Church unity hasn’t happened yet, but Catholics and Anglicans have a new list of concrete suggestions for ways to bring the two churches closer. A joint commission of Catholic and Anglican bishops has produced a 42-page report which aims “to bridge the gap between the elements of faith we hold in common and the tangible expression of that shared belief in our ecclesial lives.” The result of work by theologians and bishops in North America, Europe and Australia, Growing Together in Unity and Mission summarizes the agreements reached in 40 years of Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, setting out common belief in the Trinity, the church as communion in mission, Scripture, Baptism, Eucharist, ministry, authority in the church, discipleship and holiness, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It also sets out in eight boxed sections areas of disagreement. The disagreements take up 15 of the 126 numbered paragraphs in the document.
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Film of captured female sailor Faye Turney shown on Iranian television has highlighted concerns about the increasing number of women forces personnel at risk of abuse and exploitation by an enemy. But they are here to stay

The headlines said it all: warrior, mother, pawn. They were referring to the plight of Leading Seaman Faye Turney, the 26-year-old ship’s boat crewman from the frigate HMS Cornwall, seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the upper Gulf on 23 March along with seven Royal Marines and seven fellow sailors.

Manipulating Faye Turney seems to be central to the tactics of her captors, whoever they really are in the baffling mosaic of intrigue and loyalties in the Revolutionary Guard and the dwindling circle of militant student followers of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President. They certainly appear to be more disturbed over her role as a woman serving on operations with a British man-o’-war than that of her commanders.
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After eight years of preparation, the Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), meeting in Lund, Sweden, from 20 to 27 March, adopted a historic statement on the episcopal ministry.

The full title of the statement is Episcopal Ministry within the Apostolicity of the Church – The Lund Statement by the Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches. It has been developed as a clarification of how the Lutheran churches understand the character and purpose of the ministry of oversight in the church, paying particular attention to how this ministry serves the church’s apostolicity – its continuity with Christ and the apostles.
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(Ottawa-CCCB) His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Richard Smith as Archbishop of Edmonton. Since his episcopal ordination in June 2002, he has served as Bishop of Pembroke. The Edmonton see has been vacant since Archbishop Thomas Collins was appointed Archbishop of Toronto. The Archdiocese of Edmonton has a population of 333,000 Catholics in 137 parishes and missions served by 75 diocesan priests, 87 religious priests, two permanent deacons and 379 religious Brothers and Sisters as well as 52 lay pastoral workers.
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The St. Thomas More Just Youth group is hosting a Solidarity and Justice Coffeehouse on Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. in the STM Cafeteria (1437 College Drive). The cost is $5.00 per person and all proceeds will go to Development and Peace. Come enjoy this wonderful evening of world music and entertainment!

The coffeehouse is sponsored by Just Youth along with the Newman Centre, St. Thomas More College and the University of Saskatchewan Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Services Office. Just Youth is a student-led Development and Peace group. It organizes education campaigns and activities on campus, and encourages students to become involved in local justice initiatives.
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The First General Assembly of the Communion of Churches in India (CCI) held at Santhigiri, Aluva, from March 7-10, was a significant event in the history of ecumenism in India. It marked the beginning of a new development of church relationship and common action among the CNI, the CSI, and the Mar Thoma Church . About seventy representatives from the three Churches including their heads and chief office bearers came together to affirm their preparedness to explore new ways of growing in mutual understanding, and a deepening of their experience of oneness in Christ.
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The annual World Day of Prayer will be observed on March 2, the first Friday of March. The 2007 theme — United Under God’s Tent — has been prepared by women from Paraguay. Worship services are planned around the world. In Saskatoon, the following services are scheduled:
2 p.m. at Calvin Goforth Presbyterian Church, Sommerfeld & 3rd Street
2 p.m. at Knox United Church, 838 Spadina Crescent East at 24th Street
7 p.m. at Parkview Presbyterian Church, 821 Avenue E North
2 p.m. at St. James Anglican Church, 607 Dufferin Avenue at 12th Street
2 p.m. at Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502 Acadia Drive

