “it’s always a pleasure to hear the Pope speak of Luther, above all if he considers arguments they share.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Webeditor’s note: The title of this article was changed to more accurately reflect the focus of the papal address. The original title was “Pope Clarifies Luther’s Idea of Justification”. The Vatican Information Service article bears the title “St. Paul: Justification by Christ’s Love”.

[Vatican City • Zenit.org] Benedict XVI says Martin Luther’s doctrine on justification is correct, if faith “is not opposed to charity.”

The Pope said this today during the general audience dedicated to another reflection on St. Paul. This time, the Holy Father considered the Apostle’s teaching on justification.

He noted that Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus “changed his life radically: He began to regard all his merits, achievements of a most honest religious career, as ‘loss’ in face of the sublimity of knowledge of Jesus Christ.”

“It is precisely because of this personal experience of the relationship with Jesus that Paul places at the center of his Gospel an irreducible opposition between two alternative paths to justice: one based on the works of the law, the other founded on the grace of faith in Christ,” the Pontiff explained. “The alternative between justice through the works of the law and justice through faith in Christ thus becomes one of the dominant themes that runs through his letters.”

What is law

But in order to understand this Pauline teaching, Benedict XVI affirmed, “we must clarify what is the ‘law’ from which we have been freed and what are those ‘works of the law’ that do not justify.”

He explained: “Already in the community of Corinth there was the opinion, which will return many times in history, which consisted in thinking that it was a question of the moral law, and that Christian freedom consisted therefore in being free from ethics. […] It is obvious that this interpretation is erroneous: Christian liberty is not libertinism; the freedom of which St. Paul speaks is not freedom from doing good.”

Instead, the Pope said, the law to which Paul refers is the “collection of behaviors extending from an ethical foundation to the ritual and cultural observances that substantially determined the identity of the just man — particularly circumcision, the observance regarding pure food and general ritual purity, the rules regarding observance of the Sabbath, etc.”

These observances served to protect Jewish identity and faith in God; they were “a defense shield that would protect the precious inheritance of the faith,” he remarked.

But, the Holy Father continued, at the moment of Paul’s encounter with Christ, the Apostle “understood that with Christ’s resurrection the situation had changed radically.”

“The wall — so says the Letter to the Ephesians — between Israel and the pagans was no longer necessary,” he said. “It is Christ who protects us against polytheism and all its deviations; it is Christ who unites us with and in the one God; it is Christ who guarantees our true identity in the diversity of cultures; and it is he who makes us just. To be just means simply to be with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Other observances are no longer necessary.”

And it is because of this, the Bishop of Rome continued, that Luther’s expression “by faith alone” is true “if faith is not opposed to charity, to love. Faith is to look at Christ, to entrust oneself to Christ, to be united to Christ, to be conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence, to believe is to be conformed to Christ and to enter into his love.”

“Paul knows,” he added, “that in the double love of God and neighbor the whole law is fulfilled. Thus the whole law is observed in communion with Christ, in faith that creates charity. We are just when we enter into communion with Christ, who is love.”

• Pope Benedict XVI’s address at the General Audience of Wednesday, November 19, 2008.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The membership of Germany’s two largest churches is shrinking, but the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the country’s biggest Protestant grouping, has dropped below 25 million members for the first time since the unification of Germany in 1990.

At the end of 2007, EKD members accounted for 24.83 million of Germany’s 82-million people, the German Protestant news agency epd reported on 17 November. The EKD now has more than a million fewer adherents than it did five years ago.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue continues ‘Hope of Eternal Life’ theme

[ELCA] The U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue added to its current round of meetings on the topic of “Hope of Eternal Life” a new study on the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Oct. 10-14 session at St. Paul’s College, Washington, D.C., was the sixth of Round XI in the historic relationship between Lutherans and Catholics that began 43 years ago at the end of the Second Vatican Council.

