|
Dear SDA friends,
Please read the following news from Zenit,
followed by an important quote from the Lord’s prophet, and lastly my 10
heart-searching questions.
Respectfully,
Galal Doss.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZENIT - The World
Seen From Rome
Code: ZE03051905
Date: 2003-05-19
Statement of Joint Working Group Between the
Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches
VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2003 (Zenit.org).-
Here is the final statement of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council
of Churches. The Vatican Press Office issued the final
statement of the JWG's plenary meeting held near Bari, Italy, from May
5-11, 2003.
* * *
The Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the
World Council of Churches (WCC) held a plenary meeting near Bari,
Italy, from May 5-11, 2003. This was the
fourth plenary meeting since the 1998 General Assembly of
the World Council of Churches which sent out the present mandate of the
JWG, under the leadership of the two co-moderators, Archbishop Mario
Conti (Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland) and Bishop Jonas
Jonson (Lutheran Bishop of Strängnäs, Sweden).
The meeting was held at Oasi Santa Maria, a center for spirituality,
under the direction of Monsignor Colucci of the archdiocese of
Bari-Bitonto, located just outside the town of Cassano delle Murge.
Archbishop Francesco Cacucci and the whole local church welcomed the
JWG in the traditional spirit of the Bari region, renowned for its
history of contacts between Christians of various Churches, drawn to
the Basilica of Bari which houses the tomb of St Nicholas.
Each day morning and evening prayer
were celebrated according to the varied traditions of the churches and
Ecclesial Community represented in the working group.
Two new members were introduced to the group: the Most Revd Brian
Farrell LC, the new Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, who replaces the Most Revd Marc Ouellett who has
become the Archbishop of Quebec; and Monsignor Felix Machado who
replaces the Most Revd Michael Fitzgerald who has become the President
of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
The representatives of the WCC and the Catholic Church met separately
for a brief time for some specific orientation, then moved into full
plenary to share some significant developments in the lives of the WCC
and the Catholic Church since the last meeting. The WCC representatives
reported on the results of the Special Commission on the Relations with
the Orthodox Churches, and the celebration of the 75th anniversary of
Faith and Order held in Lausanne in 2002 and shared the plans thus far
for future world events such as the Faith and Order Plenary (2004), the
Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (2005) and the next Assembly
of the WCC itself (2006). The representatives from the Catholic Church
reported on the wide scope of bilateral relations and dialogues between
the Catholic Church and the Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist,
Reformed, Mennonite, Pentecostal and Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) as well as consultations
with the Seventh Day Adventists and Evangelicals.
Much of the time of the meeting was given over to the discussion and
detailed examination of draft texts related to three major areas under
study by the JWG: The Ecclesiological Implications of Baptism; the
Nature and Purpose of Ecumenical Dialogue; and Roman Catholic
Participation in National and Regional Councils of Churches. Gratitude
is due to the sub-groups who had prepared these texts for discussion.
Much progress has been made in these studies and mature texts are
anticipated for refinement at the next plenary, to be included in the
report that JWG will make to the next Assembly of the WCC, and to the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
A progress report was heard on the ways that the Churches and Ecclesial
Community are engaging and collaborating on the Decade to Overcome
Violence, and the JWG reaffirmed its commitment to supporting this
important ecumenical initiative. The plenary also received updates on
the matter of interchurch marriages and took note of the upcoming
meeting of the International Association of Interchurch Families which
will be held outside Rome in August.
The Revd Dorino Angelillo from Caritas Puglia visited the Working Group
to give a comprehensive presentation on the situation related to
refugees and immigrants in Italy in general and the region of Puglia in
particular, highlighting the challenges that are before governments and
churches as individuals and populations, of different cultures and
religions, settle in the country.
This was followed by a reflection given by Professor Franco Vaccari,
the President of Rondine-Cittadella della Pace, who spoke of the
development of peace initiatives, particularly involving young people
from areas of conflict in the world.
The rich ecumenical environment of Bari was experienced on several
occasions. An opening ecumenical prayer service was held in the parish
church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cassano delle Murge, at which
Archbishop Cacucci presided, with testimonies presented by local
Orthodox, Waldensian, Baptist and Seventh
Day Adventist participants. The whole event was
organized by the Ecumenical Group of Bari under the leadership of Fr
Angelo Romita. Afterwards the Mayor of Cassano delle Murge, Giuseppe
Gentile, addressed the JWG and spoke of the unity of Christians as a
necessary sign and encouragement to civil society in its search for
greater harmony and service to the common good.
A visit was made to the Dominican Patristic Institute of Bari which is
a center for ecumenical dialogue, research and learning, bringing
together Christians principally from Catholic and Orthodox backgrounds.
A visit to the museum of the diocese of Bari-Bitonto helped to
illustrate the important crossroads that Bari has been for Christians
from Byzantine, Slav, Latin and Armenian traditions for over 1000
years.
The members participated in the celebration of the translation of the
relics of St Nicholas at the waterfront in Bari, presided over by
Archbishop Cacucci, which highlighted the strength of popular devotion
to St Nicholas, who is venerated by the Christian East and West. The
evening events concluded with a festive dinner to honor the JWG, given
by the Mayor and municipal authorities, in the presence of the
Archbishop. On Sunday, the members of the JWG prayed at the tomb of St
Nicholas and visited the Archbishop at his residence.
The co-moderators expressed to the sisters and staff of the Oasi Santa
Maria the gratitude of the members of the JWG for their warm
hospitality and support which contributed to the success of the
plenary.
The next plenary session of the JWG is planned for 6-13 May 2004.
[Translation of Italian original issued by the Vatican Press Office]
Here is the inspired
warning from His servant:
“The Lord has
pronounced a curse
upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has
decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has
designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is
irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once
thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached
more nearly to her, and are still in
the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles
have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between
herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what
does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which
makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that
lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy. {ST,
February 19, 1894 par. 4}
Now my straight 10
questions for every honest at heart SDA:
1. Would
Rome carry on consultations with the SDA Church if the SDA Church was
determined to expose Rome as the man of sin, and Satan’s masterpiece of
deception?
2. Would
Rome invite local SDA representatives to Bari to participate in their
ecumenical prayer service if it knew that such representatives
were determined to pass to the World Council of Churches delegates
(WCC) copies of the Great Controversy?
3. Has
the SDA Church since the death of Mrs. Ellen White been making a
steady progress away from the ‘path of reconciliation to the
Church of Rome’?
4. Are
there any sign today that the SDA Church today is distancing itself
from Rome?
5. Is
the SDA Church by its actions of progressing in the ‘path of
reconciliation with Rome’ irreconcilably separated from Rome as God has
commanded?
6. Can
the distance between the SDA Church and Rome be lessened without the
SDA Church becoming a backsliding church?
7. Can
you be saved if you are part of a backsliding church?
8. Can
the curse of God be upon a church for having rejected part of Bible
truth and still find favor with God at the same time?
9. Do
you know of any high ranking SDA church administrator/leader who is
urging the members to study and distribute the Great Controversy?
10.
Does your SDA Church today, where you are worshipping, exposes through printed
literature the Church of Rome?
If the answer to the above
10 questions is a solid NO, then why are you still holding a membership
at a church which is determined to have God’s curse on it?
Respectfully,
Galal Doss.
|
