Pope John Paul II acknowledged today that ”real differences” between Roman Catholicism and other churches are blocking progress toward Christian unity.

Speaking to leaders of other Christian faiths, the Pope also conceded that his church presents demands that complicate the ecumenical movement.

The Pope’s speech today was his first public statement on ecumenism since the leadership of the Church of England took the important step of saying it would accept some sort of papal authority in a unified church.

John Paul’s comments were also significant because New Zealand’s Catholics have been particularly energetic in pursuing ecumenical contacts.
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by Kenneth A. Briggs, special to the New York Times [Vatican City] Johannes Cardinal Willebrands, head of the Vatican Secretariat for Christian Unity, called today for greater efforts to bring Roman Catholics and other Christians together. The Dutch Cardinal, speaking at a news conference in connection with the Synod of Bishops here, also said conditions
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The Vatican’s chief ecumenical officer called Monday for a new effort to draw Roman Catholicism and the World Council of Churches into a closer relationship, challenging a widening perception that the church’s commitment to cooperative Christian efforts is flagging.

Johannes Cardinal Willebrands, the Dutch-born president of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Christian Unity, contended at a news conference that Catholic collaboration with other Christian denominations, fueled by reforms enacted at the Second Vatican Council two decades ago, remains a central church policy.
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In a letter described by religious leaders as “unprecedented,” Pope John Paul II told the presiding bishop of the Lutheran Church in America that Christian unity “continues as a priority in the Catholic Church today” and praised the agreements by joint Lutheran-Catholic theological commissions over the last two decades. The Pope’s letter came in response to a letter from Bishop James R. Crumley Jr. of New York, who wrote the pontiff May 22 asking him to encourage U.S. Roman Catholics to study the last report issued by the joint commission, a 21,000-word study on “justification by faith,” a key doctrine of the Protestant Reformation.
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by E. J. Dionne, New York Times Pope John Paul II celebrated his 65th birthday today before cheering crowds with talk of Christian unity and a stern warning to youth against the exploitation ”of our weaknesses and our passions.” John Paul, who has been criticized by some Protestant leaders for slowing ecumenical dialogue, called on
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by Robert O’Connor, Chicago Tribune Last December, Rev. David Armstrong, minister of the First Limavady Presbyterian Church, performed what in most parts of the world would have been a little noted act of courtesy: He exchanged Christmas greetings with a neighbor, the pastor of the local Roman Catholic church. Last week he left town. He
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The Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands and the Dutch Reformed Church, oldest of the Dutch Protestant churches, with roots in the Reformation of the 16th century, announced today that they had agreed to recognize each other’s baptism.

This latest step toward church unity in the Netherlands was announced by Bernard Cardinal Alfrink, leader of the Dutch Roman Catholic hierarchy, and the Rev. Dr. Gerit de Ru, president of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church, at a news conference here.
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