The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Centro Pro Unione jointly held a special symposium on the late Methodist theologian the Revd Dr Geoffrey Wainwright on Thursday, 20 October 2022 at Centro Pro Unione. Prof Wainwright died on 17 March 2020 at the age of 79.
The symposium memorialized the life of Prof Wainwright as a liturgist, theologian, and ecumenist. Always quick to quote the hymns of Charles Wesley, Prof Wainwright was known for book Doxology: The Praise of God in Worship, Doctrine and Life (1984). He was an intregral drafter of the seminal WCC Faith and Order document – Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry – which been utilized as a foundation text in theological dialogue. Prof Wainwright also served 25 years as the Methodist co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the joint theological dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Holy See.
The symposium comprised 3 main lectures by Rev Prof Bryan Spinks (Yale), Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck (Wesley House Cambridge), and Rev Dr William Rusch (Yale). Following the lectures, a special panel of former students, colleagues, and friends spoke about the personal encounters with Prof Wainwright. The panel was comprised of Rev Prof Bernhard Eckerstrofer OSB (Sant’Anselmo), Prof Gillian Kingston (World Methodist Council), and Archbishop Don Bolen (Catholic Diocese of Regina).
The Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC) met at the Casa Maria Immacolata, Rome, from 2nd-8th October 2022 for the first plenary meeting of a new round of dialogue. The Commission has met without interruption since its foundation in 1967 and now begins its twelfth round on the theme of unity and mission. The gathering was hosted by the World Methodist Council with the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome as the local meeting organizer.
The Commission met with a broad agenda of mission and unity, conscious of the forthcoming anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the current needs and developments of both communions, and the pressing need for unity between us “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). In order to discern its focus for this round of dialogue, the Commission heard papers on: scripture texts from John 17 and Acts 15; the Missio Dei; hearing the cry of the poor; the Council of Nicaea; synodal and conferencing practices within our communions; the implications of mission for belief; recognition; the Wesleyan essentials; and the hierarchy of truths. On the basis of these contributions, the Commission developed a schema for its future work which will seek to chart a pathway towards unity with a missiological lens, taking account of the theological convergence that the dialogue has already achieved.
The Commission began its meeting on 3rd October with prayer at Ponte Sant’ Angelo Methodist Church in Rome, praying the historic Wesleyan Covenant Service together. Commission members were joined by ecumenical representatives and members of the diplomatic community. The Rev. Prof. Edgardo Colon-Emeric preached the opening sermon on Ephesians 4, stating the ecumenical call is perennial, hopeful, and missional. Following the prayer service, the Rev. Deacon Alessandra Trotta, a Methodist deacon currently serving as the moderator of the governing council of the Waldensian Evangelical Church (Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches), addressed the Commission, describing the current ecumenical challenges for Methodists in Italy as well as the special union between Methodist and Waldensian churches in Italy. Additionally, Rev. Prof. Daniele Garrone and Rev. Luca Baratto, respectively the president and the executive secretary of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, shared with the Commission members the work of the Federation.
On Wednesday, 5th October, the Commission met Pope Francis in a private audience and presented to him the report of the eleventh round of dialogue—God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments and Mission. Commenting on the parable of the two sons (Luke 15:11-32)—the text chosen by the Commission for its scriptural reflection—Pope Francis noted that both Catholics and Methodists need to repent and return to the Father in order for unity to come about, because through their divisions, both have sinned and strayed from the Father.
On Thursday, 6th October, H.E. Chiara Porro, the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See, and her spouse, Mr Rien Schuurhuis, hosted the Commission for dinner at their residence. Over dinner the Ambassador explained aspects of the Embassy’s collaboration with the Holy See regarding questions of environmental justice, the dignity of women, and counter human trafficking.
At the closing dinner on 7th October, Fr. Anthony Currer, outgoing Catholic co-secretary, was recognized for his distinguished service to the Commission as he concludes his tenure at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Fr. Martin Browne OSB will succeed Fr. Currer as the new Catholic co-secretary.
The Commission is grateful to all who met with them and received them so graciously during their plenary meeting. In particular, the Commission extends its gratitude to the community of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Pauland all who work at Casa Maria Immacolata for their gracious hospitality and to the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome for their excellent organizing.
The Commission will meet again in October 2023.
