News

Cardinal Kasper calls for ecumenical catechism

February 09, 2010

Speaking at a Vatican symposium, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said that an ecumenical catechism would help Catholics and members of major Protestant communities adhere more faithfully to the foundations of the Christian doctrine. Such a catechism would promote “an ecumenism of basics that identifies, reinforces, and deepens” Christians’ “common foundation in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity as expressed in our common creed and in the doctrine of the first ecumenical councils.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Cardinal Kasper Suggests an Ecumenical Catechism (Vatican Radio)
• Cardinal asks dialogue partners if an ecumenical catechism might work (CNS)

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• Posted by: HKS - Feb. 10, 2010 9:52 PM ET USA

  This sounds like an excellent idea for building common ground.

• Posted by: morganx28124 - Feb. 10, 2010 6:05 PM ET USA

  I guess I'm going to be the "strange voice" here, in that I agree with the proposal of Cardinal Kasper. I believe it is within the parameters already given in the "Catechsim of the Catholic Church" with regard to the Church's official teaching regarding Ecumenism and Christian Unity. It also seems consistent with Pope Benedict XVI's earlier work as Joseph Ratzinger titled "The True Meaning of Christian Brotherhood".

• Posted by: ramonantonio6060 - Feb. 10, 2010 1:14 PM ET USA

  The Reader's Digest Catechism! Contributions accepted at $120.00 for jokes (prudent ones published), $75.00 for "Quotable Quotes" (pro Christian) and the section of books and reality stories would be open to publish "reality based stories" that show the complexities of everyday Christian life. This may be a best seller publication. The real question is this: will this publication get Christians to salvation and a place in the heaven with Jesus or to Hotel California prime accomodations?

• Posted by: Lilacs2me - Feb. 09, 2010 10:26 PM ET USA

  The Church has a Catechism already--end of story.

• Posted by: justinbrand18259 - Feb. 09, 2010 8:19 PM ET USA

  Walter Kasper is in the upper echelons of the Church. That is scary indeed. If the Church embraced it's patrimony and rid herself of the people who held heretical ideas than she wouldn't be in this mess. This near exclusive focus on ecumenism has got to stop or the Church will keep losing more people including me.

• Posted by: tmaley18904 - Feb. 09, 2010 7:37 PM ET USA

  I don't like the attempts to change The Catholic Church into a church more acceptable to protestants. Our Church is the church Jesus Christ founded. It is unchangable and anyone wanting to research our beliefs has only to go to The Catechism of The Catholic Church. That says it all!

• Posted by: TheJournalist64 - Feb. 09, 2010 7:18 PM ET USA

  This smells suspiciously like the pie-in-the-sky vision of C.S. Lewis for "Mere Christianity." Sorry, that is an unattainable and unreasonable objective. Mere Christianity, when you boil it all down, is exactly what the Catholic Church has. Take anything away and the whole structure collapses.

• Posted by: Juan - Feb. 09, 2010 7:07 PM ET USA

  Why isn't this man given his papers?

• Posted by: justinbrand18259 - Feb. 09, 2010 6:37 PM ET USA

  It's stuff like this that makes me seriously consider becoming Orthodox and leaving Catholicism altogether. There is too much compromise and worldliness and has been ever since Vatican II and it is starts right in the highest levels of the Church on down. Pray for me too.

• Posted by: flannery8037 - Feb. 09, 2010 2:19 PM ET USA

  Bad idea, Walt.

• Posted by: normnuke - Feb. 09, 2010 2:18 PM ET USA

  I agree completely with AveMaria. I think we should all pray fervently for a soon retirement of Cdl. Kasper.

• Posted by: AveMaria580 - Feb. 09, 2010 11:02 AM ET USA

  This frightens me. As a Catholic convert from the protestants I can only consider this as the watering down of the teachings of the Church.

• Posted by: adamah - Feb. 09, 2010 8:26 AM ET USA

  I recommend The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Anything else would be watered down. Unity is not found in the least common denominator, but in the fullness of the truth. Cardinal Kasper should resign.