Further information about the World Day of Prayer can be found on the website of the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC) at www.wicc.org/
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Le dimanche 25 mars 2007 marque le bicentenaire de la fin de la traite des esclaves dans l’Empire britannique. La loi sur l’abolition mettait officiellement un point final au transport forcé de millions d’Africains arrachés à leur pays pour être expatriés vers les Amériques via le Passage du milieu. Le Canada, alors membre de l’Empire britannique, a pratiqué lui aussi l’esclavage. L’impact de l’esclavage persiste, tandis qu’on assiste à l’émergence de formes modernes d’esclavage. La lutte est loin d’être terminée. Des Africains réduits en esclavage et des personnes de foi ont pris la tête du mouvement en faveur de l’abolition de la traite des esclaves, mais la version moderne du racisme, qui tente de justifier l’esclavage des Africains, demeure une réalité dans de trop nombreuses Églises et sociétés. Il faut que les gens de foi s’engagent à nouveau dans la lutte contre le racisme dans nos Églises, dans notre pays, dans le monde entier. Le Réseau œcuménique canadien contre le racisme (ROCCR) invite les Églises à souligner cet anniversaire en s’engageant elles aussi sur le chemin de la guérison, de la réconciliation et de la transformation de nos relations. Nous vous offrons à titre de ressource cette pochette documentaire sur la justice raciale.
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When Catholic cardinals meet in conclave they tend to do so under the stern eye of God in the Sistine Chapel. Anglican primates are different; this past week they have been meeting privately in the agreeable surroundings of a beach-front hotel overlooking the shimmering Indian Ocean just outside Dar es Salaam. Where the cardinals have Swiss Guards to protect them, the Anglicans have enjoyed what we journalists took to calling satirically the ring of steel: a group of young askari cadets, dressed in white shirts and black berets, who nervously fingered their truncheons when anyone approached.
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Rather than be split by a much-trumpeted schism,the Anglican Communion emerged from its meeting in Tanzania this week as a new kind of twenty-first century Church, reflecting changes in ecclesial and geopolitical power

Will the Anglican Communion survive? Before the Primates’ Meeting in Africa this week there was much discussion of schism, and an atmosphere of crisis prevailed. At the heart of the problem is how Anglicans reconcile the value they place on diocesan and provincial structure of autonomy at the national level with the legitimacy given to a comprehensive range of practices and positions with the bonds of ecclesial communion that allow the Communion coherence as one effective, united, interdependent worldwide body of Christians. Given that, what does the Anglican Communion mean? Is it a fellowship of independent national churches with historical roots in the Church of England that worship through a provincial expression of the Book of Common Prayer, or is it a hierarchical system with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the top as a sort of mini-Pope?
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A weekend for young adults led by Brother Emile of Taizé will be held in Edmonton from February 23 to 25th, 2007. “Leaving Discouragement Behind – Finding new Hope” is the theme of the weekend. This ecumenical time of prayer, reflection, and sharing is part of Taizé’s “Pilgrimage of Trust across the Earth.”
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The Massachusetts Council of Churches executive director Diane Kessler “stunned” the Council with her announcement of retirement at the end of June 2007. What was more stunning was the legacy she has left after thirty-two years of service.

As Director of the Council, Kessler was responsible for direction and public presentation of the Council’s work in areas such as education and evangelism for Christian unity, ecumenical worship, cooperation with local councils of churches, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and social mission and prophetic witness.