Dialogue participants have explored beliefs and practices related to eternal life in Christ since the round began in 2005. At the October session a special task force from the Dialogue membership welcomed Msgr. John Radano, former undersecretary, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, The Vatican, as part of a new discussion on areas of consensus and disagreement between Catholics and Lutherans on eucharistic doctrine. The new initiative is the result of conversations between members of the Pontifical Council and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

In response to a written message from Hanson to Pope Benedict XVI in September 2007, the Pontifical Council suggested that the ELCA and the U.S. Roman Catholic Church seek to formulate a joint teaching statement, said the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, Lutheran co-chair of the U.S. dialogue and former ELCA secretary. The statement would acknowledge the mutual confession of the churches of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, he said.

“The Eucharist is the place of encounter with Christ who is eternal life,” said the Rev. James Massa, executive director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligous Affairs, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, and also one of the two staff coordinators of the dialogue. “I see it as particularly appropriate that we take up Bishop Hanson’s proposal precisely at a time when the dialogue team is talking about prayers for the deceased as part of its overall treatment of eternal life. For many Christian believers the Eucharist is the preeminent prayer of thanksgiving for Christ’s life-giving sacrifice, to which he joins all of the faithful, living and dead.”

The dialogue adopted a time line for conclusion of the current round, which includes a review process for a Common Agreement on Eternal Life. Drafters have presented portions of a draft text that treat the topic from a biblical-historical, systematic and pastoral standpoint. “The report, when completed, will be helpful to both pastors and members of parishes,” Almen said. “It will serve as a resource for teaching and discussion as members of congregations ponder questions about death and dying as well as the promise of eternal life in Christ.”

Almen added, “The report also will highlight the broad reality of the Church throughout time and eternity. After all, as we gather at the table of our Lord, we are surrounded by all the faithful who have gone before us, the great cloud of witnesses, as we anticipate the eternal banquet of our Lord.”

The next session of the dialogue is March 12-15, 2009, in Washington. Participants will examine a complete draft of the common statement and also consider the contents and format of a possible publication that would include the statement along with a series of essays based on papers that have been presented over the course of the round.

Participants in the October 2008 meeting mourned the loss of one of the longest serving members of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue, the Rev. John Reumann, professor emeritus of New Testament and Greek, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Reumann, who died June 6, 2008, was remembered by dialogue participants in a memorial service at the end of the meeting.

Last year the dialogue held a memorial mass for the passing of another long-serving member, the Rev. George Tavard A.A., an Augustinian of the Assumption priest and prolific author, who died in 2007.

—
• Information for this release was provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
• Information regarding the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue is on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or
www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Catholics and Muslims find common ground in Rome

[The Tablet] The first meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum of scholars and religious leaders has ended in a joint declaration saying religious minorities have a right to “practise their faith in private and public” and to have their own houses of worship.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, ranked this as the most important of the 15 points agreed with delegates from the Common Word project, a dialogue initiative launched last year by 138 Islamic leaders from the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Western countries. The declaration also called for respect for personal “choices in matters of conscience and religion,” which could apply to the thorny question of conversion from Islam, which the delegates discussed briefly but did not seek consensus on.

• See the complete article from The Tablet, November 15, 2008 at www.thetablet.co.uk/article/12282
• See the Final Declaration of the Catholic-Muslim Forum at ecumenism.net/archive/news/2008_11.htm#000787
… Read more » … lire la suite »

A member of the (Anglican) Church of England’s general synod who supports a greater female role in the church has predicted that within 10 years half of all full-time clergy will be women, but says moves to consecrate female bishops is not keeping pace.

The prognosis came from U.S-born Christina Rees, a writer, broadcaster and public speaker and chairperson of Watch (Women and the Church), started in 1996 as a forum for promoting women’s ministry in the Church of England.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Churches in Germany have remembered the 70th anniversary of the systematic attack by the Nazis in 1938 on Jewish Germans, saying that many Christians failed then in their duty to speak out.

“In the November pogroms of 1938 defenceless people were humiliated, harassed and killed, houses of worship were desecrated and destroyed,” Germany’s Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders said in a joint statement to mark the 9 November anniversary.

