[CS-FSLUG] NI (TD): Russian Orthodox bishop appeals for Catholic-Orthodox alliance

[Timothy Butler]

>
> No, I think you may be missing the point. The hope is to foster  
> unity according to the express prayer or Our Lord the night before  
> He gave His life for us, "that they may all be one . . ." (John 17:21)

     Very true. I suspect it will be a long road before the Western  
Church can reunite (if ever, given the structural differences between  
most Protestant groups and the RCC), but in lieu of that, I must say  
I enjoy vicariously the attempts at bringing together the Eastern and  
Western/Catholic churches. Given the the vacuum you rightly note, I  
cannot think of anything better.

     Of course, some Protestant groups can probably work within this  
context too, if we work out an ecumenical understanding --  
particularly the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Churches and  
perhaps the liturgical parts of some other churches (such as the  
Presbyterian Church)...

     The first step, of course, is to stop what you note concerning  
"sheep stealing." We can only garner inter-denominational trust if we  
quit the infighting.

     -Tim

---
Timothy R. Butler | "Now  that  I am a  Christian  I  do have moods
Editor, OfB.biz   | in which the whole thing looks very improbable:
tbutler at ofb.biz   | but when I was an  atheist I had moods in which
timothybutler.us  | Christianity looked terribly probable."
                                                       -- C.S. Lewis