Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, announced the proposal at a Vatican symposium with representatives of the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed churches.
Citing the need for an “ecumenism of basics that identifies, reinforces, and deepens the common foundation” of Christianity, Kasper said that the proposed catechism would be written “in consultation with our partners,” according to Catholic News Service.
“We do not yet have any idea how such a catechism could be structured and written,” Kasper noted.
The cardinal himself is unlikely to preside over such a project since he turns 77 next month, placing him two years past the normal retirement age for the heads of Vatican offices. As head of the council since 2001, the noted German theologian has led the Catholic church’s ecumenical dialogue with other Christian churches as well as with Jews.
Kasper warned that ecumenism “is perhaps in danger of becoming a matter for specialists and thus of moving away from the grass roots,” and appealed for “a people-centered ecumenism” to revitalize dialogue with other faith communities.
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