Archive ~ Nicholas Jesson

Nicholas Jesson is a Ph.D. candidate in ecumenical theology at the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto School of Theology and a sessional lecturer in Religious Studies at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife, Amanda Currie, who is minister at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Saskatoon.

Nicholas' research interests are focused on the ecumenical dialogue between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics. He is also webeditor for this website. See his personal page for further information about his research and experience. Nicholas can be reached at . Public comments may be posted after any of these entries.

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Exodus. Numbers. Judges

Exodus. Numbers. Judges Perhaps this is a sign of how long the struggles over human sexuality have monopolised our attention. The following note was posted on our blog in 2004. It is still a helpful contribution. "Exodus. Numbers. Judges. As conservative parishes leave the liberal Episcopal Church, who shall inherit the real estate?" This is an excellent article from LegalAffairs by Elizabeth Austin. It provides some insight into the role of bishops, hierarchy, and conciliar government in the Episcopal Church. It is a little different in every Anglican province, but Canada will have some similarities. The legal precedents will also be different. In Canada, many of the major legal precedents regarding church property were established following the 1925 church union that resulted in the United Church of Canada.

Posted: February 22, 2008Transmis: février 22, 2008
Technorati tags: anglican | human sexuality | schism
UN approves a moratorium on the death penalty

The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in all member states. The resolution passed on Tuesday by a vote of 104 to 54 with 29 abstentions. This is the third attempt to pass a moratorium resolution in the General Assembly. Previous attempts in 1994 and 1999 failed. The current resolution called on member states to "progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed."

Posted: December 21, 2007Transmis: décembre 21, 2007
Technorati tags: united nations | un | death penalty | capital punishment | justice | human rights
The Global Christian Forum, an historic achievement

When I teach my students about the ecumenical movement, I tell them that the establishment of the World Council of Churches in 1948 is an historic achievement. It is historic because the WCC is the principal instrument of the ecumenical movement in the 20th century. It is historic because it sets a benchmark in church history for the commitment of the churches to walk together. It is an achievement of unparalleled importance because it brought together the historic churches of the Reformation together with the Eastern churches in a commitment to seek visible unity and common witness. However, even in 1948 there was an awareness that there were essential voices missing from the ecumenical table.

Posted: November 12, 2007Transmis: novembre 12, 2007
Technorati tags: global christian forum | ecumenism | christian unity | 2007 | statements | events
An Interchurch Family response to IARCCUM

A new response to the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) report entitled "Growing Together in Unity and Mission: Building on 40 years of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue" has been published by Ruth Reardon from the Interchurch Families International Network (IFIN). Reardon's response is published in the October issue of the IFIN newsletter, "Issues and Reflections." The recent agreed statement between the two churches represents the first practical results of the Mississauga meeting in 2000 that charged the new commission with the task "to oversee the preparation of a Joint Declaration of Agreement, and promote and monitor the reception of ARCIC agreements, as well as facilitate the development of strategies for translating the degree of spiritual communion that has been achieved into visible and practical outcomes." (#12) In Reardon's response, she assesses the new statement in light of the mandate issued to IARCCUM by the bishops meeting in Mississauga.

Posted: October 22, 2007Transmis: octobre 22, 2007
Technorati tags: iarccum | arcic | anglican | catholic | ecumenism | dialogue | interchurch families | statements
Evangelicals and Social Engagement

Evangelical theology stresses the importance of a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ and sees the transformation of individuals as an important part of the transformation of the world. However, the notion of a purely privatized faith in which the gospel only affects individual, personal or family life but has no wider implications for society must be rejected as inadequate.

Posted: September 15, 2007Transmis: septembre 15, 2007
Technorati tags: evangelicals | social policy | environment | justice | peace | theology | statements | wea | world evangelical alliance
Anglicans & Catholics growing together in unity & mission

An agreed statement entitled "Growing Together in Unity & Mission" was released today by the Anglican Communion Office and the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The statement attempts to foster discussion and reflection on the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) over the past 40 years. However, the statement insists, "it is more than this: it is a call for action, based upon an honest appraisal of what has been achieved in our dialogue. Despite our present 'imperfect communion', there is, we feel, enough common ground to take seriously how we work together."

