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News & Herald Volume
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
Number
7
14
•
December
5,
1997
Aquinas-Luther Conference Brings Christians Together By
KATHY SCHMUGGE
ing the Bible's authority. Bishop
Correspondent Four of the country's leading Catholic and Lutheran theologians and authors convened at LenoirRhyne College Nov. 16-18 to share a mutual passion for Holy Scripture at the Fifth Annual Aquinas-Luther Conference. Titled "On the Authority of the Bible," the event was sponsored by the college's Center of Theology. The conference began with worship at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. Rev. Dr. James R. Crumley Jr., retired bishop of the Lutheran Church in America and a pioneer in the ecumenical dialogue with Roman Catholics, delivered the keynote
HICKORY
—
address.
Addressing the misunderstanding between Catholics and Lutherans regard-
Crumley
showed how often Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas icons of their prospective faiths
—
—
actually agreed
on the
He also cautioned about the "wide-
topic.
spread ignorance of the Scriptures" and
how
its
by the
authority has been undermined false
assumption that "an indi-
vidual can choose both passages and their
These problems and othhave had catastrophic effects on all Bishop Crumley said. "Among Lutherans, we are aware of the difficulties caused by our inability to teach authoritatively as a church," he added, hoping in the future for a way that Catholics and Lutherans could form a relationship that "would express magisinterpretation." ers
faiths.
terial
mutuality."
See Conference, page 2
Key To Spreading Gospel, Pope Tells 'Citizen Love
is
IVIissionaries' in By CINDY WOODEN VATICAN CITY (CNS) Sending
—
more than 13,000 priests, religious and lay people to knock on doors throughout Rome and invite people to church. Pope Joan and Greg Obi and their 2-year-old daughter Stephanie, immigrants from a candle at their home in Silver Spring, Md., to mark the start of Advent. candle is lit for each week of Advent in anticipation of the Christmas feast.
Nigeria, light
A new
John Paul
II
said love
is
the
key to spread-
ing the Gospel.
"Have
a strong love for the people
Synod's Small Groups
and families you meet," the pope told the
Emphasize
first
By
make them aware of their
—
VATICAN CITY (CNS) While the Synod of Bishops for America have dozens of religious and
members of
social concerns, they agreed the final
the
synod must emphasize
ties to
responsibili-
care for the poor and to
work
mid-term report did not pay enough attention to indigenous and African-
American communities and
church's obligation to work with them
Dec.
2.
The group reports unanimously personal encounter with Jesus Christ as the starting point for strengthening the
church and for motivating
its
work in
the
world. All agreed on the need to improve
religious education programs to lead
people to Christ, to strengthen their bonds with the universal church and to
to the
and equality. Several groups specifically rejected calls by individual synod members for a Pan-American bishops' council or other new structure promoting cooperation among the bishops of the Caribbean, North, South and Central America. Most of the groups also noticed that few of the synod speakers had mentioned for justice
the
Holy
Spirit;
The door-to-door campaign of plaining
faith in Jesus Christ.
called for a focus on the importance of a
in St. Peter's Basilica.
for
also agreed that the synod's
After hours of discussion in small groups, participants shared their initial reflections with the general assembly
officially re-
Sunday of Advent. "People need love, understanding and forgiveness," he said during the Mass
justice in the world.
They
who
ceived their commissions Nov. 30, the
Faith in Christ
CINDY WOODEN
outcome of
"citizen missionaries"
they called for special
attention to the Spirit's continuing pres-
preparation for the year 2000. Earlier, volunteers delivered copies of the Gospel of Mark to
homes throughout the city. The Nov. 30 Mass was celebrated at Synod of Bishops for America, which included calls for simithe midpoint of the
lar
evangelization efforts in the Carib-
bean, North, South and Central America.
The pope
told the missionaries to
approach their task like St. Paul did, telling people they come with personal weaknesses and fear to announce salvation in Jesus Christ.
"This simplicity in proclamation, for the persons you encounter, is the true strength of your
accompanied by love
See Synod, page 2
ex-
who Jesus is and inviting people
Mass at their local parish is the second stage of the Diocese of Rome's to
Rome
missionary service," he said. When people are exposed to so many "persuasive and captivating human messages" like they are today, he said, "the Gospel, with just a superficial glance, perhaps can appear weak and poor." However, he said, "in reality it is the most powerful and effective word that one can pronounce because it penetrates hearts and, thanks to the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit, it opens the way to conversion and an encounter with
God." Pope John Paul told the youth and young adult missionaries that their outreach to their peers was an absolutely essential part of the missionary project.
"Become actors in the most beautiand exciting adventure worth spendlife for: that of announcing Christ and his Gospel. With your gifts and talents, placed at the disposition of the Lord, you can and must contribute to the work of salvation in your beloved city," the pope said. The pope told Roman priests that they, too, have a special role in the misful
ing one's
sionary outreach.
"With the love and concern of the
Good Shepherd, go out in search of those who have distanced themselves and are awaiting a gesture or a word from you so they can rediscover the love of God
and his forgiveness," Pope John Paul said.