Sydney
10 March 2002
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Dates set for saints
Labor MP backs Liberal’s embryo call
Pope urged to ban his photo from club
Patients are patients, not clients: archbishop on St Vincent’s visit
La Perouse ceremony remembers first Mass
Christian Brothers told: look to the laity for the future
Plight of refugees stirs parishioners into action
Novices renew friars’ spirit of vocation
Centacare calms the anger in men
Editorial: Saint-maker Pope
Letters: Aeroplane nuns
Conversation: ... sharing ‘a gift of God’ - Clare Gormley, soprano
Reflections: Lent – community of God’s people
Veneration of ancestors
The day the house caved in
Book Review: An uncluttered look at ecumenism
Putting ‘fresh heart’ into the diocese: Wollongong’s 50th birthday
Prelate retires as Canterbury see reaches 1400th birthday
Inconsistent marking hampers ‘new’ HSC
Inspirations: Jump in numbers as centre starts year
Book Review: An uncluttered look at ecumenism
Reviewed by Trish Madigan op
Those familiar with the 1993 edition of Gideon Goosen’s Bringing Churches Together, will know it as a popular introduction to ecumenism aimed at the general reader or student of theology who would like to be better informed.
This new revised edition contains all the useful features of the original plus two additional chapters on ecumenical ethics and inter-religious dialogue. Its style is clear and readable, uncluttered by an excess of technical language.
Chapters in the book span the theology of ecumenism, current dialogues and contemporary issues.
In keeping with the author’s belief that theological issues can only be properly understood in the light of the context in which they arose, the book contains a clear explanation of the two main rifts which have occurred in the historical development of Christianity – the schism between East and West in the 11th century and the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
An introduction to the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches and to the various Rites within the Roman Catholic Church continues to be a helpful aspect of the book. In many instances statistics have been updated, references to recent ecumenical documents and agreements have been included and new developments noted.
Particularly welcome is the documentation of changes to the World Council of Churches working structures that emerged from the eighth Assembly in Harare and a discussion of the proposals for future change.
Also, there are references to significant ecumenical documents published since 1993 such as the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission’s The Gift of Authority.
Particularly relevant at the moment, as the National Council of Churches considers a proposal for a multi-dimensional ecumenical Covenant between the Australian churches, is Goosen’s inclusion of a fuller treatment of the ‘models of unity’ that are shaping discussion about how a united church might look in the future.
The section on ‘Current Dialogues’ also contains updated material on the state of some of the main interchurch conversations.
The additional chapters on ecumenical ethics and inter-religious dialogue appear as a welcome recognition of some new imperatives emerging in ecumenical relations.
Both are closely related to the mission and life of the church. Ecumenical ethics are becoming a new priority as churches share their methodology and traditions of ethical insight to come to a new common articulation of ethical stances. The chapter on interreligious dialogue provides a useful overview of some of the aims and approaches to Christian relationships with people of other faiths.
Those who found the original edition of Bringing Churches Together a useful introduction and a clear guide to some of the main ecumenical issues under discussion will also appreciate this new publication.
Gideon Goosen is associate professor in the school of theology, Australian Catholic University, Sydney. Bringing Churches Together, by Gideon Goosen, is published by the World Council of Churches and available from the National Council of Churches in Australia, Private Bag 199, QVB Post Office NSW 1230, ph 9299 2215, $21.55 (GST included).