A senior Vatican official called on Monday (Feb. 
for “an ecumenical catechism” setting forth the common beliefs of the Catholic and major Protestant churches.
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 a report by Catholic News Service.
Kasper noted that “we do not yet have any idea how such a catechism could be structured and written.”
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.
In Monday’s address, 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.
– Francis X. Rocca
Copyright 2010 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted February 9, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Why? Everyone seems to be doing just fine without a “common catechism”. Anyhow, do Protestant churches HAVE a Catechism? As Methodist, I never memorized the little “Who made you”? (think the answer is GOD! made me) or any of the other stuff in the RCC’s little religion book.
posted February 9, 2010 at 10:01 pm
The point is obviously to highlight what the different Christian confessions have in common. When there are plenty of Protestants who don’t think Catholics are even Christians, and vice versa, having common creeds and catechisms can’t hurt.
posted February 10, 2010 at 10:15 am
I like the idea, although there may be some debate defining the ‘major Protestant churches’.
And Pagansister: I can’t speak for other Protestant denominations, but Lutherans definitely have a catechism. In fact, it is very common for churches to require teenagers to memorize Luther’s Small Catechism for confirmation, though thankfully it is in fact ‘small’.
posted February 10, 2010 at 11:00 am
Wannabe Theo,
I was raised in the Methodist church, and never saw a Catechism book. Looking back, I think my nephews (raised Prebyterian) did have a Catechism book. Luterans do too? Interesting.
posted February 10, 2010 at 11:29 am
I think this is a great idea. The world will change once people begin to focus more on what we have in common and less on what separates us from each other. Pray for peace and unity.
posted February 10, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Yes, PS, we do have a catechism in the Lutheran Church. We studied it in detail in our confirmation class.
Focusing on what denominations have in common in the Christian Religion could be a good thing to do as long as it didn’t cause more arguments and seperation. I think the biggest seperation is between fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist beliefs about the Gospels, etc.
posted February 10, 2010 at 1:51 pm
First, sorry for the wrong spellings ..of the Lutherans and Presbyterians. The brain and fingers…not always connected!
Somehow I “joined” the Methodist church (at 10!) after whatever lessons we were supposed to have.
Wonder if the RCC Catechism is different than the others…now that it seems some Protestant churches do have a book.
posted February 11, 2010 at 10:06 am
I suppose there are a lot of theological details most of them agree on, but on the important social issues that actually affect the world, some of the main-line Protestant churches are way smarter than the RCC. It might be interesting to see what’s left. And maybe what churches choose not to endorse the result.
posted February 12, 2010 at 1:40 pm
All of the churches are trying to work together division the work of the devil. To say one is smarter than the other is a sorry attempt to pit one against the other. My organization works with all denominations that’s why we get so much done.
posted February 12, 2010 at 3:05 pm
cknuck you are constantly complaining about one bunch of churches or another. Don’t you even listen to yourself?
posted February 12, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Division is the work of the devil? I love that one, cknuck. That makes my day even better. Who was the comic that used the line (dressed as a woman) “The devil made me do it”. I’m thinking Flip Wilson. There are no absolutes …most are based on one book…and they can’t even agree on how to interpret that. Perhaps they agree that there is some God up in some place generally called “heaven” and some really think there is a hellish place, run by Mr. Devil…but other than that? Who knows? If they’d just agree to stop arguing about things, forget having a common Catechism. Perhaps they can just start respecting the differences and agree on a few common things.
posted February 14, 2010 at 6:57 pm
nnmns my statement was not about churches, (pardon the grammatical errors) it was about those who seek to divide them with statements like the one you made in your attempt to rate one denomination as better than the other. The work of the devil was not in the church but in your statement about the church as it often is. Yes I do listen to myself as do many people, I spoke this Sunday and will be doing a conference this coming week. Why do you ask? Is it because you don’t like what I have to say?