Posted: September 15, 2007Transmis: septembre 15, 2007
Technorati tags: iarccum | anglican | catholic | dialogue | ecumenism | documents | statements
The Vatican on the subsistence of the church of Christ

This past summer, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a statement entitled "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church." This document immediately attracted attention, comment, spin, appreciation, and criticism from around the world. The document contains five questions and the responses of the CDF, with very little additional comment. The focus of the questions is the meaning of the word "subsists" as it appears in Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), article 8. The council declared that the one Church of Christ "constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity." Much of the criticism of the document has come from within the Catholic community, although notable critiques have also been issued by ecumenical partners. The criticism has addressed the exclusivity with which the new CDF document interprets the word "subsists", and the insistence of the CDF that other churches are thereby deficient. The responses to the document were more careful and nuanced than those made in 2000 to Dominus Iesus, but many observers connected the two documents, seeing the new text as little more than a re-articulation of the earlier problematic statements. After considerable thought about whether there was anything further productive to say about the document and the controversy stirred up this summer, I have decided to share some of my initial reflections in the days following the publication of the "responsa." There are numerous additional perspectives that could be offered, many of which are available online.

Posted: September 15, 2007Transmis: septembre 15, 2007
Technorati tags: church | catholic | cdf | vatican | levada | ecumenism | christian unity | documents
Pope encourages Latin Mass

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI issued a motu proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum, on the use of the 1962 Latin Mass. The document has been widely expected for some months now.

Posted: July 07, 2007Transmis: juillet 07, 2007
Technorati tags: benedict xvi | catholic | documents | eucharist
Anglican General Synod rejects "local option"

Following a long and passionate debate at the 2007 General Synod in Winnipeg, the Anglican Church of Canada has rejected the blessing of same-sex unions. The result is not decisive, however, as both clergy and laity voted in favour with the bishops narrowly defeating the resolution. Earlier resolutions affirmed that the blessing of same-sex unions is a doctrinal matter and that they are consistent with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Posted: June 25, 2007Transmis: juin 25, 2007
Technorati tags: anglican church of canada | human sexuality
New leadership for Anglicans and Lutherans

The Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod has elected Bishop Fred Hiltz as the church's new primate. The Evangelical Lutheran Church, meeting in its National Convention has chosen the Rev. Susan Johnson as its new national bishop.

Posted: June 22, 2007Transmis: juin 22, 2007
Technorati tags: canada | anglican | lutheran | bishops
New papal reflection on evolution

On Wednesday April 11, Pope Benedict XVI published a new book in German on the subject of creation and evolution. The book apparently arises out of the Schülerkreis, a group of his graduate students that continue to meet with him each fall. The annual gatherings have attracted a great deal of attention since Benedict was elected pope, particularly because the participants -- each a former student of Benedict -- represent some of the most well-known and highly-regarded theologians in Germany and around the world. In 2006 the gathering was held at Castel Gandolfo on the subject of creation and evolution. It should be remembered that, in his 1950 encyclical Humanae Generis, Pope Pius XII taught that the "hypothesis" of evolution does not conflict with Catholic faith so long as it does not deny "that the spiritual soul is immediately created by God." In 1996, John Paul II went further and stated that new knowledge leads to the recognition that the theory of evolution is more than an hypothesis. He pointed out, as many biologists would also insist, that there are "theories" of evolution rather than one theory.

Posted: April 13, 2007Transmis: avril 13, 2007
Technorati tags: benedict xvi | ratzinger | evolution | creation
RJ City - a new way to explore restorative justice

We encourage you to explore RJ City, a website that seeks to be "an adventurous and perhaps audacious attempt to imagine a city of 1,000,000 responding as restoratively as possible to all crimes, all victims and all offenders." RJ is shorthand for restorative justice, an approach to justice that seeks to restore the relationships broken by criminal behaviour. "Restorative justice is a broad term which encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights." [Wikipedia] Numerous examples of restorative justice are described on this website, and elsewhere on the internet. Perhaps the most familiar form to Canadians is the use of Aboriginal sentencing circles.

Posted: March 15, 2007Transmis: mars 15, 2007
Technorati tags: restorative justice | conflict transformation | resources
In memoriam: Dr. George Vandervelde

It is with great sadness that "Ecumenism in Canada" notes the passing of Dr. George Vandervelde, an ecumenist widely known and respected in Canada, the United States and around the world. Vandervelde was emeritus professor at the Institute of Christian Studies in Toronto since his retirement in 2004, and lecturer at Wycliffe College in the Toronto School of Theology. A lifelong member of the Christian Reformed Church, he was for many years an active participant in the Canadian Council of Churches' Faith and Witness Commission, and the U.S. National Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission. He was convenor of the World Evangelical Alliance's Ecumenical Issues Taskforce and secretary of the WEA's dialogue with the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Although it is an exaggeration to credit him with single-handedly establishing the Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue, his passion for this important work marked his entire career

Posted: January 30, 2007Transmis: janvier 30, 2007
Technorati tags: ecumenism | george vandervelde
Russian Orthodox churches to reconcile

The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) has agreed to reconcile with the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The schism developed following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and has led to the establishment of parallel jurisdictions of Russian Orthodoxy in the diaspora. The talks between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate began in 2001. The reconciliation between the two church bodies is expected to occur in May 2007 when the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate adopts the "Act of Canonical Communion" already approved by the ROCOR Synod of Bishops. The two church bodies express the hope that: "The reestablishment of canonical communion will serve, God willing, towards the strengthening of the unity of the Church of Christ, of her witness in the contemporary world, promoting the fulfillment of the will of the Lord to "gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad" (John 11:52).

