Pope Francis was directly involved in the latest round of dialogue between the Baptist World Alliance and the Catholic Church.
The fifth meeting of Phase III of the international Baptist-Catholic dialogue took place Dec. 12-16 in Rome, hosted by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
On Dec. 14, Pope Francis received the commission in a private audience and engaged with them in conversation concerning topics of common interest such as the importance of learning how to be pastors according to the gospel, avoiding the dangers of clericalism, growing in mutual concern for one another, caring for the poorest and needy in the world, and establishing relationships that allow Baptists and Catholics to discuss the theological problems at the heart of their divisions.
BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown also participated in the gathering, representing Baptists worldwide.
BWA President Tomás Mackey of Argentina spoke of the importance of growing in a mutual recognition to create new possibilities for a joint Baptist-Catholic witness to the world. He expressed the readiness of the BWA for any initiative that encourages peace and reconciliation.
At the end of the audience, Pope Francis and the members of the commission said the Lord’s Prayer together.
At the end of the audience, Pope Francis and the members of the commission said the Lord’s Prayer together.
The goal of the Baptist-Catholic International Dialogue is not to achieve full visible unity but to gain mutual understanding as well as clarification of theological matters and identification of possibilities for cooperation, according to Steven Harmon, professor of historical theology at Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in North Carolina and one of two secretaries to the co-chairs of the dialogue.
This ongoing dialogue began in 1984, and the current phase dates to 2017. Three in-person meetings were held before the global pandemic derailed the possibility of fully in-person meetings for two years. This month’s dialogue in Rome marked the full resumption of in-person meetings.
The overarching topic of the current phase is “The Dynamic of the Gospel and the Witness of the Church Today.” The meeting in Rome was devoted to drafting and editing a report from the dialogue as well as discussing possible directions for a future phase of dialogue.
Each day of this fifth meeting began and ended with prayer services.
After the audience with Pope Francis, the commission visited the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and met with Prefect Cardinal Kurt Koch. The program included a prayer that highlighted witnesses to the power of the gospel from both traditions, a presentation on the current phase of dialogue and an exchange concerning the challenges and opportunities for the ecumenical movement in general and for Baptist-Catholic relations in particular.
Elijah Brown
Both Cardinal Koch and BWA General Secretary Brown expressed a desire to see the dialogue continue.
The commission is co-chaired, on the Catholic side, by Arthur Serratelli, bishop emeritus of Paterson and adjunct professor of biblical studies at Seaton Hall University, and on the Baptist side by Elizabeth Newman, adjunct professor of theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary and Duke University Divinity School.
Newman also serves as chair of the BWA Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity.
Other Baptist participants in this year’s meeting were Derek Hatch (USA), Glenroy Lalor (Jamaica), Lina Toth (Lithuania/UK); Paul S. Fiddes (UK), Valerie Duval-Poujol (France), and Everton Jackson (Jamaica/USA).
Members of the Catholic delegation were Peter Casarella (USA), Stephen Fernandes (India), William Henn (Italy), Przemyslaw Kantyka (Poland), Marie-Hélène Robert (France), Jorge A. Scampini (Argentina), and Susan K. Wood (USA/Canada).
While Harmon serves as secretary for the Baptist side of the dialogue, Juan Usma Gómez, head of the Western Section of the DPCU, serves as secretary for the Catholic side.
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