More Contact With Roman Catholics

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 14

More Contact With Roman Catholics

There had been increasing and deepening contact between the churches of the National Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, said the assistant general-secretary of the council (the Rev. R. M. O’Grady) in a report to be presented to the annual meeting in Christchurch from August 15 to 17.

“While this appears to be warmly welcomed by most, the council is aware that there are groups within each member church which are not happy about increased cooperation, and indeed in some cases have strongly resisted it,” he says. In October last year the first Roman Catholic-N.C.C. conference was held in Christchurch and 30 persons had attended. Those present had recognised the need to have some continuing contact at an official level and had looked at various possibilities. Eventually It had been resolved to encourage the establishment of a joint working committee.

As not all member churches had been able to give a reply on the proposal the executive had decided to delay its de-

cision until after the church assemblies and conferences in November this year. "At the local level the development of closer relations continues rapidly," says Mr O’Grady. “A spate of letters from branches and interested persons asked for suggestions and guidance and on two occasions the executive has had a full debate on the kind of policy it should adopt. The growth of world Pentecostalism had brought home the need to increase understanding between the Pentecostal church in New Zealand and the N.C.C., says Mr O’Grady. On December 27 last year, a joint consultation had been held in Christchurch and had been well attended. The discussion was frank, but cordial and the participants had agreed that there should be a further opportunity to meet, though for a longer period and at more depth. Although the Lutheran Church was small numerically in New Zealand, it represented one of the largest Protestant churches. The Rev. G. Noller had been appointed as an official observer to the N.C.C. executive in June and it was hoped that his presence would lead to increased understanding and co-operation between the council and the Lutheran Church.