WCC NEWS: Cardinal Koch sounds "ecumenical keynote" during WCC visit

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World Council of Churches - News

CARDINAL KOCH SOUNDS “AN ECUMENICAL KEYNOTE” DURING GENEVA VISIT

For immediate release: 11 May 2011

Cardinal Kurt Koch, who since July 2010 has served as president of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), has completed
his first official visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the
Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

Koch came as the guest of the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse
Tveit. The visit was an opportunity for the cardinal and Tveit to discuss
significant and ongoing cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and
the WCC.

During the 8-10 May visit the cardinal met with staff members from WCC
programmes and with leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and
World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

The programme included a dinner with faculty and staff of the WCC sponsored
Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.

Formerly the Catholic bishop of Basel, Koch returned to his native land to
familiarize himself with the WCC and to discuss plans for future stages in
the quest for Christian unity.

During a series of conversations he acknowledged the importance of
“harvesting the fruits” of past dialogues among churches, confessional
bodies and multilateral gatherings like those sponsored by the WCC. This
“harvesting” was already an emphasis of his predecessor, Cardinal
Walter Kasper.

Reviewing historic agreements was a first step, to be followed by a
deliberate process of “reception” of agreements in which individual
churches and Christians are introduced to accords and insights achieved
through dialogues, he said.

Tveit said it is essential that such agreements “not be allowed to remain
hidden treasures” but must instead be widely published and discussed in
local settings.

In a discussion on the role of the WCC for the one ecumenical movement
involving the general secretaries of WCC, LWF and WCRC, the general
secretary of the LWF, Rev. Martin Junge, noted the “interdependence”
of multilateral conversations and bilateral dialogues.

“Bilaterals” are one-on-one encounters between pairs of confessional
traditions – as in Catholic-Anglican dialogue, Lutheran-Methodist
dialogue or Orthodox-Reformed dialogue. “Multilateral” processes
toward Christian unity, as often practiced through the WCC and its Faith
and Order Commission (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=d5106b5a8239be848791 ), involve a wide 
cross-section
of theological traditions.

Junge described “multiple layers of engagement” among churches and
confessional families, involving complexities of interpretation based on
the specifics of regional and historical patterns of diversity. He called
for “trans-contextual exchanges in which the polycentricity of Christian
tradition may be better understood”.

Admitting that partners in dialogue find themselves “at a complex
table,” Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the WCRC, said that
apart from the diversity of Christianity, there was a broad range of
issues and areas that the churches are learning to address cooperatively.
It is not enough to focus on the academic or purely ecclesial aspects of
theology and doctrine: “Faith and Order, justice, peace, advocacy,
service – all belong together!”

Junge and Nyomi expressed gratitude for the role of the WCC in
“convening” diverse churches and related bodies at a common table.
Tveit expressed his hope that the honesty and moral courage involved in
difficult dialogue is leading to “thick relationships” rather than the
“thin” relations fostered by less ambitious encounters among
Christians.

“Ethical disagreement can threaten unity,” said Tveit in regard to the
risks of a frank exchange. “But when we do achieve ethical agreement on
matters of justice and peace, leading to common action, that is when we
build thick relationships.”

Koch was accompanied on his trip by PCPCU staff members Monsignor Gosbert
Byamungu and Fr Gregory Fairbanks.

During a meditation at Tuesday morning prayer in the Ecumenical Centre
chapel, Koch observed: “In today’s world, Christian witness must have
an ecumenical keynote so that its melody does not sound cacophonous but
symphonic. Within ecumenism therefore there is something far more
important than any aim of ecclesial politics: The daily renewal of the
maturing process of the essential, namely a faith which is realized in
love.”

More information about cooperation between the WCC and the Roman Catholic
Church (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=792ec0ce85dde06d1388 )

High resolution photos of the visit may be requested free of charge via
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=77d70f9aa6b24403ba64 (Link: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=5d0b2774b16f3590e520
)


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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