by Paul Hanley, for “Urban Banter” in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix What is truth? The question has been around for a long time, but finding an answer isn’t getting any easier. The question, which was put to several speakers at an interfaith symposium at the University last Saturday, becomes more difficult to answer as society … Read more »… À suivre »
On October 24, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Bill Phipps, the moderator of the United Church of Canada had stated that the “divinity of Jesus and the reality of heaven and hell are irrelevant.”
The article, which was carried coast to coast in numerous papers, generated an immediate controversy and storms of protest to both the United Church national offices in Etobicoke, Ontario and the newspapers reprinting the article.
By mid-November battle lines were drawn with pundits, theologians, clergy and laity of both conservative and liberal hues voicing their opinions of Phipps’ statements and of his orthodoxy. It would not be terribly helpful (or appropriate) for me to add my views. But, I should, in the interests of bringing clarity to the discussion, make the following observations.
Firstly, both Bill Phipps and the United Church spokespeople have pointed out that the specific statements that were reported were lifted out of context and did not accurately represent his views. The entire article was published in the Ottawa Citizen on November 2, and while the statements are direct quotes, in my opinion Phipps clearly did not intend to deny the divinity of Jesus. … Read more »… À suivre »
More than 25 years ago in Northern India I first met Fr Dupuis. That meeting prefigured my contact with his remarkable book, and was also thoroughly physical. As he gunned his Yugoslavian motorcycle along narrow roads in the foothills of the Himalayas, I clung to him for dear life and prayed not to fall into the cavernous valleys that flanked our route to a high-altitude Buddhist monastery. After visiting the monks Dupuis roared off down another road to a self-help Tibetan refugee camp directed by the Dalai Lama’s sister-in-law and then to a mountaineering school run by the Sherpa Tensing who had conquered Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary. These visits shaped my first impressions of Jacques Dupuis as someone who wanted direct contact with other religious traditions and was certainly not content to learn about them simply by reading texts at his desk. … Read more »… À suivre »
Some say news reports were ‘misleading’ by Jerry L. Van Marter, PCUSA News Service LOUISVILLE, Ky. — So what’s the big deal about Dirk Ficca? Ficca, a Presbyterian minister member of Chicago Presbytery and executive director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, ignited yet another heated theological debate in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when … Read more »… À suivre »
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 »… À suivre »
CHICAGO (ELCA) — The general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) said Sept. 8 that he is “disappointed” that 35 years of ecumenical dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics apparently were not considered when the Vatican issued a document earlier this week and sent a letter in June to presidents of Roman Catholic Bishops’ … Read more »… À suivre »
A week after publishing a document which casts doubt on the validity of Protestant Christianity and asserts Roman Catholic superiority over all other churches, the Vatican continues to draw criticism both from other churches and from within its own ranks.
The general secretaries of two organizations representing major wings of Protestantism have publicly lamented the harm done to ecumenism by Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, published on Sept. 5 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document declares that churches that do not have a “valid Episcopate [bishops] and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense.”
Another document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published in an Italian magazine this month orders Catholic bishops not to use the term “sister church” in reference to Protestant churches. This too has also caused dismay in ecumenical circles. … Read more »… À suivre »
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 »… À suivre »
During the summer of 2000, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a declaration entitled “Dominus Iesus: On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church”. In an interview published on 22 September 2000, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung invited Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to respond to the principal objections raised against the Declaration Dominus Iesus. The daily edition of L’Osservatore Romano subsequently published an Italian translation of the interview, omitting the parts that only concern the German situation. Here is a translation from the Italian version of the interview. … Read more »… À suivre »
Sunday’s 17th annual Festival of Faith is particularly significant this year, according to Dr. Ivan Wilson, one of the organizers. Given the strong feelings aroused by the attacks on America, Wilson believes the Festival is especially important. “We need to understand one another and celebrate our religious diversity,” he says. “The Festival of Faith gives … Read more »… À suivre »
The visit to Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge, England by Shaykh Fawzy El-Zafzaf, President of the Committee for Dialogue with the Monotheistic Faiths of Al Azhar, the renowned Islamic university and Centre in Cairo, Egypt, marks a significant new development in the building of relations between the Anglican Communion and Al Azhar.
