Washington D.C., Nov 13, 2010 / 16:18 pm
A new accord between U.S. Catholic leaders and Reformed churches would be a “milestone in the ecumenical journey” and would aid interaction with Reformed Christians at the parish level, a bishops’ conference official has said.
The document, titled “Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism,” is the result of six years of study and discussion between the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and representatives from the Presbyterian Church-USA, the Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, and the United Church of Christ.
The U.S. bishops will vote on the accord and on an accompanying statement at their fall assembly Nov. 15-18.
Fr. Leo Walsh, associate director at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, explained the proposed accord in a Nov. 12 e-mail to CNA.