“The terrible images of burning synagogues have been burned into our memory,” said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the chairperson of the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Final Declaration of the Catholic-Muslim Forum

[Vatican City • VIS] Made public yesterday afternoon was the final declaration of participants in the First Seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum, which took place in Rome from 4 to 6 November on the theme: “Love of God, Love of Neighbour”.

Each of the two sides in the meeting was represented by 24 participants and five advisers who discussed the two great themes of “Theological and Spiritual Foundations” and “Human Dignity and Mutual Respect”. Points of “similarity and of diversity emerged, reflecting the distinctive specific genius of the two religions” the English-language declaration says.

1. “For Christians the source and example of love of God and neighbour is the love of Christ for His Father, for humanity and for each person” reads the first of the fifteen points of the declaration. “Love of neighbour cannot be separated from love of God, because it is an expression of our love for God. … Grounded in Christ’s sacrificial love, Christian love is forgiving and excludes no-one; it therefore also includes one’s enemies”.

“For Muslims … love is a timeless transcendent power which guides and transforms human mutual regard. This love, as indicated by the Holy and Beloved Prophet Muhammad, is prior to the human love for the One True God”.

2. “Human life is a most precious gift of God to each person. It should therefore be preserved and honoured in all its stages”.

3. Human dignity is derived from the fact that every human person is created by a loving God and has been endowed with the gifts of reason and free will, and therefore enabled to love God and others. On the firm basis of these principles, the person requires the respect of his or her original dignity and his or her human vocation. Therefore, he or she is entitled to full recognition of his or her identity and freedom by individuals, communities and governments, supported by civil legislation that assures equal rights and full citizenship.

4. “We affirm that God’s creation of humanity has two great aspects: the male and the female human person, and we commit ourselves jointly to ensuring that human dignity and respect are extended on an equal basis to both men and women.

5. “Genuine love of neighbour implies respect of the person and her or his choices in matters of conscience and religion. It includes the right of individuals and communities to practice their religion in private and public.

6. “Religious minorities are entitled to be respected in their own religious convictions and practices. They are also entitled to their own places of worship, and their founding figures and symbols they consider sacred should not be subject to any form of mockery or ridicule.

7. “As Catholic and Muslim believers, we are aware of the summons and imperative to bear witness to the transcendent dimension of life, through a spirituality nourished by prayer, in a world which is becoming more and more secularised and materialistic.

8. “We affirm that no religion and its followers should be excluded from society. Each should be able to make its indispensable contribution to the good of society, especially in service to the most needy.

9. “We recognise that God’s creation in its plurality of cultures, civilisations, languages and peoples is a source of richness and should therefore never become a cause of tension and conflict.

10. “We are convinced that Catholics and Muslims have the duty to provide a sound education in human, civic, religious and moral values for their respective members and to promote accurate information about each other’s religions.

11. “We profess that Catholics and Muslims are called to be instruments of love and harmony among believers, and for humanity as a whole, renouncing any oppression, aggressive violence and terrorism, especially that committed in the name of religion, and upholding the principle of justice for all.

12. “We call upon believers to work for an ethical financial system in which the regulatory mechanisms consider the situation of the poor and disadvantaged, both as individuals, and as indebted nations. We call upon the privileged of the world to consider the plight of those afflicted most severely by the current crisis in food production and distribution, and ask religious believers of all denominations and all people of good will to work together to alleviate the suffering of the hungry, and to eliminate its causes.

13. “Young people are the future of religious communities and of societies as a whole. Increasingly, they will be living in multi-cultural and multi-religious societies. It is essential that they be well formed in their own religious traditions and well informed about other cultures and religions.

14. “We have agreed to explore the possibility of establishing a permanent Catholic-Muslim committee to co-ordinate responses to conflicts and other emergency situations.

15. “We look forward to the second seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum to be convened in approximately two years in a Muslim-majority country yet to be determined”.

The declaration concludes by affirming that all the participants “expressed satisfaction with the results of the seminar and their expectation for further productive dialogue”.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Multifaith Reflection on Restorative Justice

Across Canada, the theme for Restorative Justice Week 2008 is “Fostering a Restorative Worldview”. In Saskatoon, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism is hosting a symposium entitled “A Multifaith Reflection on Restorative Justice … an evening of shared perspectives”. The symposium will be held Wednesday, November 19th at Knox United Church (Spadina Crescent & 24th Street) from 6 to 9:30 pm.