Kessler, an Andover Newton graduate and ordained United Church of Christ minister, started with the Council in 1975 as an associate director, and became director in 1988. In those three decades she was able to help the 17 member denominations take ideas and transfer them into action, for example, by fostering an atmosphere of openness in ecumenical and interfaith relations, by developing a legislative campaign against casino gambling, and by founding the Ecumenical Institute of New England which has currently educated 500 people. She has done this while ensuring responsible stewardship of the Council’s resources, which come primarily from its member denominations. Kessler served as diplomatic liaison among religious leaders and denominations. “I have always thought it important to treat all churches with appreciation and respect,” she said. “Their diverse spiritual traditions enrich all of us.”
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[Toronto] A new Canadian television series, “Little Mosque on the Prairie” has attracted worldwide media attention since its debut on 9 January. Coverage of the show has made the pages of newspapers such as The New York Times, the Jerusalem Post and the Saudi Arabian daily newspaper, Arab News, and further afield.
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Bishop Douglas Albert Ford, who stressed ecumenism as diocesan bishop of Saskatoon, died Jan. 23 at the age of 89. Read the complete Anglican Journal obituary of Bishop Douglas Ford at www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/100/article/bishop-ford-championed-ecumenism/.
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The Friends of Sophia are pleased to be hosting Dr. Barbara Reid, OP, who will be presenting a series of three lectures entitled “The Passion of Christ: A Feminist Perspective.” Planned for January 28 and 29, 2007, the lectures will be held at St. Andrew’s College and St. Thomas More College on the university campus. Further details are available on the Friends of Sophia website at www.usask.ca/uscm/friendsofsophia/
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When Pope Benedict XVI was elected to replace the inimitable Pope John Paul II, he promised to carry on his beloved successor’s work, particularly that related to ecumenism. As is often the case, the press of events can overtake the best laid plans and so ecumenism has often appeared to play second fiddle to other issues.

Yet it remains deeply and ineradicably imbedded in the church’s teaching, thanks to the Second Vatican Council and the post-council popes.

As we celebrate the 2007 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 21-28), we would do well to recall some initiatives of the last year that did not produce the kind of documents we usually associate with ecumenical dialogue, but represent progress in a way that cannot be summed up in precise theological language.
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Rev. Bernard de Margerie was a young priest, newly ordained, when Pope John XXIII put out a call for Vatican II in 1959. “Pope John was supposed to be a caretaker pope,” de Margerie recalls. “Nobody expected him to do anything remarkable.” In fact, Pope John called a general council of the Roman Catholic Church
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Des responsables d’Eglise de Jérusalem ont averti les factions palestiniennes en conflit qu’elles risquaient de déclencher une guerre civile et, proposant de jouer les médiateurs, ils les ont exhortés à mettre fin à la violence afin de pouvoir se concentrer sur la priorité absolue de leur peuple : l’indépendance.

“En tant que responsables des Eglises chrétiennes à Jérusalem préoccupés par la situation actuelle dans les territoires palestiniens, nous tenons à exprimer nos craintes pour nos populations, qu’elles soient chrétiennes ou musulmanes, en raison de la détérioration des relations entre les leaders du Fatah et du Hamas et entre leurs forces armées,” ont-ils déclaré.
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Church leaders in Jerusalem have warned warring Palestinian factions they could trigger civil war and, offering to play a mediating role, they are urging an end to violence in order for them to focus on the true priority of their people – independence.

“As leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem concerned at the present situation in the Palestinian Territories we feel we must voice our anxiety for all our people – Christian and Muslim alike – at the deteriorating relations between Fatah and Hamas leaders and the armed forces,” they said.
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The outgoing president of the North American Academy of Liturgy and a leading Catholic liturgist has told The Catholic Register the most recent translation of the Roman Missal is “a step backwards” for ecumenical relations.

“It’s going to feel like the ecumenical movement has taken a hit,” Fr. Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Church in Missouri and author of a half-dozen books on Catholic liturgy, said following an opening liturgy for the North American Academy of Liturgy annual meeting in Toronto Jan. 4.

New, more literal, translations from Latin of liturgical texts scheduled to hit parishes in two years are a departure from the Second Vatican Council’s movement toward common texts with Anglican, Lutheran and other churches, Turner said. Those common texts were a specific goal of council fathers in the 1960s, and non-Catholic scholars were consulted by Catholic liturgists and translators in the past.

