The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church have this week celebrated 40 years of cooperation and ecumenical works of the Joint Working Group.

|PIC1|Catholicos Aram I, the WCC Central Committee Moderator, made the following statement at the opening event of the consultation on the renewal of the ecumenical movement in the 21st Century, on Nov. 17-19. The consultation discussed the future role of a joint consultative group between the two bodies.

“The slow but persevering establishment of a relationship in which the World Council of Churches and the Catholic Church have found in one another a trusted partner has been perhaps the most enduring achievement of the past four decades,” the communiqué from the consultation stated.

Established in 1965, the initiative of the Joint Working Group came about after the Second Vatican Council. It was first meant as an optional gathering, however, the JWG proved to play a pivotal role in developing the ecumenical relationship between the international churches.

The statement continued, “It has proved to be an effective expression of the desire of both parties for an ongoing collaboration and partnership.”

Present at the consultation were 28 representatives, who assessed the “achievements of the Joint Working Group and its impact on the relationship between the parent bodies” and worked towards the evaluation of the methodology of the group as a whole.

|TOP|In addition to this, discussions also took place that suggested new forms of co-operation, particularly in possible “church-dividing” issues. These issues include: bio-ethics; human, civil and religious rights; issues of peace; social justice; healing of memories; human sexuality; and reproduction.

What also seemed to come out from discussions was a highlighting that “greater effort is needed in the field of ecumenical formation.” This means understanding the importance of “offering young people opportunities to be exposed to traditions other than their own, especially in shared programmes of formation, mission and service.”

Other future topics put forward for consideration included: inter-religious dialogue; religious pluralism and, in some places, the increasing absence of God in cultural life; the spread of modern technology and the power of the media; the prevalence of injustice; different forms of violence; and the fear induced by international terrorism.

The consultation took place from Nov. 17-19 at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossev, Switzerland, which was also the site of the very first meeting in 1965 between the international bodies.