The “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” signed by representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Vatican on Oct. 31, 1999, in Augsburg, Germany, did more than declare that certain 16th century condemnations between Lutherans and Catholics no longer apply. The formula used to reach that conclusion will influence talks between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). … Read more »… lire la suite »
“Evangelization” was the major focus of a May 18-24 meeting of the 16-member Disciples of Christ-Roman Catholic International Dialogue Commission which gathered at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Pope, His Holiness John Paul II sent a message of greeting to the historic May 2000 gathering of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops in Mississauga, Toronto, Canada. On the eve of his 80th birthday, the Pope expressed his hope that the meeting would “bear lasting fruit” and hasten unity of the two churches.
“For more than 30 years the Anglican and the Catholic Church have been on a journey towards the restoration of unity,” said the Pope in a statement read by Cardinal Edward Cassidy to 2,000 worshippers in St Michael’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Toronto. “In some places there have been very positive developments … in other places we are not so far along the road [and] new and serious obstacles have slowed our progress. I pray that the spiritual bonds that have always lifted Catholics and Anglicans will be strengthened and deepened even further.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
‘Bitter differences’ lead to dead-end, Polish ecumenist says by Jonathan Luxmoore, Ecumenical News International [WARSAW] High-level talks between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches which ended in the United States recently were marred by “methodological deficiencies” and a “polemical atmosphere,” leaving relations between the two Christian communions at a dead-end, according to an expert on … Read more »… lire la suite »
Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning the Roman Catholic document ‘Dominus Iesus‘ [ACNS 2219 – Lambeth Palace, 5 September 2000] By restating the long-held view of the Roman Catholic Church on the position of other Christian churches, this document breaks no new ground. But neither does it fully reflect the deeper understanding that has … Read more »… lire la suite »
The United Church has dropped an attempt to substitute gender-neutral language for “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” in the baptism rite — a proposed change that caused concern among the church’s ecumenical partners, including the Anglican Church. About 100 groups and congregations last fall were asked their opinions of various new forms of the rite, said Fred Graham, liturgical officer for the United Church. The church is developing a new worship book, Celebrate God’s Presence. Conservatives, however, did not care for the changes — as Mr. Graham put it, “that sector in our church rose up” against alternate wording. Others felt, he said, that inclusive language was to be encouraged. At the same time, the United Church’s General Council Executive, which rules on matters of doctrine and faith, decided that such a fundamental change would need to be put to a church-wide vote. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The joint commission, appointed by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church and by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, held its annual session at Mondo Migliore in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, from September 13 to 19, 2000. This was the third session of the third round of this international bilateral dialogue. The report of the first round, 1970-1977, was entitled The Presence of Christ in Church and World, and that of the second, 1984-1989, Towards a Common Understanding of the Church. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Rev. Tom Ryan, CSP By Rev. Tom Ryan, CSP, Prairie Messenger. Ryan is co-ordinator of ecumenical and inter-religious relations in North America for his community, the Paulists. The declaration entitled Dominus Iesus released on Sept. 5 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has given rise to a firestorm of mixed reaction. … Read more »… lire la suite »
by Andrew Britz, OSB (Editor, Prairie Messenger) Pope John Paul II has never made it a secret: As the first Slavic pope, as a church leader from eastern Europe, he dreamed of being God’s instrument to bridge the millennium-old schism between East and West. Over the years, out of sensitivity to the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow, … Read more »… lire la suite »
In an address that emphasized the personal, heart-felt dimensions of the movement for Christian unity, the Rev. John T. Ford, C.S.C., Professor of Theology and Coordinator of Hispanic/Latino Studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., offered the image of a “family reunion” as “a possible model for expanding the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church and the National Council of Churches.”
A renowned Catholic theologian, Ford has, for 20 years, been a member of the NCC’s Faith and Order Commission, a body that focuses on the theological underpinnings of the ecumenical movement. “Faith and Order here in the United States provides a venue where Christians can meet and share their faith: both their commonalities and their differences,” he said. Where else can one participate in a theological conversation that includes Quakers and Orthodox, Pentecostals and mainline Protestants, Evangelicals and Roman Catholics?”
“Faith and Order has been like a family reunion where long-lost cousins finally meet,” he said. … Read more »… lire la suite »