NEWS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference (MWC)
For Immediate Release
November 3, 1999
VENICE, Italy – The second meeting of the Mennonite-Roman Catholic international dialogue took place in Venice, Italy, at the Casa Cardinal Piazza, October 12-18, 1999. Co-sponsored by the Mennonite World Conference (Strasbourg) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Vatican City), the dialogue began in 1998 and is anticipated to run for five annual sessions after which it will issue a report. Dr. Helmut Harder (Mennonite, Winnipeg, Canada) and Bishop Joseph Martino (Roman Catholic, Philadelphia PA, USA) are co-Chairmen.
Two sets of papers were presented. One set was historical in nature as the two sides seek to foster the healing of memories between Mennonites and Catholics. The Mennonite paper was delivered by Dr. Neal Blough (Paris, France) on “The Anabaptist Idea of the Restitution of the Early Church.” On the Catholic side, Dr. Peter Nissen (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) presented a paper on “The Anabaptist/Mennonite Tradition of Faith and Spirituality and its Medieval Roots.” The second set of papers presented a contemporary view of the Church from the perspective of each side. Rev. Dr. James Puglisi, S.A. (Rome/USA) presented a Roman Catholic view, and Dr. Helmut Harder a Mennonite view.
The general purpose of the dialogue is to promote better understanding of the positions about Christian faith held on ech side, and to contribute to overcoming prejudices that have existed since the sixteenth Century between Mennonites and Catholics.
On Wednesday, October 13th, the Patriarch-Archbishop of Venice, Cardinal Marco Ce, held a luncheon reception for both the Mennonite-Catholic dialogue, and for the members of the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, who were also meeting at Casa Cardinal Piazza. The members were also given a guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and visited another medieval church on the island of Torcello.
Other participants on the Mennonite side were Dr. Mario Higueros (Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala), Rev. Andrea Lange (Bolanden-Weierhof, Germany), Dr. Howard J. Loewen (Fresno, CA, USA), Dr. Nzash U. Lumeya (Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of Congo), and Dr. Larry Miller (Strasbourg, France) who acted as co-Secretary. Other Roman Catholic participants included Dr. Joan Patricia Back (Rome/England), Msgr. John Mutiso-Mbinda (Rome/Kenya), and Msgr. John A. Radano (Rome/USA), also a co-Secretary.
The third annual session of the dialogue is scheduled for November 2000.
L to R: John Radano, Marie-Agnes Pui, Howard Loewen, Peter Nissen, Nzash Lumeya, James Puglisi, Helmut Harder, Joseph Martino, Neal Blough, Andrea Lange, Mario Higueros, John Mutiso-Mbinda, Larry Miller, Joan Back