The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from Dikastes, δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ...

whose origins are associated with the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965.

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

wanted the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to engage in the contemporary ecumenical movement. He established a Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity on 5 June 1960 as one of the preparatory commissions for the council, and appointed

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Augustin Bea Augustin Bea, S.J. (28 May 1881 – 16 November 1968), was a German Jesuit priest, cardinal, and scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University, specialising in biblical studies and biblical archaeology. He also served as the personal confessor ...

as its first president. The secretariat invited other churches and world communions to send observers to the council.

Description

The Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity prepared and presented a number of documents to the council: *Ecumenism ('' Unitatis redintegratio''); *Non-Christian religions (''

Nostra aetate (from Latin: "In our time") is the incipit of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated o ...

''); *Religious liberty (''

Dignitatis humanae ''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...

''); *With the doctrinal commission, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (''

Dei verbum ''Dei verbum'', the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 18 November 1965, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,344 to 6. It is one of the principal documen ...

''). Following the

, in 1966

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

confirmed the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity as a permanent

of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. In the apostolic constitution ''

Pastor bonus ''Pastor bonus'' (Latin: "The Good Shepherd") is an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988. It instituted a number of reforms in the process of running the central government of the Catholic Church. The docume ...

'' (28 June 1988),

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

renamed the secretariat the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The PCPCU has two sections dealing with: *The Eastern Churches - The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches as well as the Assyrian Church of the East; *The Western Churches and Ecclesial Communities and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

Purpose

The dicastery has a twofold role: *The promotion within the

of an authentic ecumenical spirit according to the conciliar decree Unitatis Redintegratio; *To develop dialogue and collaboration with the other churches and world communions. Since its creation, it has also established a cordial cooperation with the

(WCC). Twelve Catholic theologians have been members of the WCC's

Faith and Order Commission The Faith and Order Commission is an assembly group within the World Council of Churches founded in 1948 which has made numerous and significant contributions to the ecumenical movement. The commission has been successful in working toward cons ...

since 1968. The PCPCU is responsible for naming Catholic observers at various ecumenical gatherings and in its turn invites observers or "fraternal delegates" of other churches or ecclesial communities to major events of the Catholic Church. At present, the PCPCU is engaged in an international theological dialogue with each of the following churches and world communions: *The

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

*The

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

; *The

Oriental Orthodox churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

; *The

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

; *The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

; *The

International Lutheran Council The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the Lu ...

; *The

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

; *The

World Alliance of Reformed Churches The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin. Its headquarters was in Geneva, Switzerland. They are now merged ...

; *The

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this ...

; *The

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

; *The

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

; *The

World Evangelical Alliance The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 in London, England, United Kingdom to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA i ...

; *Some

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

groups.

Structure

Directed by a Cardinal President, assisted by a Secretary, a Joint Secretary, and an Under-Secretary. ;Current leadership *President:

Kurt Koch , alt = , caption = Koch pictured in December 2016. , church = Roman Catholic Church , archdiocese = , province = , metropolis = , diocese = , see = , appointed = 1 July 2010 , ended = , predecessor = Walter Kasper , successor = , ...

, 2010– *Secretary: Brian Farrell, 2002– *Under-Secretary: Andrea Palmieri ;Presidents *

(6 June 1960 – 16 November 1968) *

Johannes Willebrands Johannes Gerardus Maria Willebrands (4 September 1909 in Bovenkarspel, North Holland – 1 August 2006) was a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1 ...

(12 April 1969 – 12 December 1989) *

Edward Cassidy Edward Idris Cassidy AC (5 July 1924 – 10 April 2021) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church who was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1989 to 2001. He headed the Commission of the Holy See fo ...

(12 December 1989 – 3 March 2001) *

Walter Kasper Walter Kasper (born 5 March 1933) is a German Catholic cardinal and theologian. He is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, having served as its president from 2001 to 2010. Early life Born in Heidenheim a ...

(3 March 2001 – 1 July 2010) *

(1 July 2010 – present) ;Secretaries *

(28 June 1960 – 12 April 1969) *

Jean Jérôme Hamer Jean Jérôme Hamer, O.P., S.T.D. (1 June 1916 – 2 December 1996) was a Belgian Cardinal who was Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 1985 until 1992. Biography He was born ...

(12 April 1969 – 14 June 1973) *, M. Afr. (25 April 1983 – 16 March 1999) *

Jean-Claude Périsset Jean-Claude Périsset (born 13 April 1939) is a Swiss titular archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and diplomat of the Holy See. He served as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 2007 until his resignation in 2013. Biography Périsset was born ...

(16 November 1996 to 12 November 1998) *

(16 March 1999 – 3 March 2001) *

Marc Ouellet Marc Armand Ouellet (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI ...

(3 March 2001 – 15 November 2002) * Brian Farrell, L.C. (19 December 2002– present)

The Bible

The council is responsible for working with other churches on ecumenical translations of scripture, and promoted the establishment of the

Catholic Biblical Federation The Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF) is a worldwide "fellowship" of administratively independent Catholic Bible associations and other organizations committed to biblical-pastoral ministries in 126 countries. It exists primarily to promote and coo ...

Relations with the Jews

The

Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews The Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews is a pontifical commission in the Roman Curia tasked with maintaining positive theological ties with Jews and Judaism. Established on 22 October 1974, it works alongside the Pontifical Council ...

is the responsibility of the PCPCU, while the

Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with Muslims The Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims is a body within the Roman Curia tasked with maintaining positive theological ties with Muslims. It is distinct unit within the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the President ...

comes under the direction of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...

. This is because when the council was being created the Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews was consulted as to whether it wished to come under the Inter-Religious Dialogue Council, it declined and thus remains part of the Promoting Christian Unity Council.

References

External links

GCatholic.org
{{Authority control Religious organisations based in Italy Christian organizations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Vatican City 1960 in religion

Description

Purpose

Structure

The Bible

Relations with the Jews

See also

References

External links