Visits from Representatives of the World Methodist Council to DPCU

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity recently hosted two visits from the World Methodist Council. On 1 September, Revd Tony Franklin-Ross, a presbyter of the Methodist Church in New Zealand and Chairperson of the Ecumenical Relationships Committee of the World Methodist Council (WMC) visited the offices of the Dicastery. During a meeting with Revd Martin Browne OSB, the official responsible for relations with the WMC, he discussed the work of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC), the role of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, and the twenty-second World Methodist Conference, which will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in August 2024. Revd Franklin-Ross was also received by the secretary of the Dicastery, Bishop Brian Farrell.

A few days later, on 6 September, a group including the General Secretary of the World Methodist Historical Society, Dr Ashley Bogan-Dreff, and the Executive Secretary of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities, Dr Amos Nascimanto, visited the offices of the Dicastery. The two co-secretaries of MERCIC, Revd Martin Browne OSB and Revd Matthew Laferty (Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome), briefed them on the history and current work of the commission. The group also participated in the General Audience held by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square and visited some other institutions of the Holy See, including the archives of St Peter’s Basilica, where they were received by Dr Simona Turriziani.