A meatless supper wil be shared at 6 pm, with a panel of speakers at 7 pm: Claire Ewert Fisher (Christian), Cantor Neil Schwartz (Jewish), a representative from the Islamic Association of Saskatoon, and Harvey Thunderchild (Traditional Aboriginal).

Registration: $15 before November 12th, or $18 after November 12th, $8 under-waged. Students free if registered in advance, or $8 at door. Doors open for registration at 5:15 pm. Register by cheque, payable and sent to: Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, 600 – 45th Street West, Saskatoon, SK S7L 5W9. It is necessary to know in advance if registrants plan to attend the supper. For more information call 306-653-1633.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

[The Tablet] The symbolism of next week’s inaugural meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum at the Vatican is likely to be as important as what is actually said. The public perception of religion is that it leads to trouble, especially between one religious or ethnic group and another. Indeed, in Iraq and Pakistan, Christians have had reason to fear for their lives from extremist Muslims who are, it must be stressed, acting in defiance of the teachings of their own faith. In Western Europe many Muslims have experienced discrimination and prejudice, and occasionally violence, not so much from anti-Islamic ideology as from sheer bigotry and racism. Yet in the Vatican next week leaders of the two faiths will stand side by side in mutual respect. One of them will be Pope Benedict XVI.

• The complete editorial published in The Tablet, November 1, 2008, is available online.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

A Statement from the Anglican House of Bishops

The following statement was released by the Anglican Church of Canada‘s House of Bishops at the conclusion of its meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont.

A Statement from the House of Bishops

We being many are one body for we all share in one bread. (1 Cor 10:17)

The meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops which concluded today was our first time together since we were in England at the Lambeth Conference last summer. We spent considerable time — more than two days — sharing impressions of the conference, discussing events in the Canadian Church since Lambeth, and seeking agreement among ourselves on a way forward for our Church and its dioceses in the context of the proceedings at Lambeth.

During this extended discussion, the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, our partner in Full Communion, accompanied us in conversation, bible study, prayer and mutual support. We are grateful for their presence and contributions.

We acknowledged with gratitude the key role played by the Archbishop of Canterbury in leading us at Lambeth. In particular we noted with thanksgiving the retreat addresses and the three presidential addresses. We share with him the understanding that the Anglican Communion is a gift from God and commit ourselves to working together. We also rejoiced in the clear sense from the bishops gathered at Lambeth that we wished to continue to walk together while addressing the theological issues arising from discussions about same-sex unions.

One of our main topics of conversation was the agreement by many bishops at Lambeth on three moratoria: on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions. This discussion was in the context of decisions made recently by several diocesan synods in the Canadian Church that asked their bishop to prepare and authorize rites for the blessing of same-sex couples.

Our discussion initially comprised two parts. The first consisted of reports to the House from several bishops of whom such requests have been made — Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara, Huron, and the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior — as well as bishops from other dioceses who anticipate such requests in the not-too-distant future and bishops whose dioceses have received unnecessary and unwelcomed “cross-border interventions.”

For the second part, we formed an indaba group to reflect on what we had heard in the previous session. (Indaba — a model for discussion used at Lambeth — is an African word meaning “a gathering for purposeful conversation among equals.”) Several themes emerged in this discussion.

• Some dioceses have not yet engaged in the listening and discernment process and some are just beginning;
• Some have been listening and discerning for many years and have reached differing conclusions;
• Even in the face of difference, there was a desire expressed to “stay at the family table.”

It became clear during this process that many individual bishops wanted something from the House as a whole “to take home” with them to share with members of the church.

In response to that request, we added to our agenda a third session on this vitally important topic. In April, 2005 at its meeting in Windsor Ontario, this House responded to a number of requests made in the Windsor Report including a commitment to the moratoria proposed in that document until General Synod makes a decision.

