Catholics, Methodists called to spread hope, pope says December 18, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, News, Vatican, World News VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The upcoming celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is a reminder to Christians that “we profess the same faith, and thus have the same responsibility of offering signs of hope that bear witness to God’s presence in the world,” Pope Francis told leaders of the World Methodist Council. The Council of Nicaea, which began meeting in May 325, led to agreements on the basic articles of faith and the development of the Nicene Creed, affirmed the full divinity of Christ and set a formula for determining the date of Easter. The anniversary, the pope said, “is a summons to all churches and ecclesial communities to persevere on the path to visible unity and in the quest of finding ways to respond fully to the prayer of Jesus ‘that they may all be one.'” Pope Francis met Dec. 16 with U.S. Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, who was elected in August to a five-year term as president of the World Methodist Council. She is the United Methodist bishop for the church’s Tennessee-based Holston Conference and for its West Virginia Conference. Bishop Wallace-Padgett was joined by the Rev. Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto, general secretary of the council, and the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome. For the Jubilee Year 2025, the official Catholic-Methodist theological dialogue commission is preparing a document summarizing the 12 agreed statements the dialogue has produced since it began in 1966. While the theological dialogue continues to work toward agreements that will allow full unity, Pope Francis told the group, “We must journey together, as brothers and sisters, pray together, do charitable works together, and move forward together in dialogue.” Read More Vatican News Pope Leo blesses Sagrada Familia’s Tower of Jesus, says beauty can lead people to God ‘Peace cannot be attained without mercy,’ Pope Leo tells global congress in Lithuania’s capital Don’t let painful past overshadow hopeful future, pope tells Barcelona inmates US bishops thank pope for encyclical and shining ‘light of Gospel’ on AI, tech advances Pope Leo XIV arrives in Barcelona on eve of Gaudí’s 100th death anniversary Pope Leo XIV briefly meets Bad Bunny in Madrid Copyright © 2024 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
