World Council and Catholic Church Draw Up 3 Documents

Joint Working Group Meets in Crete

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GLASGOW, Scotland, MAY 17, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A meeting between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches has produced three studies on baptism, ecumenical dialogue and Catholic participation in local ecclesial councils.

The meeting, held in Crete last week, also produced a report covering the efforts of the Joint Working Group, the liaison between the Church and the WCC.

The report, with the three study documents, will be submitted to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the assembly of the Geneva-based WCC. The latter is composed primarily of Orthodox and denominations of the Reformation.

Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, co-moderator of the Joint Working Group, said in the wake of the Crete meeting that the future of ecumenism demands a return to the spiritual roots of the movement.

“The document on baptism has already provided the joint commission on doctrine of the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland with substance for its agenda,” the archbishop added. “This has proved very stimulating and opened up new horizons of shared vision and cooperation.”

He added: “I was delighted to be able to welcome to the group Bishop Brian Farrell, L.C., the Rome-based secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. He led us in a fresh examination of the Vatican II document on ecumenism, ‘Unitatis Redintegratio,’ on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its publication and his insights were extremely encouraging.”

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