Reformed and Catholic dialogue (original) (raw)

Donald Bolen, Nicolas Jesson, Donna Geernaert, Towards Unity. Ecumenical Dialogue 500 Years after the Reformation, introduction by Cardinal Walter Kasper. New York/ Mahwah NJ, Paulist Press, 2017; 382 pp. (ISBN 987 0 8091 5349 7).

This is a book review of: Donald Bolen, Nicolas Jesson, Donna Geernaert, Towards Unity. Ecumenical Dialogue 500 Years after the Reformation, introduction by Cardinal Walter Kasper. New York/ Mahwah NJ, Paulist Press, 2017; 382 pp. (ISBN 987 0 8091 5349 7).

We do not walk alone on the path to God’s kingdom: The synodal process as a challenge to deepen the ecumenical fellowship

Acta missiologica, 2022

The text deals with the current topic of the sixteenth regular assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, the first phase of which includes not only the active participation of all Catholic faithful, but is also open to Christians of other churches. The text first shows that the invitation addressed to non-Catholics to participate in the synodal process is based on the ecclesiological foundations established by the Second Vatican Council. In the second part, the article places the synodal process within the framework of Pope Francis' reform efforts, which includes the missionary renewal of the Church and have its important ecumenical impact. The third part deals with the analysis of the character of the synodal process in terms of ecumenical hermeneutics, focusing on its pastoral and spiritual dimension.

A worldwide fellowship of churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service The ecumenical movement in the 21st century

A worldwide fellowship of churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service Presentation at the event marking the 40th anniversary of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC We celebrate in these days the 40th anniversary of the Joint Working Group (JWG). With gratitude we look back over four decades of a sometimes difficult, but nevertheless fruitful cooperation between the WCC and the Catholic Church. We thank all those who have been our companions and friends along the way. The purpose of our consultation, however, is not only to look back but primarily to look forward and to reflect on the future role and mandate of the JWG, and to find ways in which the JWG can contribute to the renewal of the ecumenical movement in the 21st century.

Towards a World Council of Reformation Churches? The confessional and the ecumenical in the early self-understanding of the World Communion of Reformed Churches

This article analyses the confessional elements and the ecumenical impulses of the 1875 constitution of the World Presbyterian Alliance, later World Alliance of Reformed Churches, today World Communion of Reformed Churches. Constituted by churches which adopted different Reformed confessions, the Alliance makes of the "harmony with the consensus" of those confessions the marker of its identity. But it never managed to reach an agreement on what it meant by "consensus" of Reformed confessions. At the same time, its pioneers, such as Philip Schaff and William Blaikie, saw the Alliance as a first step towards a kind of World Council of Reformation or Protestant Churches.