The Seven Storey Mountain. By Thomas Merton. Fiftieth Anniversary Edition. New York: Harcourt, 1948/1976. (Kindle). Robert Giroux writes in the Introduction to this book that when he first met Thomas Merton at the office of the Columbia Review in New York, and Giroux had read an article Merton had written, he told himself: “This […]
Topic: ecumenism
The Importance of Interfaith Relations
Introduction Nostra Aetate is a very short document of the Second Vatican Council which speaks about interfaith relations and their importance to the Catholic Church “In our time” which are the first words of the document and its title. In this age of ours, when men are drawing more closely together and the bonds of […]
A New Ecumenism?
In 2002 Christopher R. Seitz edited a book entitled Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism. The chapters of this book were written by different theologians, mostly from the Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox churches. My search for book reviews produced a number of books with a similar focus, the oldest of these by […]
Eucharist as a Celebration of Forgiveness
Eucharist as a Celebration of Forgivenesss by Francis J. Moloney, SDB. New York, Paulist Press, 2017. Key to an understanding of this book and the theology of Fr. Moloney is a clear grasp of the concept of doctrine and the concept of teaching. Doctrine is related to creed and faith. Teaching is related to magisterium […]
The Church: Towards a Common Vision
Introduction The World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission issued an ecumenical milestone in 1982 with the publication of Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, (Faith and Order Paper #111. Geneva: WCC, 1982). It sent that document to the churches which are members of the World Council and other churches who participate in the work of […]
The Call to Holiness: From Glory to Glory
The Call to Holiness: From Glory to Glory The Report of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church (Houston, TX, August 2016) Since January 1967 Methodists and Catholics have been engaged in an international dialogue on various questions which are shared and divide the two Christian […]
Pope Francis Visits All Saints Anglican Church in Rome
2017-02-26 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday visited the Anglican Parish of All Saints in Rome. Speaking at the Church the Pope said, “today, with gratitude to God, we recognize one another as we truly are: brothers and sisters in Christ, through our common baptism. As friends and pilgrims we wish to walk […]
Reflections on the Reformation 500th
The Reformation began, according to historians, on the eve of All Saints (Halloween) when Martin Luther posted an invitation to debate the indulgence issued by the Pope Leo X (1513-1521) to donors to the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The invitation to debate was formulated in Luther’s famous 95 theses which were said […]
Sixty Years of Priesthood: A Gift from God
The first step in my journey to the priesthood began when I was nine years old in the fourth grade at Precious Blood School. The Sisters of St. Ann taught there and prepared the boys to serve the priest at the altar. I continued to serve at the altar until I went to Eymard Seminary […]
Pope Francis Meets Patriarch Kirill in Cuba
The Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow (Russia) has not met with the Pope since 1054 A.D. …until February 12, 2016. The two religious leaders met in the airport at Havana as the Pope travelled to Mexico for an apostolic visit. They issued a joint declaration of thirty paragraphs clearly expressing their desire for unity, peace, and […]