2 The Centro Pro Unione is a center for ecumenical formation: for study and research, for the exchange of information, and for encounter. To achieve these ends, the Centro runs a series of conferences each year studying various aspects of the ecumenical movement from the pastoral, theological, social and practical points of view. Its facilities are available to any group with an ecumenical concern. The staff organizes programs for individuals as well as groups who visit Rome with an ecumenical purpose. It provides an ecumenical library for students in Rome and is available to supply information on ecumenical activities throughout the world. The library has 7,000 titles of an ecumenical nature in 5 languages (e.g. theological subjects studied ecumenically, dialogues, documentation, Church History etc.) as well as 1,200 bound periodicals (specialized in ecumenics) and more than l 00 current reviews. The Movimento Pro Unione is a gathering together of Christians, clergy and lay people, who are in sympathy with the ecumenical outreach of the Centro Pro Unio ne of the Atonement Friars in Rome. The members of the Movimento are encouraged to work and pray individually and corporately for Christian Unity where this is possible. The Movimento seeks to be a vehicle to share ecumenical experiences and provides means for ecumenical formation on the local level in Italy. The Centro Pro Unione is staffed by the Atonement Friars a religious community in the Franciscain tradition, existing specifically to help fulfil the Church's mission of Christian Unity, to witness to the Gospel among Christians and non-Christians and to bring all men to the fullness of unity with the People of God. conciliation. It is also evident that the secular and ideological world flatly danies that God is a demanding and all-absorbing contemporary human possibility and engagement. The idea of 'trespass' is evaluated as opium of the people and opium for the people and the Church as reconcilor scorned as an institution supporting the status quo of an inhuman and unjust society. It is finally evident that attempts to manifest the unity of the Church can and do become a Christian end in itself, that mission is carried out, not in the name of God in Christ, but in defense of the continuity and glory of the Church, and that service to the world can and does lead to an affirmation of the superiority of Christian morality and ethics. More than before, I believe, are we facing these fallacies, temptations and shortcomings. Precisely for this reason do we have to recapture glimpses of the glory of God, continuing to reconcile the world in Christ, for the glory of every man, woman and Child. Looking back to the first ten years of the history of the Centro Pro Unione and looking forward into the second decade of its existence and programmes, I can only express the wish, and assure you of my prayers, that the Center will continue to manifest its sensitivity, devotion and hospitality to many individuals and groups visiting Rome with an ecumenical purpose. Introducing many persons to the often bewildering religious and secular aspects of Italian society remains a very crucial task. The problems of Italy am intimately related to many intricate and sometimes seemingly 6 unsolvable problems of the ecumenical movement, in the ecclesiastical as in the worldly realm of today alike. I also sincerely hope that annual conferences which the Centro Pro Unione has sponsored sofar will include even more difficult and controversial ecumenical topics from which Churches and Christian groups have been shying away for reasons of fear and immaturity. Finally, I express my hope that more Italian and foreign theological students will discover and intelligently use the rich collections of ecumenical literature in the Centro's well-organized Library. The study of the history of the ecumenical movement and contemporary ecumenical progress is vital for the faithful and effective carrying out of many Christian ministries. Just speaking of reconciliation as the primary Christian concern and seeing that the Centro Pro Unione functions as a 'microcosm' of reconciliation, I can only pray that, in the midst of Christianity's frustrations and achievements, in the midst of the world's contradictions, confusions and hopes, it continues to testify to the crucified and risen Christ, the only sure hope of human-kind. There are striking similarities between the 'Eternal City' and the 'Holy City'. Having deliberately chosen Rome with all its ambiguity and glory as the setting for their endeavors, the Friars of the Atonement, it seems to me, cannot but share in the defeat and death of the Lord in Jerusalem on a Friday afternoon and his victory over all defeat and death on Sunday morning. A.J. VAN DER BENT AN OVERVIEW OF RECENT BILATERAL INTERCHURCH CONVERSATIONS Introduction Although instances of churches entering into bilateral conversations to resolve theo logical differences can be found in church history, only since the Second Vatican Council has bilateral dialogue become a ma jor ecumenical phenomenon. In recent years, the number of conversations on local na- . . ' tional, regional and international levels has multiplied severalfold. The purpose of this paper, prepared originally for the first Fo rum on Bilateral Conversations, is to call at tention to the work being done by chur ches and confessional families engaged in bilateral conversations. It is not possible in a brief paper to quote or to summarize ful ly each point in each conversation. Rather, the intent is to survey the scope, character, status and methodology of the conversa tions and to point toward major convergen ces and statements of agreement. The work rests on the earlier pt1blication, Confessions in Dialogue (WCC 197 5) by Dr. Nils Ehrens trom and Dr. Gunther Gassmann. The bilateral conversations themselves are sufficiently different in their goals and me thods to make any generalization a ques tionable exercise. However, it is apparent that the bilateral movement has entered a new phase of its existence and requires a new methodology. Whereas the early years were characterized by creative theological encounter by scholarly commissions, the present period is characterized by the effort of the churches to receive the agreements which have been reached in their behalf. Of course, some conversations have not yet pro duced a final report; others are just begin ning. However, these pages will demonstrate that a considerable number of reports have been sent to the church authorities. Now, it must be asked, what does it mean for the theological commissions of two churches to issue an agreed statement on a subject previously held to be the source and cause of division? It is not clear what implications an agreed statement has for c hurch life: Does an agreement on euchari stic theology have immediate implications for the eucharistic life of two churches or confessional families? How much consensus is required to enable the churches to share a common life? How broad and how deep must a sufficient consensus be before the churches experience a greater unity? And further, at what point is the consensus pro cess in danger of being "overloaded", i.e. when do the churches begin to require more convergence in dialogue than they can claim within their own community? It is not clear how the churches can in corporate the work of the commissions into their lives. Dialogue is a process of mutual discovery and personal growth. A good il lustration is the report of the Baptist-Re formed conversation, which by its own ad mission is an uneven document: the growth of personal trust and fellowship in the course of the encounter enabled the partici pants to state their points of agreement more fully and openly in the latter stages of the dialogue, and hence in the latter chapters of the report. The question is how the larger communities represented by the theologians can receive the report without h aving the experience of dialogue --or, how they can be enabled to share in a similar experience. The process is further complicated by the problem of words. The objective of the dia logue process has been described as a "me ta-language", i.e. a new language in which each partner in the conversation can recog nize its own historic convictions stated ade quately. A good illustration of a meta-lan guage" is found in the Lutheran-Refo rm ed- 7 Next >