JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
November 14, 2002
AKRON, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – The fifth meeting of the Mennonite-Catholic international dialogue took place at the headquarters of the Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pennsylvania, October 25-31, 2002. Co-sponsored by the Mennonite World Conference (Strasbourg, France) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Vatican City), the dialogue began in 1998, has met annually since then and is working toward issuing a final report in 2003. Dr. Helmut Harder (Mennonite, Winnipeg, Canada) and Bishop Joseph Martino (Catholic, Philadelphia PA, USA) are co-chairmen.
Other participants on the Mennonite side were Dr. Neal Blough (Paris, France), Dr. Howard J. Loewen (Pasadena, Ca., USA), Dr. Nzash U. Lumeya (Fresno, Ca., USA/Congo), Rev. Mario Higueros (Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala), Rev. Andrea Lange (Bolanden-Weierhof, Germany) and Dr. Larry Miller (Strasbourg, France) who is co-secretary. Other Roman Catholic participants included Rev. Dr. Andrew Christiansen, SJ (New York, New York, USA), Msgr. John Mutiso-Mbinda (Rome/Kenya), Dr. Peter Nissen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), Rev. Dr. James R. Puglisi, SA (Rome, Italy), and Msgr. John A. Radano (Rome/USA), also a co-secretary.
The general purpose of the dialogue is to promote better understanding of the positions about Christian faith held on each side and to contribute to overcoming prejudices that have existed since the sixteenth century between Mennonites and Catholics.
With this objective in mind, the fifth annual session worked toward developing the final report of the dialogue. The report will describe first the nature and the purpose of the dialogue; secondly the results of the discussion on different interpretations of Church history; thirdly, considerations of more contemporary theological themes such as the nature of the Church, sacraments and ordinances, mutual commitment to peace; and fourth, issues related to the healing of memories between the Catholic Church and the Mennonite churches. Delegation members discussed draft sections of the report developed by a sub-committee that had met in Paris, in May. They also spent a day reflecting on the text “Memory and Reconciliation,” a paper developed by the International Theological Commission of the Catholic Church in preparation for Jubilee Year 2000.
On Sunday, October 27th, the joint delegation attended the worship service of the Akron Mennonite Church where they were warmly welcomed. After the service, a number of congregational members engaged the delegation members in a listening session in which they were informed of the progress of the dialogue and had opportunity to raise questions about it. On Tuesday, October 29th, the joint delegation visited Lancaster County Amish and Mennonite communities in order to become better acquainted with the contemporary life of these churches.
A further meeting aimed at completing work on the dialogue’s final report is scheduled for March 2003, in Strasbourg, France.