Tag: catholic

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Caravita Community held a public conversation with Archbishop Shane Mackinlay of Brisbane on 25 June 2026. Over 30 people attended the public conversation which focused on “Ecumenical Relations on the Journey of Synodality.” Abp. Shane is the Catholic co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Catholic Church. He was also a participant in the 2023 and 2024 plenary sessions of the Synod on Synodality of the Catholic Church. During his remarks, Abp. Shane wove together his experiences of Methodist-Catholic dialogue and the Synod on Synodality to reflect on the Catholic Church’s efforts to be a more synodal church, the role of bilateral dialogue between Methodists and Catholics in synodality, and the centrality of ecumenism in the church.

The event was held at Via XX Settembre Methodist Church in Rome.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, offered an overview of “God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments, and Mission,” the 11th report from the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, to the 2026 Conference of the Methodist Church in Britain. The video was aired on 26 June 2026 for the Conference’s the Presbyterial Session.

A group of pilgrims from First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple in Chicago, IL, USA, visited the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome on 27 May 2026 during their pilgrimage in Rome. The group of 12 pilgrims are in Rome exploring the intersection of church history and Christian theology, sacred spaces, and art.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See (Vatican), met the pilgrims at Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church near the Vatican, where he shared about MEOR’s mission, Methodist-Catholic relations, and ecumenism in Rome. The Chicago group took particular interest in the Bishop of Rome, a native of Chicago.

The national British Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Commission met from 18-19 May 2026 at Barnes Close near Birmingham, UK, for its biannual meeting. During the residential meeting, the commission reflected on baptismal identity and on the recently published document from the international Methodist-Catholic dialogue “We Believe in One God: Sixty Years of Methodists and Catholics Walking Together.” The commission is crafting plans to develop catechetical resources for use in local congregations in Britain.

The commission is a joint initiative of the Methodist Church in Great Britain and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland & the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, co-chaired by the Rev. Ruth Gee, past president of the Conference of the Methodist Church, and the Rt. Rev. David Evans, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, is a member of the national commission since 2020.

Photo: The British national Methodist-Catholic commission following their May 2026 meeting.

During a recent trip to Oklahoma (USA), the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, visited Oklahoma Methodist leaders and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, Rev. Laferty visited the headquarters of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of The United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, where he met with Rev. Margaret Johnson, assistant to Bishop Laura Merrill, and Rev. Donna Pewo, OIMC director of connectional ministries. They discussed OIMC’s history, the ministries of the Conference, and Native American spirituality.

First established in 1844, OIMC encompasses 79 predominately indigenous/Native American United Methodist congregations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.

Director Laferty was accompanied by Mr. Caleb Siems who is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Rev. Laferty also met the Most Rev. Paul Coakley, Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at his office in Oklahoma City on 15 May 2026 to discuss MEOR’s ministry, Methodist-Catholic relations, and the Catholic Church in the United States.