Category: News

MEOR director the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty met with the president, general secretary, and other leaders from the Lutheran World Federation during their visit to Rome, 25-27 June 2021. Rev. Laferty was a special guest at a lecture by LWF general secretary the Rev. Dr. Martin Junge at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas on 25 June. He also conducted informal conversation with the Rev. Dr. Dirk Lange, LWF assistant general secretary for ecumenical relations, a wide range of topics including Methodist-Lutheran relations, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, and ecumenism in Rome.

on 21 June 2021, MEOR director Matthew A. Laferty along with leaders from various churches and Christian communions met at St. Anselmo Monastery in Rome to discuss ways to strengthen prayer, friendship, and collaboration among Rome-based churches and global communion representatives.

On 14 June 2021, the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, visited Centro Uno and the international headquarters of the Focolare Movement today in Rocca di Papa outside Rome to learn about the Focolare Movement, the spirituality and legacy of their founder Chiara Lubich, and share about the work of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome. The Focolare Mocement which means “hearth” in Italian is a Catholic lay movement with a special call for dialogue and Christian unity.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, gave a greeting to the Italian Methodist Consultation during its annual session on 30 May 2021 to over 90 Methodist pastors and lay leaders. Italian Methodists are in a union church with the Waldensians to form the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches in Italy; they share one Synod (governing body). There is also an annual meeting of all the Methodist leaders in Italy once a year to discuss unique issues affecting the Methodist congregations and to strengthen the Methodist identity. The Consultation was held online this year due to the ongoing pandemic.

Rev. Laferty’s greeting is below:

Gentile presidente Mirella Manocchio, sorelle e fratelli metodisti italiani,

Grazia a voi da Dio Padre e dal Signore Gesù Cristo.

È una gioia portarvi i saluti dell’Ufficio Ecumenico Metodista di Roma. Mi chiamo Matthew Laferty e un pastore della Chiesa Metodista Unita. Da settembre sono il direttore dell’Ufficio Ecumenico Metodista di Roma e sono lieto di lavorare a fianco dei metodisti in Italia per l’unità della Chiesa. MEOR è un ministero e una collaborazione fra il Consiglio Metodista Mondiale, l’OPCEMI, il Consiglio Metodista Europeo, la Chiesa Metodista Unita e la Chiesa Metodista Britannica per promuovere il dialogo e l’unità dei cristiani, per cercare azioni congiunte per la pace e la giustizia, e per offrire ospitalità, preghiera e riflessione.

Metterò brevemente in evidenza alcuni progetti attualmente in sviluppo.

1. Stiamo lavorando ad un progetto su Roma come città di pellegrinaggio per i metodisti, per rivendicare Roma come città dell’ecumenismo celebrando la diversità del cristianesimo a Roma.

2. MEOR ha avviato diverse conversazioni con i nostri fratelli cristiani ortodossi per pregare insieme e pensare a come possiamo avviare una maggiore condivisione e apprendimento tra metodisti e ortodossi.

3. Il rapporto finale del Dialogo Internazionale Metodista-Cattolico sarà pubblicato in autunno. Il tema del rapporto è la riconciliazione con un capitolo dedicato alla giustizia climatica e alla costruzione della pace come grandi questioni di riconciliazione. Stiamo creando un programma per il prossimo anno per promuovere il lavoro svolto dai metodisti in queste aree di giustizia climatica e costruzione della pace.

Ringrazio l’OPCEMI e tutta la comunità metodista d’Italia per il loro sostegno, ospitalità e generosità e per una lunga, buona e fruttuosa collaborazione.

Grazie per la vostra attenzione.

The World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council, Latin American Episcopal Council  and World Association for Christian Communication, in a letter sent 18 May, urged Colombian president Iván Duque Marquéz to stop the spiral of violence that is doing terrible harm to the civilian population.

“While we acknowledge that the government is dealing with a very complex situation, we believe the focus now must not be on repressing popular protests, but rather to listen to the people’s voices with empathy and without resorting to violence, and to begin to seriously address the root causes of the mass mobilisation of the Colombian people,” the letter reads.

Colombia has now entered a third week of national protests. More than 40 people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands have been injured as a result of the security response.

“We believe that as head of government you will call the Colombian authorities to remember and fulfil their primary responsibility which is the protection of the Colombian people,” reads the letter. “We pray that you will resist and reject the calls for more violence and greater use of force against activists.”

The signatories added that they will continue to monitor the situation in Colombia closely and with great concern, praying for a just and peaceful resolution to the current crisis, and remain committed to supporting dialogue between the different stakeholders as the only path to such a resolution.

“We look forward to your response, and wish you grace and peace in the fulfilment of your responsibilities,” the letter concludes.

Read the text of the full letter here in PDF format (123 KB).