“Let go of marytr complex,” urges Bridgefolk participant
Bridgefolk participant Julia Smucker recently published a letter to the editor in The Mennonite (Oct. 6 issue, p. 4). Since her letter needed to be shortened, she asked to share the original letter here: Read more
Mennonite-Catholic news from Mennonite World Conference
Mennonite World Conference met last summer in Asunción, Paraguay for its every-sixth-year general assembly. While the central purpose of the assembly was to strengthen bonds of communion between Mennonites from around the globe, the assembly also welcomed guests from other Christian traditions, including the Anglican Church, the Baptist World Alliance, the Catholic Church, the Lutheran World Federation, the Methodist Churches, African Initiated Churches, the Salvation Army, the World Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance. Here are a couple of items gleaned from MWC news releases that will be of particular interest to Bridgefolk: Read more
Joint statement by Mennonites and Catholics to WCC Decade to Overcome Violence now available
Following up on their 1998-2003 dialogue and ground-breaking document, Called Together to Be Peacemakers Mennonite and Catholic leaders met together for a brief conference October 23-25, 2007 in order to offer joint suggestions for the World Council of Churches’ Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV). The DOV will culminate in an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in 2011. In preparation, representatives from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Mennonite World Conference met at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome with the goal of submitting theological reflections that Mennonites and Catholics, committed to overcoming violence, might affirm together as a witness to peace in the ecumenical context. Read more
Mennonite delegation well received by Catholic leaders in Rome
News Service
November 5, 2007
Strasbourg, France – Mennonites and Catholics are developing a common
statement to the World Council of Churches (WCC) as it prepares for the
International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in 2011. The convocation,
convened by the WCC, will come as the culmination of the WCC “Decade to
Overcome Violence. Churches seeking Reconciliation and Peace” (2001 – 2010). Read more
Join us in prayer, as Vatican hosts worldwide Mennonite representatives
Please join us in prayer as Mennonite delegates from 10 countries around the world travel to Rome for continuing consultations on Mennonite-Catholic dialogue and peace. Read more
Notre Dame Theology Conference now available online
Wish you could have been at the Mennonite-Catholic Theological Conference at the University of Notre Dame late in July? The conference brought together top Mennonite and Catholic theologians and ecclesial leaders in order to stimulate scholarly interest in Called Together to Be Peacemakers — the final report of the international dialogue between Mennonite World Conference and Vatican representatives — while also providing resources for Catholic and Mennonite ecclesial communities to study and discuss this text in an informed way.
Well now you have another chance. You can “attend” the conference on-line. Read more
Colombian Catholics and Mennonites strike new bonds at first dialogue
Bogotá, Colombia (MWC)- “I have been able to get to know a new world that I never knew before,” said Monsignor Fidel Cadavid, the bishop of Quibdo, Colombia. “Without knowing one another, it is impossible to practice ecumenism.”
Bishop Cadavid plans to connect with the Mennonite congregation in Quibdo on his return. “I see a great affinity [between our churches] in peace work. Working together, we will have more strength and be more effective in our advocacy.”
He was speaking of “Called Together to be Peacemakers,” an encounter for Catholic – Mennonite Dialogue which took place here August 15 and 16 at the Episcopal Conference of Colombia. Read more
Toronto dialogue group releases report
New on our website is the report of a dialogue group at the Toronto School of Theology. Ten graduate students in theology, half of whom are Roman Catholic and half Mennonite, met together regularly for two years to analyze and discuss Called Together to be Peacemakers, the final report from the international dialogue between Mennonites and Roman Catholics, 1998-2003. Their final report is entitled “Responding to the Call: Reflections on Called Together to be Peacemakers.” It gives particular attention to five themes — authority and the reception of teaching in each tradition, religious liberty, baptism, Eucharist, and peace. The report is available at http://www.bridgefolk.net/theology/dialogue.
Still more local dialogues in Winnipeg!
In our Bridgefolk Brief last week we provided updates on a number of local dialogues between Mennonites and Roman Catholics that have come to our attention. One of these relayed information from a Canadian magazine concerning a congregation-to-parish dialogue in Winnipeg. As it turns out, this is only the beginning. Dr. Helmut Harder responded with additional information on what’s happening with Catholic-Mennonite dialogue in Winnipeg: Read more
