Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue in Ghana
The Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue held its third meeting of the seventh phase of dialogue in Millennium City (near Kasoa), Ghana, at the Pentecost Convention Centre of the Church of Pentecost, from 13-18 July. Since its initiation in 1972, this was the first time that the dialogue took place in the Global South, allowing the participants to experience the vivacity of the local Christian Catholic and Pentecostal communities.
The theme of the current phase is “Lex orandi, lex credendi”. At the meeting, two papers were read on the topic “Worship/Prayer and Christian Life”. (Press release)
During their stay in Ghana, participants met with Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast, and attended a Sunday church service at the Pentecost International Atomic in Accra, where they were welcomed by the General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Pastor Alexander Kumi-Larbi.
The Commission is co-chaired by Bishop Joseph Bambera, Diocese of Scranton, Philadelphia, USA, and Revd Cecil M. Robeck, Jr, Pasadena, California, USA, and assisted by Revd David Cole and Msgr Juan Usma (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity) as co-secretaries.
In the words of Bishop Bambera, the Catholic Co-Chair: “The Dialogue’s meeting in Ghana, recognizing the global nature of the work of Christian unity and highlighting the depth of Christian faith of the African continent, has been a powerful reminder to us all of the challenges and blessings of the work before us.”
The last meeting of the Dialogue was in July 2022 in Rome, for its 50th anniversary.