February 21, 2001

In "An Exchange of Gifts," Margaret O'Gara of St. Michael's College, Toronto, offers considerations on the Lutheran-Roman Catholic "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification." She discusses the declaration and then applies it to the exercise of episcope. Her article was originally an address at the 1999 Martin Luther Colloquium at Gettysburg Seminary. [Seminary Ridge Review, 3/1 (Autumn 2000), pp. 42-57]

Bishop Walter Kasper, newly named a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, offers a thorough overview of an important issue in his "Ecclesiological and Ecumenical Implications of Baptism." He concludes in his analysis: "...the ecclesiological implications of the doctrine of baptism are now on the agenda of ecumenical dialogue. Here the pneumatological delineation of the sacraments and the church, such as we find them in Orthodox theology, might prove ecumenically fruitful as a means of breaking down institutional rigidities." [the ecumenical review, 52/4 (October 2000), pp. 526-541]

The December, 2000 issue of Ecumenical Trends provides articles on the Vatican Declaration, Dominus Jesus, by three distinguished ecumenists who are Catholic priests. Among them is John Ford of Catholic University who--in a varied, candid and substantive discussion--remarks that "Dominus Jesus provides ample ground for intramural, ecumenical and interfaith discussion insofar as it incorporates some teachings that are (a) dogmatic, (b) other teachings that are matters of doctrine and (c) teachings that have implications for discipline." [pp. 166-171]

Peter Drilling's "Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations: What Can They Offer Each Other?" presents a reflection which is both pastoral and theological. He believes that "the theological foundation for the close connection of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is the economic activity in human history of the triune God." [New Theology Review, 14/1 (February 2001), pp. 53-64.]

In "Who Really Cares About Christian Unity?", Bruce D. Marshall of St. Olaf College offers some provocative insights drawn from the work of Ephraim Radner [The End of the Church: A Pneumatology of Christian Division in the West (Eerdmans, 1998)]. He says that "Modern ecumenism's valiant attempt to overcome these divisions has yielded such meager results because of ecumenism's own deep, if sometimes uneasy, complicity in the assumptions and logic of division." Furthermore, he continues in the article by questioning if God has abandoned the Church! [First Things, January, 2001, pp. 29-34.

S. Mark Heim of Andover Newton Theological School offers a thought-provoking analysis of religious pluralism in "Dreams fulfilled: The Pluralism of Religious ends." He argues that "Accepting different religious ends allows for mutual recognition of substantive truth in another tradition." [Christian Century, January 17, 2001, pp. 14-19.

In "The New Ecumenists," Lauren F. Winner reports that "Emerging Christian leaders are reinterpreting the meaning of church unity." The annual conference called The Vine, attended mostly by "Gen-Xers," seeks "grassroots unity in the church." Among others, Winner cites Bill Haley of the Regeneration Forum, the Consortium's speaker this year at the Prayer Service for Christian Unity, and Brother Jonathan Kalisch of Dominican House. [Christianity Today, February 5, 2001, pp. 64-65.]

The Consortium, in partnership with the Washington Theological Union, will offer a program "Laity in Church Ministry: An Ecumenical View" on March 15. The program will take place from 9:30 to 4:00 at the Union. It can be attended in whole or in part, is free, and is open to the public. Reservations are required. Call 202-832-2675 for more details.