by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt for The Tablet Pope Benedict XVI has intervened personally to demand more time for ecumenical talks with the Protestant Churches when he visits Germany in September. In a highly unusual move he has written directly to the leader of the Protestant Churches, Chairman Nikolaus Schneider, expressing dissatisfaction with the brevity of the … Read more »… lire la suite »
Reconciliation — between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and between Inuit and Dene students who attended residential schools in the North — will be the major focus of the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) event June 28 to July 1. … Read more »… lire la suite »
“One cannot hold to the charge that the Jewish people, either in the first century or at any other time, are responsible for the death of Jesus (the so-called charge of deicide) without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church. It contradicts both Vatican II (1962-1965) and the Council of Trent (1548-1563), not to mention a proper reading of the New Testament,” Father Massa stated. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The third phase of ARCIC, or Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, started on Tuesday at the monastery of Bose in northern Italy. ARCIC III is spending its first few days reviewing the work of the previous phases of work, particularly looking at what ARCIC I and II said about ecclesiology and ethics. It is doing this within a context of regular community prayer with the members of the monastery. Biblical study of the Epistle to the Ephesians, led by the co-chairs, provides a biblical framework for the days’ discussions. … Read more »… lire la suite »
On Pentecost Sunday, Gregory Kerr-Wilson, Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, and Daniel Bohan, Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Regina, jointly celebrated a service in Regina. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The joint commemoration of the Reformation by Catholics and Lutherans could begin with an admission of guilt by both sides, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, said in an interview last week. The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation are planning a joint declaration on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. “Without joint recollection, joint purification and without an admission of guilt on both sides, an honest commemoration will not be possible,” Cardinal Koch told the Austrian Catholic Press Agency. … Read more »… lire la suite »
As the Bishop of Rome, it is deeply moving for me to be meeting you here in the ancient Augustinian convent in Erfurt. As we have just heard, this is where Luther studied theology. This is where he was ordained a priest. Against his father’s wishes, he did not continue the study of Law, but instead he studied theology and set off on the path towards priesthood in the Order of Saint Augustine. And on this path, he was not simply concerned with this or that. What constantly exercised him was the question of God, the deep passion and driving force of his whole life’s journey. “How do I receive the grace of God?”: this question struck him in the heart and lay at the foundation of all his theological searching and inner struggle. For Luther theology was no mere academic pursuit, but the struggle for oneself, which in turn was a struggle for and with God. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Jonathan Luxmoore and Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, The Tablet The head of the German Church’s Ecumenical Commission has said that he believes the Pope “rehabilitated” the reformer, Martin Luther, during his visit to the country last month, write Jonathan Luxmoore and Christa Pongratz-Lippitt. Speaking on 23 September to the council of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, in … Read more »… lire la suite »
A new research centre at Ottawa’s Saint Paul University will study the contribution Canadians made to Vatican II as well as how the Council has shaped religious communities here.
A year before the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the Research Centre for Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism launched Oct. 13. It will examine ecumenism and interreligious dialogue in contemporary society and look at issues of progress and decline in the Catholic community.
“I hope we find a way to help contemporary young Catholics, other Christians and non-Christians to understand the commitment and the opening of the Catholic Church to the world, to contemporary society and to contemporary issues,” said Saint Paul theology professor Catherine Clifford, one of Centre’s co-founders, in an interview. … Read more »… lire la suite »