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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3466 notes).

Note 3464 by UMNS on March 3, 1997 at 16:41 Eastern (3474 characters).

SEARCH:   Roman Catholic, United Methodist, dialogue, baptism,
               communion, confirmation
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                      110(10-21-71B){3464}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           March 3, 1997

Roman Catholic-United Methodist dialogue
finds shared belief in baptism, confirmation

     WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- The fourth meeting in the fourth round
of dialogues between representatives of the Roman Catholic Church
and of the United Methodist Church, held here Feb. 27-March 1,
focused less on differences between the two communions and more on
the beliefs and concerns they share.
     "We face the same problems," observed retired United
Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove, ecumenical officer for the
United Methodist Church and co-chair of the dialogue.
     The Most Rev. William S. Skylstad, a Roman Catholic bishop
who is co-chair, said participants were seeing "a great deal of
convergence."
     Although not able to share holy communion because of the
rules of the Catholic Church, the two six-member teams joined in a
renewal of their baptism vows through a service written for this
gathering.
     For the conversation on baptism, the interpretative statement
on baptism approved by the 1996 General Conference of the United
Church was a major resource.
     "We share a challenge for the appropriate living out of our
baptismal commitments within our communions," said the Rev. Bruce
W. Robbins, general secretary of the United Methodist Commission
on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, about the service
and the ensuing discussion.
     Grove said that the Eucharist had been a painful divisive
experience, but the baptism liturgy and conversation were unifying
and uniting.
     Sister Mary Aquin O'Neill, a theologian on the Roman Catholic
team, said discussion that moved away from the traditional
conceptual language used during centuries of separation and toward
terms from their personal faith journeys led them to more
discoveries of shared beliefs and experiences.
     Even the discussions of the papacy or "church authority" --
based on papers written from a personal point of view by a member
of each team -- "did not result in a discussion about divisions,"
she added.
     The Rev. Diedra Kriewald, a Wesley Theological Seminary
professor who presented a paper on confirmation, said she did not
see much difference in confirmation although United Methodists
would not consider it a sacrament as Roman Catholics do.
     A love feast, instituted by Methodism's founder John Wesley,
was one of the worship services offered by United Methodists
during the three-day dialogue. "It's a liturgical meal we can
share when we can't share the Eucharist," Grove said.
     Skylstad said the Roman Catholics have a formal liturgy for
use when no priest is available for mass, but he liked the idea of
a meal that could be used in community building.
     Besides Grove, Robbins and Kriewald, the United Methodist
team in this round of dialogues also includes Ruth A. Daugherty,
Lancaster, Pa.; the Rev. Yolanda Pupo-Ortiz, Washington; and the
Rev. John L. Topolewski, Vestal, N.Y.
     The next meeting of the dialogue is planned for Oct. 16-18,
also in Washington.
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