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 Andrea Bocelli to sing for Pope Leo with international children’s choir Journalists launch initiative to bring letters from Venezuelan quake survivors to Pope Leo XIV Young American missionaries get papal shoutout during summer in Rome Pope Leo takes road trip to mountainside shrines during his summer vacation Pope Leo quotes Bob Dylan song in book foreword calling for nuclear disarmament Pope Leo XIV makes surprise visit to pray for peace at the tomb of St. Benedict Copyright © 2024 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
