Five fraternal delegates to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, called the Synod on Synodality, share their experiences during a webinar on 20 January 2025.
The speakers were: H.Em. Metropolitan Job (Getcha) of Pisidia from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Rev. Prof. Jong Chun Park from the World Methodist Council, Dr. Elizabeth Newman from the Baptist World Alliance, Rev. Dr. Opoku Onyinah from the Pentecostal World Fellowship, and Rev. Dr. Hanns Lessing from the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Prof. Catherine Clifford from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Synod delegate from North America, moderated the webinar.
The webinar was sponsored by the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, Legation of the Armenian Church to the Holy See, Anglican Centre in Rome, and Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office in Rome to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Reformed Churches Ecumencial Office in Rome hosted a luncheon on 11 October 2024 for the fraternal delegates to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, commonly known as the Synod on Synodality. In addition to the delegates from Protestant and Orthodox churches, the luncheon also included H.Em. Cardinal Mario Grech and Sr. Nathalie Becquart XMCJ from the General Secretariat of the Synod, Brothers Alois, Matthew, and Richard from the Taize Community, Ms. Margaret Karram from the Focolare Movement, Pastor Luca Baratto from the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, and Fr. James Loughran from Centro Pro Unione. Also in attendance was H.E. Mons. Flavio Pace and Fr. Martin Browne OSB from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Promoting Christian Unity.
The luncheon was held in Hotel Casa Valdese near the Vatican. The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, noted that Casa Valdese is one place in Rome where the Methodists and Reformed meet, as the hotel is owned by the Methodist-Waldensian Church in Italy, a union of Methodist and Reformed churches.
As the luncheon was held on the 62nd anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Rev. Laferty read a short excerpt from Methodist Observer at Vatican II by Albert C. Outler. Outler was one of the official Methodist observers to the Second Vatican Council. Rev. Laferty concluded with Outler’s words:
What could come of such a Church in council? Some of us expected very little. None of us foresaw what actually happened.
Rev. Laferty said the Synod on Synodality holds the same sentiment and hoped that the Synod would positively impact the ecumenical movement like the Second Vatican Council.
Rev. Tara Curlewis, the ecumenical liaison officer of the Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office, also welcomed the guests and thanked them for their contributions to the Synod. She discussed how the Synod is already guiding the work of Christian unity and pointing us to deeper communion. She offered a blessing before the meal.
Photo gallery: Various photos from the luncheon. Photos by Tara Curlewis/WCRC.
Photo top: Rev. Laferty, Cardinal Mario Grech, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Rev. Curlewis. Photo by Dirk Lange/LWF.
Members of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official theological dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church, produced short videos about the commission’s work and its meeting agenda at the commission’s last meeting in Pocheon, Korea, from 22-27 September 2024.
The Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Methodist co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC), spoke about his hopes for MERCIC’s work as the Commission begans its deliberations on 23 September 2024
Bishop Shane Mackinlay, Catholic co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC), spoke about how the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality and the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed shaped the Commission’s work.
Sister Prof. Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu DDL speaks about her experience of the Methodist-Catholic international dialogue and the importance of the dialogue’s meeting in Korea.
Fr. Gerard Kelly shares about the importance of the Methodist-Catholic international dialogue’s project to re-synthesize and harvest the dialogue’s 11 reports into a single published text similar to the dialogue’s 2010 document “Together To Holiness”.
Prof. Dr. Catherine Clifford links her participation in Methodist-Catholic international dialogue and Methodist theology of conferencing, connectionalism, and lay participation as important insights for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
The Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri talks about unity as primary to our Christian vocation and the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission’s work in living this vocation.
The Rev. Prof. Glen O’Brien speaks about the Methodist-Catholic international dialogue moving Catholics and Methodists toward greater unity in Christ.
The Rev. Prof. Danny Pilario CM speaks about his learnings of mission and an ‘ecumenism of blood’ from the Korean Catholic and Methodist churches.
Dr. Jung Choi speaks about Methodist-Catholic dialogue as a journey in unity in Christ.
The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty offers the final video from this year’s meeting in Seoul, Korea, of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission. He describes the urgency of Christian unity in a divided world.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 