wfn.org | Formation of conscience addressed by

["Disciples Off. of Communication"<wshuffit@oc.disciples.org>]

international dialogue
Date: June 9, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

99b-42

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The formation of 
conscience in the faith community was addressed 
during a May 18-24 meeting of the 16-member 
Disciples of Christ - Roman Catholic 
International Dialogue at St. Meinrad, Ind.

	David M. Thompson, professor, Fitzwilliam 
College, Cambridge, England, prepared the 
Disciples' submission, "Conscience, Private 
Judgment and the Community of Faith." The Rev. 
Jean-Marie Tillard, OP, prepared the Roman 
Catholic paper on the "Catholic Church and 
Education of Conscience." Tillard is a professor 
at the Dominican Faculty of Theology in Ottawa, 
Ontario.

	Bible studies examining various understandings 
of the "love commandment" in the New Testament 
were delivered by Msgr. John Meier, a professor 
at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.). The 
studies helped provide a biblical framework for 
the dialogue session.

	The discussion focused on common understandings 
and differences between Disciples and Roman 
Catholic traditions around the concepts of 
freedom of conscience, and the roles of the 
church and family in shaping conscience, binding 
authority and private judgment.  

	An "agreed account" of the conversation affirmed 
that "it is the responsibility of parents to give 
a child the first experiences of love and the 
constancy of care. These can help that child see 
himself or herself as a child of God. This opens 
up in the maturing Christian a greater 
receptivity to hearing the Word of God."

	In a concluding statement the dialogue team 
noted that "those outside the church need not 
only to hear the Gospel but also to see it 
embodied in lives which manifest the kingdom. 
Hence the credibility of the church is at stake 
if the messengers appear divided or do not live 
the message."

	The site for the 1999 session was chosen by 
Archbishop Daniel Buechlein of Indianapolis, 
co-chair of the dialogue. He served as president 
of St. Meinrad Seminary from 1971 to 1987. 

	"The worshiping community of St. Meinrad 
monastery provided an important contextual 
experience for the dialogue team in better 
understanding the depth of Roman Catholic 
spirituality in relation to the church's task of 
education of conscience," said the Rev. Robert K. 
Welsh, president of the Disciples Council on 
Christian Unity.

	The Rev. Paul A. Crow Jr., the Disciples 
co-chairperson, noted that discussion of the 
topic has broken new ground for Disciples in "our 
own understanding of the critical role and 
challenge to the church and family in shaping 
Christian conscience among our members."

	Next year's dialogue will explore the theme, 
"Evangelization: the Goal of the Church's 
Teaching. "

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