Salvation Army-Roman Catholic Informal Conversations in Rome

The second meeting of the current round of Informal Conversations between the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church took place in Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican from 17 to 20 November 2023. Following a first set of conversations from 2007 to 2012, the general theme for the current series of conversations is ‘Discipleship for Mission’.

The theme for this year’s meeting was Hope in a Change of Epoch. Members heard and discussed two papers on each of two topics, with one from a Salvationist and one from a Catholic in each case: ‘Encounter with the Living Christ and the hope that is within us’ and ‘How do we ensure that our works are expressions of hope and vehicles for encounter with the Risen Christ?’.

As well as their shared discussions, the group also participated in guided tours of the Papal Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican and the Papal Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls, where they joined the monastic community for Vespers. On Sunday 19 November, the participants in the Conversations took part in the Mass for the World Day of the Poor, celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica by Pope Francis.

The last meeting of the Informal Conversations group took place in London from 25 to 28 November 2022. The next one will take place in London in November 2024, on the theme, Shared Missional Vision in a Changed Epoch: Re-imagining the Communication of the Gospel.

Participants

From the Salvation Army:

Commissioner Jane Paone (Co-Chair), Secretary for International Ecumenical Relations, IHQ, UK
Major Nick Coke, UK & Ireland Territorial Co-ordinator for Justice and Reconciliation, UK
Commissioner Vibeke Krommenhoek, Officer for European Ecumenical Relations, IHQ, UK
Lieut. Colonel Andrew Morgan, General’s Representative to the Vatican, Rome
Lieut. Colonel Karen Shakespeare, Chair, International Theological Council, IHQ, UK
Colonel Ian Swan, Director, International Social Justice Commission, New York

From the Catholic Church:

Bishop Brendan Leahy (Co-Chair), Bishop of Limerick, Ireland
Revd Martin Browne OSB, Official, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome
Prof. Meghan Clark, St John’s University, New York, USA
Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome
Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, UK
Dr Antonia Pizzey, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia