Spiritus Vol 9, Nos 1-2

Volume 9, No 2 offers the results of a dialogue during 2021-2023 among representatives of the Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA) and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It centered on three topics from the perspectives of Pentecostals and Roman Catholics. . . . Here are fifteen pieces, consisting of three cycles of papers read and responses given by representatives of PCCNA and USCCB. Harold Hunter, International Pentecostal Holiness Church Ecumenical Officer, and Walter Kedjierski, Executive Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB, launch this issue with general commentary on the proceedings of the dialogue from Pentecostal and Roman Catholic perspectives, respectively, providing historical context and personal reflections on the discussions. The first cycle of papers, presented in 2021 in Washington, DC, at the the Washington Retreat House, a Catholic retreat center. dealt with the topic of initiation, primarily baptism, in the two traditions. Frederick Ware of Howard University presented the quite varied positions of Pentecostals, drawing on personal testimony to do so, while Kimberly Belcher of the University of Notre Dame presented the Catholic position. The second cycle, presented in 2022 at Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, covered the topic of healing (appropriately enough). David Han of Pentecostal Theological Seminary and Andrew Prevot of Georgetown University provided illuminating discussions of how healing is perceived in the two traditions. The final cycle of papers, covering the topic of vocation, was presented on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. This topic proved sufficiently complex as to require two papers from the Roman Catholic perspective. The concept of vocation in the Catholic Church is understood from two angles: the sacraments of marriage and Holy Orders. Walter Kedjierski presents an insightful look at marriage from the Catholic perspective, much of which may be unknown to many Pentecostals, while Leonardo Gajardo, a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary, Indiana, presents a Catholic understanding of ordained ministry. Martin Mittelstadt of Evangel University presents what is essentially a view of what vocation should be from a Pentecostal perspective in light of its somewhat narrow focus on church ministries.

This collection of papers and responses is not only informative but also very encouraging. While it may have been the preconception of many of the dialogue participants that there was not too much common ground between these two traditions, what eventuated was a recognition by all that there was a great deal of common ground that encourages continued discussion and provides a foundation for engaging in those areas in which there is substantial disagreement. In a world wracked with division, it is refreshing to see a concerted effort to understand one another and find common ground for discourse.