Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome

The Rev. Dr. JC Park, president of the World Methodist Council, issued the following statement on 18 May 2022

On behalf of the World Methodist Council, I wholeheartedly endorse the WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca’s Statement on COVID-19 crisis in the DPRK.

The WMC also endorses the WCC’s call for a centralized and coordinated approach to the
international response, through the UN, and for any obstacles presented to this response by
the current sanctions against the DPRK to be lifted as a matter of fundamental ethical and
humanitarian responsibility.

The WMC strongly calls for a peacemaking summit between President Biden and President
Yun on May 20, 2022. Korea in particular and East Asia in general need real peace, not a
new Cold War and even a ‘hot peace’ which wages war in the name of peace. The WMC
reaffirms its commitment to the Roundtable for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula and will
continue to work together in solidarity with Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and
Development Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.

The WMC strongly calls for a peacemaking summit between President Biden and President
Yun on May 20, 2022. Korea in particular and East Asia in general need real peace, not a
new Cold War and even a ‘hot peace’ which wages war in the name of peace. The WMC
reaffirms its commitment to the Roundtable for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula and will
continue to work together in solidarity with Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and
Development Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, preached on Sunday, 15 May 2022 at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London. Methodist Central Hall is located across the street from Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the UK Houses of Parliament. He preached on the Sunday lectionary text from Revelations 21, calling for us to reimagine our world in light of what God in Christ is already doing in our world.

Cover photo © Copyright PAUL FARMER. Used by permission under licens for reuse by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. The image was cropped.

Despite being unable to have their last scheduled meeting in October of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, the Methodist–Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC) was able to complete its eleventh report entitled God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments, and Mission through a series of plenary (Hong Kong in 2018 and Nairobi in 2019) and drafting meetings. The document was submitted to the Catholic Church’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and, with the completion and approval of a Catholic commentary prepared by Father Paolo Cocco, OFMCap, this Pontifical Council is now able to be publish the text. The Ecumenical Relationships Committee of the World Methodist Council received the MERCIC report in March 2022 and has commended it for study and publication by WMC member churches. The World Methodist Council will receive and approve the report when it meets in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2024.

The document examines the Church as a reconciled and reconciling community. Reconciliation pertains to soteriology and so the document examines the way in which reconciliation with God, with neighbour, with oneself and with the whole created order, describes the salvation offered to us in Christ.

As the Church fulfils its calling to take God’s Good News to the peoples of all ages and cultures it brings the revelation it has received into new contexts that pose new questions and demand new expressions of the Church’s one faith. As a result the Church is always a unity of diverse Christians. The report’s second chapter examines the processes whereby both our traditions maintain communion, ensuring unity while allowing legitimate diversity.

Reconciliation was an essential element of the earthly ministry of Jesus and is therefore a ministry which the Church is called to manifest and celebrate in her own life. Chapter three of the document examines the ways in which reconciliation is celebrated liturgically in each of our two communions and chapter four looks at ways that our communions seek to be ministers of reconciliation also in our mission to the world.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, visited Jerusalem from 14-24 April to celebrate the Easter Triduum and visit the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem.

He was a guest of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem and participated in a number of Holy Week and Easter celebrations:

• Assisting in a multilingual Maundy Thursday at the Lutheran Cathedral in Jerusalem with a pilgrimage to Gethsamane on the Mount of Olives to read Jesus’ betrayal
• Walking the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) with Methodist, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anglican church leaders in Jerusalem
• Attending a midnight Easter Vigil at the Church of the Resurrection with the Catholic Custody of the Holy Land
• Assisting in a sunrise Easter service on the Mount of Olives with Lutheran clergy in Jerusalem

Rev. Laferty also made courtesy visits to His Beatitude Monsignor Pierbattista Piazzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Grace Hosam Naoum, Archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Rev. Laferty also attended an Easter reception hosted by the Latin Patriarchate with heads of churches in Jerusalem.

During his visit, Rev. Lafery was a guest of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate for the Holy Fire on 23 April in the Church of the Resurrection.

The Methodist Liaison Office was unfortunately closed during Rev. Laferty’s visit due to staff Covid infections.