The Commission is made up of:
Methodist Members Reverend Prof. Edgardo A. Colón–Emeric (Co-Chair), USA Reverend Matthew A. Laferty (Co-Secretary), Methodist Ecumenical Office, Rome Dr Jung Choi, Korea/USA Dr Geordan Hammond, United Kingdom Bishop Lizzette Gabriel Montalvo, Puerto Rico Reverend Prof. Glen O’Brien, Australia Reverend Dr Hermen Shastri, Malaysia Prof. Lilian Cheelo Siwila, South Africa
Catholic Members Bishop Shane Mackinlay (Co-Chair), Australia Reverend Anthony Currer (outgoing Co-Secretary), Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome Reverend Martin Browne OSB (incoming Co-Secretary), Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome Prof. Catherine E. Clifford, Canada Reverend Prof. Gerard Kelly, Australia Sister Prof. MarySylvia Nwachukwu DDL, Nigeria Reverend Prof. Daniel Franklin Pilario CM, Philippines Reverend Prof. Jorge Scampini OP, Argentina Dr Clare Watkins, United Kingdom
Photo: The Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission on 5 October 2022 (c) Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome
Members of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission gave a lecture on the commission’s latest report – God in Christ Reconciling – on Friday, 7 October 2022 at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. The Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, Prof Cathy Clifford, Dr Clare Watkins, and the Rev Prof Edgardo Colon-Emeric presented the report during this academic year’s inaugral Tillard Chair Lecture Series.
H.Em. Cardinal Mario Grech and Sr Nathalie Becquart XMJC , respectively Secretary General and Undersecretary at the Synod Office of the Catholic Church, met the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission on 5 October 2022 for informal conversations about the Catholic Church’s synodal journey as well as to learn about Methodist theologies of discernment, unity, and mission.
Photo: the Methodist -Roman Catholic International Commission with Cardinal Grech and Sr Nathalie on 5 October. Photo by Martin Browne.
Audience of Pope Francis with the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission 5 October 2022
Summary: Pope Francis received members of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC) in a private audience on Wednesday 5th October. The commission, which began work in 1967 and has met since without interruption, is currently meeting in Rome at the Casa Maria Immaculata for the first plenary meeting of its twelth round of dialogue. The Catholic co-chair, Bishop Shane Mackinlay of the diocese of Sandhurst, introduced the commission and its current work which focusses on mission and synodality and particularly on the way that mission shapes the formualtion of doctrine. The Methodist co-chair, the Rev’d Prof. Edgardo Colon-Emeric, presented Pope Francis with the report of the eleventh round of dialogue, God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in faith, Sacraments, and Mission, briefly explaining the main convergences of the document. Pope Francis responded by reflecting on the parable of the prodigal son underlining the report’s scriptural reflection that both Catholics and Methodists are “sons” who, by sin, have wandered from the Father’s house, and both need to return to the Father to find unity in faith and sacramental life.
Addresses
H.E. Shane Mackinlay, bishop of Sandhurst, addresses the Pope Francis in English.
Your Holiness,
I am Bishop Shane Mackinlay, and I am honoured to greet you as the new Catholic Co-President of the Methodist-Catholic International Commission, along with the Methodist Co-President, and with the members of the Commission, who are meeting throughout this week.
Five years ago, you met with this Commission to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its work, which has continued uninterrupted since 1967. On that occasion, you commended the work of the Commission’s eleventh round of dialogue, focused on reconciliation, praying that those “discussions [may] … be … an incentive to Christians everywhere to be ministers of reconciliation,” trusting in “the Spirit of God [who] brings about the miracle of reconciled unity … ordering everything in a unity that is not uniformity but a communion.”
We are pleased to report to you that the Commission has now successfully completed that eleventh round of dialogue, resulting in the document that my colleague will present to you shortly.
This week, we have begun a new round of dialogue, our twelfth. The Commission has a number of new members and is made up of pastors and theologians drawn from every inhabited continent. We are committed to continuing to help our respective churches to listen to one another, and to receive from the graces with which the Holy Spirit has blessed the other – graces that are “also meant to be a gift for us” (EG n. 246), as you point out in Evangelii Gaudii.