“That same effort is not being made today,” he said.
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The International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Reconciliation, an annual event in Saskatoon since 1987, draws its theme Jan. 21-28 from Mark 7:37: “He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” It is a theme that resonates with Rev. Jan Bigland-Pritchard, director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism which
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Future of Ecumenical Assemblies Is of Crucial Importance for Conciliar Ecumenism in the 21st century [CHAVANNES-DE-BOGIS, Switzerland] The Officers of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Executive Committee of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), holding their meetings in the course of overlapping days, met for the first time in joint sessions on
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It is significant that the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism will be host Wednesday to the fifth annual conference on restorative justice. Fr. Bill Bernard, chair of the preparation committee, observes the conference goal is to bring together as many people as possible who work in the area of restorative justice. “We hope to create dialogue
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La semaine du 12 au 19 novembre est la Semaine de la justice réparatrice au Canada. Le thème de 2006 est Partenariats novateurs, collaboration solide. « Ce thème célèbre l’esprit d’innovation qui caractérise déjà certains partenariats existants. Il nous appelle à poursuivre nos efforts en établissant de nouveaux partenariats plus solides où tous les intervenants s’entraident
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Les Églises du Canada ont depuis des années fait du soin de la Terre une dimension intégrale de leur travail de promotion de la justice. Il n’est pas de plus grande menace pesant sur notre avenir commun que la destruction des écosystèmes dont dépend toute vie. Prendre soin de la création est un engagement spirituel envers Dieu que notre foi ne rend pas optionnel.
La Loi sur la qualité de l’air qu’annonçait le gouvernement canadien le 19 octobre, en faisant la pièce maîtresse de son soi-disant Plan vert « fait au Canada », manque de vision et de courage. Elle ne peut pas s’attaquer avec force au problème des changements climatiques.
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For years, the Canadian churches have made care for the Earth an integral aspect of their justice work. There is no greater threat to our collective future than the destruction of the ecosystems upon which all life is dependent. Caring for Creation is a spiritual commitment to God that is not optional in our faith.
The Canadian government’s Clean Air Act announced on October 19 as the centerpiece of its so-called “Made in Canada” Green Plan for Canada lacks the vision and courage to seriously tackle climate change.
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The recent controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed has exposed a disagreement between Western secular democracies and the Muslim community over appropriate limits on public expression. Agreement on when or whether there should be limits on free speech remains elusive. Such an agreement appears to be developing between Anglicans and Muslims, at least if a report released today is accurate. In a dialogue meeting last week between delegates of the Anglican Communion and the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Permanent Committee for Dialogue with Monotheistic Religions, the participants reportedly found consensus on the right to comprehensive religious freedom and on the related problem of limiting public expression.
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(Prague, République tchèque — WEA/APD) Des représentants de l’Eglise adventiste du septième jour au niveau mondial et de l’Alliance Mondiale Évangélique (WEA) se sont rencontrés pour un dialogue du 8 au 11 août 2006 sur le campus du Séminaire baptiste international, situé à Prague, République tchèque. Bien que des contacts informels aient eu lieu au cours des 50 dernières années, c’était la première rencontre officielle de ces deux groupes. Les objectifs de ce dialogue étaient : d’arriver à une compréhension plus claire despositions théologiques de chacun de ces groupes ; de clarifier des malentendus ; de discuter avec franchise et sur une base biblique les points d’accord et de désaccord ; et d’explorer des domaines possibles de collaboration.
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Representatives of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Evangelical Alliance met in dialogue August 8-11, 2006 on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Prague, Czech Republic. Although informal contacts had occurred during the past 50 years, this was the first official meeting of the two groups. The purposes of the dialogue were to gain a clearer understanding of the theological positions of each body; to clarify matters of misunderstanding; to discuss frankly areas of agreement and disagreement on a Biblical basis; and to explore possible areas of cooperation.
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Le centre canadien d’œcuménisme est heureux d’annoncer la nomination de Anthony Mansour au poste de directeur exécutif du Centre. M. Mansour possède une vaste expérience d’homme d’affaires. Il tient une licence dans la physique de Bishop’s University dans Lennoxville, Québec ; un MBA de Southeastern University à Washington, C.C ; et un certificat en théologie
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism has a new director, effective August 1st. Anthony Mansour, the successful candidate, comes to the CCE from an extensive background in management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Québec; an MBA from Southeastern University in Washington, DC; and a certificate in Orthodox theology from the Université de Sherbrooke in Longueuil, Québec. He has also served for 11 years as a reserve officer with the Canadian Air Force and holds both Canadian and US pilot licenses. He has two children, Brent (12) and Elizabeth (10). A member of the Orthodox Church in America, he serves as sub-deacon at The Sign of the Theotokos, an OCA parish in Montréal. He is fluent in both English and French.
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[WCC News] The newly-elected moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee speaks in this interview about the beauty of the ecumenical vision and the enthusiasm it engenders, the scandal of divisions between Christians, and his dream of churches which allow themselves to be renewed so as to experience the unity of the
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“Pourquoi une destruction si épouvantable?” C’est la question que les membres d’une délégation pastorale œcuménique n’ont cessé d’entendre à propos des attaques israéliennes contre le Liban.

