Fourth Session of Salvation Army-Roman Catholic Informal Conversations

The fourth session of the current series of Informal Conversations between the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church took place at Casa La Salle, Rome, from 21 to 24 November 2025. Following the first set of conversations from 2007 to 2012, the general theme for the current series of conversations is Discipleship for Mission. The previous meeting in the current series took place at Sunbury Court near London in November 2024.

The theme for this year’s meeting was Formation of the People of God for listening to the Spirit in our times. Six short papers, three from Catholic theologians and three from Salvation Army theologians, provided the basis for the conversations. The papers reflected on individual and ecclesial discernment and the formation and training of Salvationist officers and Catholic clergy. The Conversations were punctuated by a number of moments of prayer together each day. Members gave thanks for the life and service of Colonel Ian Swan, a member of the group since the beginning of the current phase, who died during the summer.

On Saturday 22 November, the group visited the gardens of the Pontifical Villas and the Borgo Laudato Si’ centre for formation in integral ecology at Castel Gandolfo. The visit was followed by a meeting at the nearby Centro Mariapoli with representatives of the Focolare Movement’s international ecumenical secretariat. On Sunday 23 November, the group attended Sunday Mass at Rome’s parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St Philip Martyr.

The next meeting of the Informal Conversations group, the final meeting of this series, will take place in England in November 2026.

Participants:

From the Salvation Army:

• Commissioner Jane Paone (Co-Chair), United Kingdom
• Lieut. Colonel Nick Coke, United Kingdom
• Commissioner Anthony Cotterill, United Kingdom
• Lieut. Colonel Themba Mahlobo, South Africa
• Lieut. Colonel Andrew Morgan, Italy
• Lieut. Colonel Karen Shakespeare, United Kingdom

From the Catholic Church:

• Bishop Brendan Leahy (Co-Chair), Ireland
• Revd Martin Browne OSB, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
• Prof. Meghan Clark, United States of America
• Bishop Paul Hendricks, United Kingdom
• Archbishop Flavio Pace, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
• Dr Antonia Pizzey, Australia