Our focus in this round of dialogue is on models of unity in belief and mission. Encouraged by the World Methodist Council’s concern to promote mission, and inspired by your own emphasis on the call to each of the baptised to live as missionary disciples, we are exploring the structures and processes of faith and communion that enable and support the flourishing of the Church’s mission. In reflecting on these structures in our ancient shared tradition, we are very mindful of the forthcoming 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. At the same time, in the more recent practices of our particular traditions, we are reflecting on the theological significance of the synodal path on which you are leading the Catholic Church, and of the various conferencing processes that are so well established in the Methodist Churches for shared discernment and decision-making.
We ask for your prayers and your blessing as we undertake this endeavour on behalf of our two communions, and we assure you of our gratitude for your continuing support, and for your faithful and inspiring witness to the Gospel of Jesus, and to his prayer for unity amongst his followers: “Father, may they all be one, so that the world might believe” (Jn 17:21).
I now introduce the Methodist Co-President of the Commission, Reverend Doctor Edgardo Colón-Emeric, to present you with a copy of the Commission’s report from its eleventh round of dialogue.
Following Bishop Mackinlay’s speech, the Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colon-Emeric, dean of Duke Divinity School, addresses the Holy Father in Spanish. The following text is a translation.
Your Holiness,
Peace and wellbeing. It is a blessing to greet you and share the fruits of our ecumenical labors. Five years ago, I had the opportunity to present to you a Spanish version of our report from the 10th round of Methodist Catholic dialogue titled “The Way to Holiness: From Glory to Glory.” Today I present you a new report, “God Reconciling in Christ: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments and Mission.”
On the cover of the report, you can see a sculpture of the prodigal son embraced by the father. In this parable, we see a reflection of the dreams of this dialogue. Methodists and Catholics long for something deeper than superficial unity. We dream of full recognition of each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and the tender embrace of the Father of whom we are both children.
In our report we reflected on this dream. We first examined the theme of reconciliation from a Christological perspective. Christ is our peace, God seeks to reconcile all things: mother earth, humans, Christians, Methodists and Catholics. We reflected on the church as servant of and pilgrim of the way of reconciliation; we examined the structures and rituals that promote communion and reconciliation in the church like the papacy, the sacrament of penitence and reconciliation, and the Methodist love feast.
One theme on which we found significant convergence was on the close connection between reconciliation and the mission of the church. Together we reflected on our responsibility in promoting social justice, peace, care for our common home, and also celebration of the journey. Truly, we have found that the way of reconciliation is long but joyful because the way abounds in gifts and the future is fiesta.
When our commission had an audience with you five years ago, you said that “we cannot speak of prayer and charity unless together we pray and work for reconciliation and full communion.” I wanted you to know that before that audience [five years ago], the members of the commission had the opportunity of visiting the Scavi. Before the tomb of Saint Peter, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer and a miracle happened. We felt that the weight of centuries of separation was lightened. We felt that were not simply Methodists and Catholics. We were Christians. In the tomb lay our Peter. We prayed to Our Father. We asked forgiveness for Our sins.
Your Holiness, God gives us signs of full communion along the way. May this text and the work of this committee be a seed of unity, not uniformity, that the world may be believe in Christ, our peace.
Following Prof Colon-Emeric’s address, he presents the Holy Father with a copy of “God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments, and Mission,” the report of the 11th round of dialogue of the Methodist-Roman Catholic international Commission.
Members of the commission
Methodist Members Reverend Dr Edgardo Colon-Emeric, (Co-Chair) USA Reverend Matthew A. Laferty (Co-Secretary), Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome Dr Jung Choi, Korea/USA Dr Geordan Hammond, United Kingdom Bishop Lizette Gabriel Montalvo, Puerto Rico Reverend Dr Glen O’Brien, Australia Reverend Dr Hermen Shastri, Malaysia Professor Lilian Cheelo Siwila, Zambia/South Africa
Catholic Members Bishop Shane Mackinlay (Co-Chair), Australia Reverend Anthony Currer (Co-Secretary), Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity Dr Catherine E. Clifford, Canada Reverend Dr Gerard Kelly, Australia Reverend Dr Jorge Scampini, OP, Argentina Dr Clare Watkins, England Sister MarySylvia Nwachukwu, DDL, Nigeria Reverend Daniel Franklin Pilario, CM, the Philippines Reverend Martin Browne, OSB, Ireland
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 