Vatican II: ecumenical milestones

The Superior General of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Father Jim Puglisi, who heads the Rome based ecumenical centre, “ Centro Pro Unione “ tells Veronica Scarisbrick what he believes to be some of the landmarks on the path to Christian Unity since the Second Vatican Council:

" Well the landmarks since the Second Vatican Council are first of all the collaboration that happened between the Churches. For example immediately as the Council ended between the Pontifical Council for Promoting Chrisitan Unity, then called the Secretariat and the World Council of Churches. They formed a joint working group. This joint working group is not technically a dialogue because the World Council of Churches is not a Church but a Council of Churches, a gathering of Churches. And the attempt was to work on things that they could do together as Christians both on the religious level but also on the level of social help that could be offered to the Churches".

Secondly there were a whole series of dialogues that were begun immediately at the end of the Second Vatican Council, for example between the Lutheran Church and the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church. But not only between Churches and the Catholic Church itself but also between other Churches like for example Anglicans and Lutherans, Methodists and Lutherans, Angllicans and Orthodox.A series of dialogues were begun between the various Churches and religious groupings..."...

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