wfn.org | Disciples meet with Pope John Paul II

[DISCNEWS.parti@ecunet.org (DISCNEWS)]

Date: October 23, 1997
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Email: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the web: http//www.disciples.org

97b-58

    INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Eleven Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) members were among thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square in
September for a general audience with Pope John Paul II. 

    The delegation represented the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative
Council, which fosters the involvement of Disciples churches around the
world in the ecumenical movement. The purpose of the group's visit was
to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Disciples of Christ/Roman
Catholic International Dialogue, said the Rev. Paul A. Crow Jr., president
of the Council on Christian Unity. 

    The pope acknowledged the talks during public comments before
the general audience saying, "I bless this dialogue." Afterward, the
delegation met privately with the world Catholic leader. General Minister
and President Richard L. Hamm, Crow and the Rev. Suzanne Webb,
Carbondale, Ill., exchanged gifts with the pontiff. 

    Crow presented him a silver commemorative chalice bearing the
St. Andrew's cross. On behalf of Disciples worldwide, Crow received the
Codex Vaticanus, a copy of the New Testament in the original languages.
Hamm and Webb were given papal medallions. 

    The group later engaged in official dialogue with Cardinal Edward
Cassidy and Bishop Pierre Duprey, president and secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The agenda also
included a session with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. 

    "We had a significant day of dialogue about the ecumenical
movement," Crow said. "This is how seriously the Roman Catholic
Church takes their dialogue with the Disciples."

    The papal visit highlighted the first-ever "church-to-church"
meeting of leaders from the two traditions. For Hamm the historic visit by
Disciples leaders helps reinforce a sense of being  connected with the
"wider church." 

    As a denomination, the Disciples of Christ "only has meaning in
relationship with the rest of the church," he said. And the denomination's
interconnectedness with other churches is vital. "We have to be
understood in relationship with the rest of the church," Hamm said. 

    "The original vision of early Disciples was that the unity we seek is
as comprehensive as the Roman Catholic Church and as comprehensive as
the Pentecostals, keeping us from being too provincial in our
understanding and goals for Christian unity," Crow said.

    "These days in Rome make clear that Disciples must be in some
relationship with this historic, global church -- for our own identity and
growth," said the Rev. A. Guy Waldrop, Lexington. He is the regional
minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kentucky.

    The venture also broadened Disciples members' exposure to the
Roman Catholic Church. "We tend to think of the Roman Catholic Church
as monolithic and rigid," Hamm said. "There's tremendous diversity
within the church. These truly are brothers and sisters in Christ. These
ecumenical relationships are absolutely essential." 

    "The Roman Catholic Church is not a distant community," echoed
Crow. "We really do belong together in some kind of relationship."

    The remaining members of the Disciples delegation included:
Mary Crow and Melinda (Mindy) Hamm of Indianapolis: the Rev. Roy
and Nita Griggs, Tulsa, Okla., and Harold and Virginia Horn, Fullerton,
Calif. 

    Also part of the gathering were Rozanne Robertson, Indianapolis,
and the Rev. Thomas F. Best, World Council of Churches, Geneva,
Switzerland. The Rev. Thomas J. Murphy, ecumenical officer,
Archdiocese of Indianapolis, also journeyed with the delegation.

                     - 30 -
                        

DISCNEWS - inbox for Disciples News Service, Office of Communication, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PO Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN 46206, tele. (317) 635-3100, (DISCNEWS@ecunet.org) Wilma Shuffitt, News and Information Assistant; (CWILLIS@oc.disciples.org) Cliff Willis, Director of News and Information; (CMILLER@oc.disciples.org) Executive Director