In this third session, the House heard from the Primate who set out for us his understanding of what was being requested of us by Lambeth and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He noted the Pastoral letter from the House of Bishops to General Synod in 2007 which asked for the greatest pastoral generosity possible to gays and lesbians, consistent with the current teaching of the church. He also reminded us of our agreement in 2004 for a process of Shared Episcopal Ministry (SEM) and indicated to us his desire for “gracious restraint,” to use the language of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the matter of same-sex blessings.

The Primate said to us:

“I come to this meeting of the House of Bishops mindful of our Canadian context and the call for authorization of public rites for the blessings of same sex-unions in a number of our dioceses. I am also mindful of the place of the Anglican Church of Canada in our worldwide Communion.

“I trust the House of Bishops will support my call for respect for due process through the General Synod in this matter. In 2007, General Synod concurred with the opinion of the St. Michael Report (produced by the Primate’s Theological Commission) that the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine. It is not creedal in nature but nonetheless it is doctrine. The same General Synod called for further work by the Primate’s Theological Commission in assisting the Church to determine if this matter of blessings is a Spirit-led development of doctrine. I believe that these deliberations across the church will have a significant impact on discussion at General Synod in 2010 and on the subsequent authority of dioceses through due synodical process to proceed with blessings.

“Please know that I am mindful of the continuing havoc created in several of our dioceses through cross-border interventions on the part of Primates and bishops from other jurisdictions. I believe we must call them to account. They too must honour the Lambeth call for ‘gracious restraint.’ I remain committed to addressing this issue within the Communion.”

We spent several hours in conversation on the implications of the appeal from the Primate.

As a result of these conversations a large majority of the House can affirm the following:

A continued commitment to the greatest extent possible to the three moratoria — on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions — until General Synod 2010. Members of this House, while recognizing the difficulty that this commitment represents for dioceses that in conscience have made decisions on these matters, commit themselves to continue walking together and to hold each other in prayer.

The House also affirms:

A commitment to establishing diocesan commissions to discuss the matter of same-sex blessings in preparation for conversations at General Synod 2010.

Continued commitment to exercise the greatest level of pastoral generosity in keeping with provisions approved by this House in Spring, 2007 and continued commitment to the Shared Episcopal Ministry document approved in Fall, 2004.

We ask for your continuing prayers as we steadfastly seek to discern the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of his Body, the Church. We share a deep hope that though we may never come to consensus over this matter of the blessing of same-sex unions, we will live with differences in a manner that is marked by grace and generosity of spirit, one toward another.

October 31, 2008

Links:

• Th House of Bishops’ statement in PDF format
• Shared Episcopal Ministry
• Lutheran Bishops issue statement on joint meeting
… Read more » … lire la suite »

WEA General Assembly Adopts Official Statements on Critical Issues

[WEA] The World Evangelical Alliance 12th General Assembly came to a close on Thursday Oct 30, 2008, after five days of intensive discussion to plan the way forward in world evangelisation. More than 500 senior evangelical leaders gathered for the assembly in Pattaya, Thailand which began on 25 October. On Wednesday 29th, delegates agreed to six major resolutions setting out an evangelical response to religious liberty, HIV and Aids, poverty, peacemaking, creation care and the global financial crisis.

“The Body of Christ, His Church, is living with HIV,” stated the resolution on HIV, a major focus area for the WEA. “With brokenness we admit that as Evangelical Christians we have allowed stigmatisation and discrimination to characterise our relationships with people living with HIV. We repent of these sinful attitudes and commit to ensuring that they are changed.” The statement went on to call for churches to provide “a clear, biblical framework of biblical sexuality and life skills” and for them to “listen with understanding” to those affected by issues such as HIV “so that we can work together for a healthy and safe future.” The statement committed leaders to “live out incarnational faith working in partnership with the most marginalised.” Other challenges faced by the statement included HIV prevention, establishing caring relationships and a “comprehensive HIV strategy.”