Chargée par le Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE), la Conférence des Eglises européennes (KEK), la Fédération luthérienne mondiale (FLM) et l’Alliance réformée mondiale (ARM) d’exprimer la solidarité du monde œcuménique envers les Eglises et les populations touchées par le conflit au Moyen Orient, la délégation est rentrée avec pour mandat de transmettre à la famille œcuménique internationale les espoirs et les attentes des Eglises du Liban, de Palestine et d’Israël.
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“Why such awful destruction?” was the question heard over and over again by members of an ecumenical pastoral delegation in relation to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

Entrusted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the conflict in the Middle East, the delegation returned with the task of transmitting the hopes and expectations of the churches in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to the international ecumenical family.
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism join church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world in urging an immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict between Israel and Hezbullah. The CCE‘s new Executive Director Anthony Mansour and the Associate Director Adèle Brodeur write: “We call for an immediate implementation of
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Church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world have been speaking out about the current crisis in the Middle East, and despite differences in perspective, are urging an immediate ceasefire.
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During the summer months ecumenical news dries up as church leaders, pastors, and theologians head off on their holiday plans. However, this year a very significant event occurred while we were all at the lake. Since 2001, Methodists have expressed appreciation for the Lutheran-Roman Catholic “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” (JDDJ). Not long after the formal affirmation of the JDDJ, representatives of the Methodist World Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches gathered with the two signatories to discuss the possibilities of expanding the consensus to include their constituencies. This summer, on July 23, the World Methodist Conference, a gathering of 76 churches in the Methodist tradition, affirmed the Joint Declaration in a signing ceremony together with Lutheran and Roman Catholic representatives.
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We greatly valued the chance to hear Cardinal Kasper at the House of Bishops meeting (5 June 2006), and were enormously grateful that he made the time to accept the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation to come and address the Bishops’ Meeting, to which a number of senior women in the Church of England had also been invited. Cardinal Kasper wrote and delivered a paper especially for the occasion, and was ready to engage in discussion with us. He came in a spirit of intellectual and theological rigour and engaged with us robustly and frankly, speaking with the clarity that goes with deep friendship. Cardinal Kasper embodies in himself and in his work the openness and warm spirit of much current ecumenical dialogue, and as we thank God for him, we offer these reflections in the same spirit of frankness, friendship and, we hope, rigour.
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Canadians spend more on gambling than they do on education or personal care. According to a report from the Vanier Institute of the Family, legal gambling in Canada attracts $1,080 per household compared to $1,007 for education or $834 for personal care. Gambling losses in 2003-2004 amounted to $596 per adult, or nearly $50 per person per month. Using data from Statistics Canada’s 2002 “Canadian Community Health Survey,” the Vanier Institute reports that almost 1.2 million Canadians exhibit at least one indication of problem gambling behaviour — roughly enough persons to fill a major Canadian city.

The report, entitled “Gambling with our (Kids’) Futures: Gambling as a family policy Issue” was written by Arlene Moscovitch, and is available online or in print through the Vanier Institute. The report argues that gambling is more than just a personal problem. Treating problem gambling as an individual pathology discounts its impact on the families of the problem gambler, as well as the wider society. Recent research supports a move towards a public health model that considers the impact of gambling on the community. Social policy relating to alcohol and tobacco has been greatly strengthened by a similar move to a public health model.

