The steering committee of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church, met from 19-22 October 2026. The steering committee – composed of the co-chairs and co-secretaries – spent two days in London and Cambridge, England, United Kingdom, and two days in Rome, Italy. The purpose of the meeting was to promote MERCIC’s work and speak about the Commission’s new document “One in Faith and Ministry to the World: Reflecting on Unity and Diversity for the Mission of the Church.”
Members of the steering committee of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission are Rev. Prof. Edgardo Colon-Emeric (Methodist co-chair), Archbishop Shane Mackinlay (Catholic co-chair), Rev. Matthew A. Laferty (Methodist co-chair), and Fr. Martin Browne OSB (Catholic co-chair).
The committee met with Rev. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto, general secretary of the World Methodist Council, on 19 October at his office in Methodist Central Hall Westminster, and officially presented Dr. Neto a copy of the new document.
On Monday afternoon, Abp. Shane and Prof. Colon-Emeric presented the report at an event at Wesley House, Cambridge, followed by a dinner of the steering committee with members from the British national Methodist-Catholic dialogue.
The steering committee finished their UK trip on Tuesday morning with a visit to Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission in London, where they toured The Museum of Methodism & John Wesley’s House and prayed at John Wesley’s tomb. Before concluding their UK journey, the steering committee stopped by Aldersgate Street and the site of Charles Wesley and John Wesley’s evangelical conversion.
On Wednesday, 21 October, the steering committee met Pope Leo XIV following the General Audience and offered a brief update about their work.
They also met Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican’s ecumenical department, to discuss the Commission’s newly approved document “One in Faith and Ministry to the World: Reflecting on Unity and Diversity for the Mission of the Church” on Wednesday.
The co-chair – Prof. Edgardo Colon-Emeric and Archbishop Shane Mackinlay – presented the document at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in their Tillard Chair Lecture Series on Wednesday afternoon.
The steering committee concluded their meetings in Rome on Thursday with planning for the 13th round of dialogue.
About the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission
The Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC) – formally called the Joint Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church – was constituted in 1966 to engage in dialogue on behalf of the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church. The commission is comprised of 16 members – 8 Methodist and 8 Catholic – who are senior church leaders or scholars in a wide range of fields, including systematic theology, church history, canon law, and practical theology. The commission works in a five-year cycle, meeting annually in-person for the first four years and online in the final year. At the beginning of each new phase, a topic is selected and developed during the succeeding 5 years, leading to a comprehensive report. Each report seeks to identify convergences, divergences, and areas where more time is needed for prayer and accompaniment. Eleven reports have been published by the joint commission on topics like the Eucharist, authority, ecclesiology, and apostolicity, in addition to two synthesis documents.
