Title: Formation of conscience addressed by international dialogue
Date: June 9, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
99b-42
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The formation of conscience in the faith community was addressed during a May 18-24 meeting of the 16-member Disciples of Christ - Roman Catholic International Dialogue at St. Meinrad, Ind.
David M. Thompson, professor, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, England, prepared the Disciples' submission, "Conscience, Private Judgment and the Community of Faith." The Rev. Jean-Marie Tillard, OP, prepared the Roman Catholic paper on the "Catholic Church and Education of Conscience." Tillard is a professor at the Dominican Faculty of Theology in Ottawa, Ontario.
Bible studies examining various understandings of the "love commandment" in the New Testament were delivered by Msgr. John Meier, a professor at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.). The studies helped provide a biblical framework for the dialogue session.
The discussion focused on common understandings and differences between Disciples and Roman Catholic traditions around the concepts of freedom of conscience, and the roles of the church and family in shaping conscience, binding authority and private judgment.
An "agreed account" of the conversation affirmed that "it is the responsibility of parents to give a child the first experiences of love and the constancy of care. These can help that child see himself or herself as a child of God. This opens up in the maturing Christian a greater receptivity to hearing the Word of God."
In a concluding statement the dialogue team noted that "those outside the church need not only to hear the Gospel but also to see it embodied in lives which manifest the kingdom. Hence the credibility of the church is at stake if the messengers appear divided or do not live the message."
The site for the 1999 session was chosen by Archbishop Daniel Buechlein of Indianapolis, co-chair of the dialogue. He served as president of St. Meinrad Seminary from 1971 to 1987.
"The worshiping community of St. Meinrad monastery provided an important contextual experience for the dialogue team in better understanding the depth of Roman Catholic spirituality in relation to the church's task of education of conscience," said the Rev. Robert K. Welsh, president of the Disciples Council on Christian Unity.
The Rev. Paul A. Crow Jr., the Disciples co-chairperson, noted that discussion of the topic has broken new ground for Disciples in "our own understanding of the critical role and challenge to the church and family in shaping Christian conscience among our members."
Next year's dialogue will explore the theme, "Evangelization: the Goal of the Church's Teaching. "
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