Ecumenismo, Chiesa Cattolica e Consiglio Ecumenico delle Chiese proseguono il dialogo

In brief

The Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches held their third plenary session of the 11th mandate of the Gruppo Misto di Lavoro from September 1 to 3. Co-moderated by Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the United States and Bishop Thomas Dowd of the Catholic Diocese of Sault Saint Marie in Canada, the 19 members met to review progress and discuss current issues.

For the 2023–2030 mandate, the group is divided into three working groups. One is defining different conceptions of salvation in a context of growing religious indifference, another is studying reconciliation and peacebuilding processes in various global contexts, and the final group is addressing Christian responses to intolerance, religious fanaticism, and persecution.

The meeting coincided with the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey. The dean, Father Professor Lawrence Iwuamadi from Nigeria, noted that Bossey is a place where students from different Christian traditions live, study, and pray together. He mentioned the Catholic Church's contribution to the institute since 1968, which includes a professor serving annually funded by the Dicastero per la Promozione dell'Unità dei Cristiani and two scholarships for non-Catholic students.