CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
Dialogue: marked the end of the first meeting of ARCIC IIIMarked the end of the first meeting of the third phase in the dialogue of the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission (also known as ARCIC III), which brought to the Monastery of Bose, from May 17th to 27th, eighteen Catholic and Anglican theologians. The Commission, chaired by Most Reverend David Moxon (Anglican archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses) and by Most Reverend Bernard Longley (Roman Catholic archbishop of Birmingham), worked – as stated in a release published today by the Anglican Communion – on the “Programme set forth by Pope Benedict and Archbishop Rowan Williams in 2006”, the goal of which is a “joint commitment to reinstate complete communion in faith and sacramental life”. A goal – the release explains – that must be “understood and pursued today”. Discussions were focussed on two interdependent issues: “The Church as Communion, local and universal”, and “How, in communion, the local and universal Church come to discern right ethical teaching”. The release mentions the working method used over these days and states that “the Commission was particularly helped by the approach of ‘receptive ecumenism’, which seeks to make ecumenical progress by learning from our partners, rather than simply asking our partners to learn from us”. Such “receptive ecumenism” requires “more of about self-examination and inner conversion than a bent for convincing the others”. The release published today at the end of the meeting also states that “the Commission will seek to develop a theological understanding of the human person, of human society”, and “will provide a basis from which to explore how right ethical teaching is determined at universal and local levels”. This study by ARCIC III will be “firmly based on the Scripture, Tradition and reason, and draw on the previous work of the Commission”. “It will analyze some particular questions to elucidate how our two Communions approach moral decision making, and how areas of tension for Anglicans and Roman Catholics might be resolved by learning from the other”. The Commission ends its release by stating that they are aware that “what unites us is greater than what divides us”.CEC: The Churches in dialogue with the EU The methods and contents of the dialogue with European institutions was the theme of the plenary session of the Church and Society Commission of the European Bishops’ Conference held in Brussels May 25-28. In the final document, CEC states that “new opportunities for engaging with the European Institutions have emerged following the entry into force of Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty. A year and a half after its adoption, Churches took stock of the success of the implementation of their institutional dialogue with European Union”. This dialogue takes place in diverse forms: annual meetings between religious leaders and the EU Presidents, dialogue seminars, meeting with EU Presidencies, and frequent meetings at the working level. The CEC Church and Society Commission intends to implement “regular and non-bureaucratic” exchanges, as the Churches “are committed to operating in the public sphere as responsible and competent partners of European Institutions”. However, this entails “speaking with a common voice and making sure that this voice is heard”. The Chairman of the Commission Rüdiger Noll, declared: “Dialogue with European institutions regards the Churches’ contributions in the religious sphere as well as other issues such as human rights and social questions”. Talks between the Commission and EU officers focused on these themes. At the end of the plenary CEC made known that it will join the “Sunday Alliance network”, develop a human rights handbook for European Churches; continue the dialogue with the Latin-American Council on globalization; support the process in preparation for the world Council of Churches due to take place in 2013. Anglicans: appeal for the Durban Conference From November 28 to December 9 South Africa will be the focus of global attention. World negotiators and political leaders will convene in the city of Durban where they will attend the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Anglican Communion released a statement calling upon “as many Anglicans as possible” to attend the event. The Conference is considered critical to the achievement of a post-Kyoto Protocol binding agreement on climate change. “It is hoped that governments will make firm and urgent commitments to decrease national carbon emissions”, the signatories point out in the statement. In South Africa the Anglican Communion has already launched a set of initiatives aimed at reducing emissions and at boosting environmental protection. Revd Andrew Warmback pointed out: “The Anglican Church of Southern Africa is playing a key role in mobilising its own and other faith communities to join together in the work of influencing governments to make these firm commitments in Durban”.