The resolution on the current Economic Crisis stated that the “turmoil is, at its root, evidence of what happens when too many are captivated by greed and put their faith in, and entrust their security and future aspirations to a system animated by the maximization of wealth.” It concluded that “Many legitimately feel betrayed.” It further explained: “our concern is that its impact will continue to permeate into more regions and economies of the world” and that it will have “the most painful impact on the poor, who are the most vulnerable.” The document reaffirmed “our faith in God” and sought prayerfully that “God will honour those attempts to address the financial crisis” calling on governments and others to “honour their comitments.” It acknowledged the necessity of everyone pulling “together as a community” and encouraged evangelicals to “show leadership in caring for the poor, calling for the necessary reforms … and to be prophetic in challenging the structures and practices that are incompatible with good stewardship of the resources entrusted to each and all of us.”

During the Assembly, the WEA commissioned Dr Joel Edwards, formerly of the Evangelical Alliance of the UK, as the International Director of the Micah Challenge, and Dr Godfrey Yogarajah, formerly head of the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka and Asia Regional Secretary, as Executive Director of the WEA Religious Liberty Commission.

Kew presentations at the General Assembly included addresses by Dr Joel Edwards on “Evangelicals as Good News People”, Dr Richard Howell speaking on the gospel in a pluralistic age and Dr Ronald Sider outlining a “Biblically Shaped, Factually Informed Evangelical Political Framework.”
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Recently elected leaders of China’s officially-sanctioned Protestant churches have said they care about house churches that sometimes operate underground and that they are willing to provide them with Bibles.

“For those house churches without registration, we will try our best to be with them, to recognise them and to help them, so long as they have an orthodox faith, don’t stray from the truth and don’t follow heretics,” Elder Fu Xianwei, chairperson of the National Three Self Patriotic Movement, told some 200 Hong Kong church leaders at a 22 October seminar titled “Chinese Church – New Leaders, New Challenges”.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Address of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW to the XIIth Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (The Vatican, 18 October 2008)
… Read more » … lire la suite »

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has said greed is the root cause of the current economic crisis and he has called on Christians and Muslims to work together to decide upon a fairer system of borrowing and lending.

“The Christian tradition has always been cautious about interest and for many centuries it was very much of one mind with the Islamic tradition, but after the 16th century that changed,” Williams, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said at a 15 October media conference in London, following a three-day meeting in Cambridge of Christian and Muslim scholars and clerics.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Des patriarches, primats et représentants des Eglises orthodoxes (chalcédoniennes) ont réaffirmé leur engagement à surmonter les conflits intra-orthodoxes et à poursuivre les dialogues théologiques avec les chrétiens d’autres confessions lors d’une réunion qui s’est tenue du 10 au 12 octobre à Istanbul, en Turquie. …
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Patriarchs, primates and representatives of Eastern Orthodox churches recommitted themselves to overcome intra-Orthodox conflicts as well as to continue theological dialogues with Christians from other confessions at a 10-12 October meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. …
… Read more » … lire la suite »

German Protestants recall Anglican bishop who was a ‘bridge builder’ and ‘reconciler’

Protestants in Germany are recalling the life of George K. A. Bell, a Church of England bishop who opposed the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler but also sharply criticised indiscriminate bombing of German cities during the Second World War.

“He was a fighter for peace and for the truth, and never shied away from using the authority of his office and person to uphold his beliefs, even in the political arena,” said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), in a statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the Anglican bishop’s death on Oct.3, 1958.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

At the close of their 2008 Plenary Assembly which met in Cornwall, 22-26 September, the Bishops of Canada issued a pastoral letter, titled “Liberating Potential”, which invites all the faithful “to discover or rediscover,” the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae, issued by Pope Paul VI in 1968.
… Read more » … lire la suite »

Au terme de leur Assemblée plénière, qui s’est déroulée à Cornwall, du 22 au 26 septembre, les évêques du Canada ont rendu public un message pastoral intitulé « Un potentiel libérateur ». Les évêques invitent ainsi les baptisés à une découverte — ou une redécouverte — de l’Encyclique Humanae Vitae, publiée en 1968 par le pape Paul VI.
… Read more » … lire la suite »