Baptists and Catholics will launch a third round of theological conversations in 2017, the Baptist World Alliance has reported.
The announcement followed talks between the BWA and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Baptists from Australia, Great Britain and the United States met with Catholic officials in May to establish the framework for the upcoming theological dialogue, BWA officials said.
Neville Callam
“This joint preparatory meeting decided that the next phase of dialogue, which could commence in June 2017, should have clear continuity with the first two phases and should focus on the subject of common witness to Jesus Christ,” BWA Secretary Neville Callam said in a news release. “A final statement on the purpose and plan for the upcoming dialogue is to be concluded in the near future.”
The first round occurred from 1984 to 1988 and the second from 2006 to 2010.
“We would be pleased to build on these two previous dialogues and explore new areas of discussion,” Cardinal Koch, president of the pontifical council, said in a letter to Callam and quoted in the BWA release. “These official dialogues were cause for great celebration and gratitude to God.”
Meanwhile, a four-year dialogue between the BWA and the World Methodist Council is underway, the alliance said. It concludes next year.