What future do you see for ecumenical dialogue?

(a) Orthodoxy

The issues that surround the divisions between Catholics and Orthodox are multi-layered and complex. Some churchmen, such as Bishop Gerhard Muller, who works a lot in this field, sees Catholics and Orthodox as having reached 97% ecclesial unity. This is a bold statement, especially given the challenges of getting millions of Orthodox Christians to accept papal primacy and jurisdiction. What is needed is for us to love each other, for there to be a kind of ‘interior unity’, so that the Holy Spirit will work how and when he sees fit.

(b) Protestantism

Again, the issues are complex. We saw a lot of good work in the Papal Visit to the UK, when the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope prayed together and spoke much of the need for ongoing unity. Again, the Holy Spirit needs to work, and, at a local level, meaningful dialogue is best achieved through prayer rather than through meetings that cover up differences and have the potential of leading to a false irenicism.