In related news, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary has sent a letter to each Catholic school in the Calgary separate school system critical of a recent decision of the school board. In late 2005, Bishop Frederick Henry asked the Catholic school board to put an end to school-based fundraising practices that involve morally repugnant forms of gambling. On May 31, 2006 the board adopted a task force report on school-based fundraising. One recommendation of the report rejected the bishop’s request, allowing the continued use of fundraising under guidelines to be established by the school district in consultation with school councils and principals. In Bishop Henry’s recent letter, dated June 20, the bishop said: “The acceptance of the Task Force’s recommendations constitutes a failure in Catholic leadership, pays lip-service to the pillar of ‘Catholicity,’ and is equivalent to Esau selling his birthright for a mess of pottage (cf. Gen.25: 29-34).”
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Benoît XVI se rendra cette année au patriarcat œcuménique à Istanbul (l’ancienne Constantinople). Ce voyage aura lieu du 28 au 30 novembre prochain, à l’occasion de la fête de l’apôtre André, saint patron de l’Église de Constantinople. (Service Orthodoxe de Presse) Les Assises chrétiennes de la mondialisation (ACM), la deuxième assemblée de ce dynamique rassemblement
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La décision unanime de la Cour suprême du Canada rendue le 2 mars, autorisant le port du kirpan par un élève sikh d’une école publique du Québec, est vue comme une affirmation positive de la liberté de religion. « C’est un geste en faveur du pluralisme et des accommodements aux différences religieuses » a déclaré l’avocat constitutionnel
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Provinces de l’Ouest Une retraite de prière sur le thème « Nos dons réciproques : à la découverte de nos richesses cultuelles et spirituelles » a été organisée par le Prairie Centre for Ecumenism à la maison de retraite Queen’s House Retreat and Renewal Centre à Saskatoon, du 25 au 27 mai 2006. Cet exercice œcuménique offrait
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This year, Pope Benedict XVI will travel to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). The trip will take place next November 28-30 on the occasion of the feast day of the apostle Andrew, patron saint of the church of Constantinople. (Translated from Service Orthodox de Presse) Fatwa against smoking sought. Muslim health professionals in the
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The March 2 Supreme Court of Canada unanimous decision upholding the right of a Sikh student to wear a kirpan in a Quebec public school is seen as positive affirmation of religious freedom. “It is gesture in favour of pluralism and accommodation of religious differences,” said lawyer Peter Lauwers. “The court found as a matter
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West A Prayer Retreat on the theme of “Gift to Each other: Exploring our Treasures of Worship and Prayer” was organized by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism and held at Queen’s House Retreat and Renewal Centre in Saskatoon, May 25-27, 2006. This ecumenical exercise offered participants the opportunity to experience the treasures of worship and
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by Emily Enders Odom, PCUSA News Promoting the unity of the whole church is a call that the Rev. Jerry Pillay lives out daily. Pillay, the pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Benoni, South Africa, and an ecumenical representative to the 217th General Assembly, is moderator of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa
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The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism is pleased to announce that its Summer Ecumenical Institute for 2007 will take place in Saskatoon June 26-29. The theme of the conference is conflict resolution and transformation within and among churches, under the working title “Making Peace in the Household of God.”

Many Canadian churches appear to be experiencing conflict, often more within than between denominations. Liberals and conservatives in many churches are in tension over issues such as human sexuality and the interpretation of scripture, and the ‘heat’ seems to be rising. The skills of courtesy, listening and dialogue, which ecumenically-minded people have been developing over the years, are today needed just as much within our churches as between them.
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Now available in electronic and printed format, the WCC Annual Review 2005 is an illustrated account of WCC programmes and activities over the year. The Annual Review also contains key information on WCC member churches, governing bodies, finances, publications and other resources.
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Pope John Paul II has invited leaders and theologians of other Churches to help him in seeking new forms for the papal ministry. In this article the Bishop of Rochester makes a contribution from the Anglican Communion’s point of view. As I write, conversations are taking place in Rome on the future of Anglican-Roman Catholic
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Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has given “a clear and helpful contribution” to the Church of England’s debate over the consecration of women bishops, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. The gracious response offered by Williams was to be expected between two close friends and theological colleagues. Nevertheless, Kasper’s frank address to the House of Bishops was a sign of the significance that the Vatican places on the English church’s decision. As an exercise in ecumenical brinkmanship it may be unparallelled in recent times.
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