Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue

Diocese of Brooklyn – Lay Ministry Program

Course: Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue

What is Ecumenism?

Ecumenism and the ecumenical movement refer to the efforts by the Roman Catholic community and other Christian churches to work toward full unity among all baptized peoples around the globe…The church strongly urges Catholic in individuals and parishes to strive in many ways to overcome and resolve the vexing problems resulting from the continued separations among various Christian peoples. “Ecumenism” has the Greek origins that refer to “of or from the whole world.” …

In 1964 Roman Catholic leaders in attendance at the Second Vatican Council issued a landmark document called the Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio). The document outlined the gospel-oriented attitudes that all Catholic peoples and parishes should have toward the ecumenical movement; it also outlined practical ways by which this can be accomplished. Today, this movement toward ecumenical unity is often referred to as a primary issue and duty for all members of the church, rather than an option.

Adapted from The New Concise Catholic Dictionary. Reynolds R. Ekstrom. Mystic, CT.: Twenty-Third Publications, third printing of Revised Edition, 2000.

What is Interreligious Dialogue? The Second Vatican Council document Nostra Aetate (In Our Times) brought the issue of relations with non-Christian religions to the foreground. Through this document, the church is giving “primary consideration ….to what human beings have in common and to what promotes fellowship among them.”

The following year, 1966, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops expanded its ecumenical work to include dialogue with non-Christian religions.” The committee name then became the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (CEIA). This effort includes dialogue and activities with the American Jewish community, with Muslims, and other major religious communities in the U.S.

Adapted from material on the USCCB website. See http://ww.usccb.org/beliefs for much more on this topic.