As part of the agreement signed by Archbishop Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, and Shaykh Tantawy, the Grand Shaykh of Al Azhar in January 2002, the two parties committed themselves not only to regular ‘dialogue’ meetings, but also to find other ways in which they might learn more about the faith of each other. It was agreed to seek to establish reciprocal study visits in which staff and students of Al Azhar would spend time at Anglican theological institutions, and Anglican theologians and theological students would similarly visit Al Azhar. Shaykh Fawzy’s visit to Ridley Hall, 5-11 October 2003, during which he was accompanied by Bishop Mouneer Anis, the Anglican Bishop of Egypt and North Africa will, it is hoped, prove to be the first of a number of such exchanges. … Read more »… À suivre »
Sister Katherine MacDonald, or Sister Kay, sees herself as moving gently into retirement, no small feat for a woman whose 70-plus years of Christian service and achievement could fill a book. MacDonald was born and educated in Saskatoon. She earned a B.Ed. and a BA in History and English at the U of S, and … Read more »… À suivre »
The review, Oasis/al-Waha/Nakhlistan, was launched on 7 March 2005 to promote an open and respectful dialogue with Islam, and to support Christian minorities in predominantly Muslim countries. Initially, Oasis will be published twice a year. Edited by a committee of experts from around the world, it is published in four editions: English-Arabic, English-Urdu, French-Arabic and … Read more »… À suivre »
A global gathering will be held in Montreal from 11-15 September 2006. The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, which convened the meeting of the latest Parliament in Barcelona in 2004, has officially recognized this global congress as a Post-Parliament event. For detailed information visit the website of the Global Congress or contact … Read more »… À suivre »
A candlelight Interfaith Service for Peace will be held New Year’s Eve at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Everyone is welcome to this evening of prayer, reflection and solidarity. The service begins at 7:15 p.m. with silent prayer and candlelighting, with a program to follow from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Satuday, Dec. 31 at St. Paul’s, … Read more »… À suivre »
Le Sanctuaire du Saint-Sacrement convie les juifs, musulmans et chrétiens à la 1ère table d’Abraham, le 29 janvier 2006, sur le thème « Notre père Abraham ». La journée comprend une conférence à trois voix : à 14h30, intervention du rabbin Leigh Lerner, rabbi senior de la synagogue Emanu-el Beth Sholom; à 15h intervention du … Read more »… À suivre »
“Benedict XVI and the Future of Interreligious Theology” is the subject of a talk by Francis Clooney, S.J., at 8 p.m., March 24, 2006 at Sam Sorbara Auditorium in Brennan Hall, 81 St Mary Street, Toronto. The evening is sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Religion, Regis College, and the University of St Michael’s College. For more information call (416) 926-7115 or (416) 926-1300 ext 3317.
The annual Holocaust Memorial Service will be held Sunday, April 30th at 1:30 p.m. Hosted by the Congregation Agudas Israel at 715 McKinnon Ave., Saskatoon. This year, the keynote speaker is Philip Weiss. Born in 1922 in Drohobycz, Poland, Philip, along with his parents, his brother and sister, were first placed in a ghetto, then … Read more »… À suivre »
A prominent Italian newspaper editor has appealed to Muslims to visit Marian shrines in Italy. Reminding his readers that the Qu’ran devotes an entire sura to Mary, and that Muslims and Christians jointly venerate Marian shrines in Muslim countries, Magdi Allam is puzzled why more Muslims do not visit shrines in Christian countries. Allam, an … Read more »… À suivre »
Read the 2015 joint statement of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue in Saskatoon, Called to Common Witness
Ecumenism Means You, Too
Permanent link: https://ecumenism.net/?p=6193
More than 25 years ago in Northern India I first met Fr Dupuis. That meeting prefigured my contact with his remarkable book, and was also thoroughly physical. As he gunned his Yugoslavian motorcycle along narrow roads in the foothills of the Himalayas, I clung to him for dear life and prayed not to fall into the cavernous valleys that flanked our route to a high-altitude Buddhist monastery. After visiting the monks Dupuis roared off down another road to a self-help Tibetan refugee camp directed by the Dalai Lama’s sister-in-law and then to a mountaineering school run by the Sherpa Tensing who had conquered Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary. These visits shaped my first impressions of Jacques Dupuis as someone who wanted direct contact with other religious traditions and was certainly not content to learn about them simply by reading texts at his desk.