wfn.org | Catholic Bishops Bring Formal Greetings to NCCCUSA

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCCCUSA News, 212-870-2227
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS BRINGS FORMAL GREETINGS TO NCC;
BISHOP GIVEN NCC'S RESPONSE TO PAPAL ENCYCLICAL ON ECUMENISM

 CHICAGO, Nov. 11, 1998 ---- For the second year running, a representative
from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops brought formal greetings
to the National Council of Churches annual General Assembly, where he was 
given a copy of the NCC's response to the Papal Encyclical Ut Unum Sint "On
Commitment to Ecumenism."

 "I remember the opportunity to exchange greetings last year, when we were
both meeting in Washington, D.C.," said His Grace Bishop Timothy Joseph
Lyne, a retired Auxiliary Bishop from Chicago, who welcomed the Protestant
and Orthodox delegates to his city.  He said the Bishops were so
appreciative of the remarks brought last year by NCC Officers the Rev.
Melvin Talbert (United Methodist Bishop) and the Rev. Craig Anderson
(Episcopal Bishop), that they enthusiastically suggested the two bodies
continue to exchange greetings each year.

"I am happy for the ways we collaborate," Bishop Lyne said.  "I think of
the assistance rendered by the Burned Churches Fund and by the work of the
Faith and Order Commission, particularly the publication of `Ending Racism
in the Church.'"

 "This is the same Faith and Order Commission that worked on a document
responding to the Papal Encyclical Ut Unum Sint," Bishop Lyne explained.
Deborah Mullen of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a member of the NCC 
Faith and Order Commission, presented Bishop Lyne with a copy of the
response, completed on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of His
Holiness Pope John Paul II's election as Bishop of Rome and sent to Rome
this week.

 "The letter to the Pope thanks him for his ecumenical encouragement and
makes several observations about the Faith and Order context in the U.S.
and places where we need to dialogue," explained the Rev. Bill Rusch,
Director of Faith and Order for the NCC.  Among the areas the letter
highlights as needing attention are "the exercise of authority in the
church, biblical interpretation, Tradition and traditions, and primacy" as
well as the roles of women and men, including the issue of ordination of
women as sacramental ministers."

 The response overwhelmingly greets the encyclical with gratitude.  "We see
your encyclical as a new expression of the commitment of the Roman Catholic
Church to ecumenism, which was articulated so impressively at the Second
Vatican Council," the NCC response reads.  "We especially welcome this
encyclical because it comes at a time of fragility within the ecumenical
movement itself."

 Bishop Lyne said that Et Unum Sint is motivated by a strong and deep hope
that ecumenism will deepen in the next millennium. "The next millennium we
hope will be marked by the reconciliation and unity of all Christians,"
Bishop Lyne concluded.

-end-