Dialogue Document
United Methodist-Roman Catholic Dialogue: Holiness and Spirituality of the Ordained Ministry 1976
Holiness and Spirituality of the Ordained Ministry: United Methodist/Roman Catholic Dialogue, January 1976
"National bilateral conversations sponsored by committees of The United Methodist Church and The National Conference of Catholic Bishops have been in progress since 1966. Over the years these have dealt with a wide variety of subjects of mutual interest and concern. In 1971, the decision was reached to focus the dialogue for a time on an issue of special interest to both churches, namely, "Spirituality in the Ministry". The findings of our sustained study of this subject are the concern of this report.
Several reasons dictated the choice of this particular theme for this dialogue. Both our communions emphasize the importance of a life style which authentically derives from relationship with the Spirit of Christ. This emphasis is not in contradiction to others, such as a confessional emphasis on the faith, but can be perceived as a dimension of Christianity, the importance of which is distinctively underscored in our respective traditions. The subject seemed all the more fruitful as it touches our common emphasis on holiness and spirituality as well as our noticeably different ways of expressing this in life and conduct. It has been experienced by Catholics and United Methodists as a source of sympathetic contact and, at times, of puzzlement or uncertainty with respect to one another."