CCCB Triennial Forum for Dialogues concludes with Strategic Ecumenical Vision

Thursday, July 11 2024

Ottawa, 11 July 2024 – The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has successfully concluded its Triennial Forum for Dialogues at St. Augustine’s Seminary in Scarborough, Ontario. Held from June 27-29, 2024, the Forum brought together Catholic participants from various CCCB-sponsored bilateral dialogues – both ecumenical and interfaith – together with diocesan/eparchial ecumenical officers from across the country, in order to take steps towards a comprehensive national ecumenical & interfaith strategy.

Towards a National Ecumenical & Interfaith Strategy

Building on the audit of ecumenical and inter-faith dialogues conducted four years ago, the Forum aimed to discern and provide suggestions for draft texts setting forth a national ecumenical and interfaith strategy. These priorities are rooted in Catholic principles and seek to enhance ecumenical and interfaith engagement across Canada. By way of example, the proposed trajectories for the ecumenical side of the strategy include:

  1. Ad-intra Formation: Establishing structures to foster ecumenical engagement at parish, diocesan, seminary, and national levels. This includes the establishment of diocesan ecumenical commissions, ecumenical officers, regional networks, and the possibility of a national curriculum for ecumenical leadership.
  2. An Ecumenism of Truth: Focusing on dialogues and relationships with other Churches and ecclesial communities. This involves initiating new dialogues, and clarifying engagement levels and methodologies.
  3. An Ecumenism of Life: Encouraging practical steps to walk and grow together with ecumenical partners, inspired by Pope Francis’s endorsement of the Lund Principle. This principle advocates doing all things together except where significant differences necessitate separate actions.
  4. Spiritual Ecumenism: Promoting prayer for unity in local parishes, planning and leading ecumenical prayer services, and fostering mutual learning through encounters with other Christians.

Highlights of the Forum

The Forum featured testimonies from various dialogue participants, including Catholic members of dialogues engaging Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Jewish, and Hindu communities. Key discussions focused on the benefits and challenges of the dialogues, financial sustainability, and the importance of making the dialogues more visible and engaging at the local level. Participants enjoyed prayer times in the West Syriac and Coptic, as well as the Roman Rite, in addition to ecumenical services: one in the style of Taizé, and another drawing upon the fruits of Canadian Catholic-Protestant dialogue.

Looking Ahead

The CCCB’s Triennial Forum for Dialogues marks a significant step towards fostering Christian unity and advancing ecumenical and interfaith relations in Canada. The hope is that a national strategy could be helpful in providing clarity regarding the purpose and structure of dialogues and relationships with other faith communities, in encouraging formal dialogues to foster a broader movement of ecumenism and interfaith relations, and engaging Catholics at all levels in the pursuit of whatever degree of unity is possible and appropriate with each dialogue partner.

Please find a video summary of the CCCB Triennial Forum for Dialogues, which culminated with outlining a proposal for a strategic ecumenical/interfaith vision.

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Media Inquiries:
Maribel Mayorga
Director of Communications
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)
Email: communications@cccb.ca
Telephone: 613-241-9461, ext. 225