New channels for ecumenical awareness
Thursday, September 04 2008The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism has generously agreed to host the work of those ecumenical and interfaith dialogues, for the time being those involving Catholics, on its website www.oikoumene.ca. Links to this website have also been posted on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) at www.cccb.ca, since it is the Conference that is responsible for naming Catholic participants in national ecumenical and interfaith dialogues with the help of the Commission for Christian Unity.
(CCCB – Ottawa) When Catholics and Anglicans find themselves at Eucharist together in each other’s churches in order to attend weddings or funerals, what is the appropriate way for each to participate?
When reading headlines about Church leaders asking for forgiveness for wrong doings committed in the past, do Catholics and members of the United Church understand the issue in the same way?
How can four words of the Creed create division between the Churches of the East and West?
Anyone interested in these and other questions can now easily access the agreed statements of various ecumenical dialogues taking place in Canada, and read reports on what is taking place in Canadian dialogues among Churches and faith communities. The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism has generously agreed to host the work of those ecumenical and interfaith dialogues, for the time being those involving Catholics, on its website www.oikoumene.ca. Links to this website have also been posted on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) at www.cccb.ca, since it is the Conference that is responsible for naming Catholic participants in national ecumenical and interfaith dialogues with the help of the Commission for Christian Unity.
The Centre’s website will provide a list of all of the ecumenical and interfaith dialogues in which the CCCB is involved, and the names of participants. Reports of their meetings will be updated regularly, giving a good overview of topics being discussed and how the dialogues function.
Speaking about this new arrangement with the CCCB, Mr. Anthony Mansour, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, stated that “We welcome our continued relationship with the CCCB. Anything that we can do to facilitate communications among different faith groups fits our mission. Christians must work towards unity among themselves. Moreover, Christians and other faith groups must cooperate together. In today’s secular society, it is more important than ever before for people of faith to be in dialogue with each other and to be able to propose credible solutions to today’s social problems.”
Bishop John Boissonneau, Chairman of the CCCB Commission for Christian Unity, said, “The cooperation with the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism allows the dedication and efforts of our Catholic representatives and their counterparts in the various CCCB sponsored dialogues to have a voice. Our Commission heard clearly the need to have an accessible and flexible way to post the deliberations and documents from the ecumenical and interfaith dialogues. This effort can further engage people of faith and good will in this vital mission of the Church. I welcome this positive development and recommend it for regular review by Bishops, theologians, pastors and lay people.”
About the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism
Founded in 1963, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, through education, dialogue and prayer, promotes Christian unity, as well as understanding and collaboration among the faithful of the world’s religions. It’s quarterly periodical Ecumenism is received in 40 countries and the Centre maintains a specialized 9,000-volume library accessible to the public.