Posted: December 17, 2006Transmis: décembre 17, 2006
Technorati tags: ecumenism | christian unity | statements | dialogue | russian | orthodox | moscow patriarchate | rocor
Evangelicals & Catholics Together in a culture of life

A new statement has been published by Evangelicals and Catholics Together, an ad-hoc group of theologians and church leaders headed by Charles Colson and Richard John Neuhaus. This text, entitled "That They May Have Life," is the sixth statement issued by ECT since 1994. In their most recent offering, ECT returns its focus to public policy, morality, and the so-called "culture wars." Seeking to promote dialogue within the US on the "culture of life," the group affirms that they share common interests and concerns with those who oppose them. These include a common interest in the American experiment and a common humanity with its God-given capacity for reason. The text, which has the tone of a pastoral letter, appears to be interested in a dialogue between secular culture and Christians. While this latest document is to be welcomed for its clear articulation of certain aspects of the "culture of life," and for the continuing efforts of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics to speak together on issues of shared concern, it is disappointing for many of the same reasons that the first ECT statement was criticized. There is very little contribution made here to the ecumenical rapprochement between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics. Many of the issues that the participants agreed upon in this statement will divide them from others within their own churches. This statement will likely be received as just another contribution to the abortion debate by the Religious Right. To me, it seems like like they weren't reaching high enough.

Posted: September 20, 2006Transmis: septembre 20, 2006
Technorati tags: ect | dialogue | documents | ecumenism | christian unity | catholic | evangelicals
Anglican-Muslim dialogue affirms religious freedom

The recent controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed has exposed a disagreement between Western secular democracies and the Muslim community over appropriate limits on public expression. Agreement on when or whether there should be limits on free speech remains elusive. Such an agreement appears to be developing between Anglicans and Muslims, at least if a report released today is accurate. In a dialogue meeting last week between delegates of the Anglican Communion and the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Permanent Committee for Dialogue with Monotheistic Religions, the participants reportedly found consensus on the right to comprehensive religious freedom and on the related problem of limiting public expression.

Posted: September 13, 2006Transmis: septembre 13, 2006
Technorati tags: interreligious | dialogue | cartoon controversy | christian | islam | anglican
An alternative to divestment?

The United Church of Canada's 39th General Council has rejected a proposal calling for divestment from Israel, in favour of what is described as a "pro-peace" investment strategy. The proposal originally presented to the General Council called for the church and its congregations to selectively divest from corporations that support or contribute to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The General Council is held every three years as the highest decision making body in the United Church of Canada (UCC). The meeting August 13 to 19 was in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Approximately 400 commissioners from across Canada participated in the General Council meeting.

Posted: August 18, 2006Transmis: août 18, 2006
Technorati tags: united church of canada | divestment | ethical investing | peace | middle east | palestine | israel | sabeel | 2006
Methodists affirm Joint Declaration with Lutherans and Catholics

During the summer months ecumenical news dries up as church leaders, pastors, and theologians head off on their holiday plans. However, this year a very significant event occurred while we were all at the lake. Since 2001, Methodists have expressed appreciation for the Lutheran-Roman Catholic "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (JDDJ). Not long after the formal affirmation of the JDDJ, representatives of the Methodist World Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches gathered with the two signatories to discuss the possibilities of expanding the consensus to include their constituencies. This summer, on July 23, the World Methodist Conference, a gathering of 76 churches in the Methodist tradition, affirmed the Joint Declaration in a signing ceremony together with Lutheran and Roman Catholic representatives.

Posted: August 05, 2006Transmis: août 05, 2006
Technorati tags: documents | statements | dialogue | ecumenism | christian unity | justification | methodist | lutheran | catholic
Gambling and social policy in Canada

Canadians spend more on gambling than they do on education or personal care. According to a report from the Vanier Institute of the Family, legal gambling in Canada attracts $1,080 per household compared to $1,007 for education or $834 for personal care. Gambling losses in 2003-2004 amounted to $596 per adult, or nearly $50 per person per month. Using data from Statistics Canada's 2002 "Canadian Community Health Survey," the Vanier Institute reports that almost 1.2 million Canadians exhibit at least one indication of problem gambling behaviour -- roughly enough persons to fill a major Canadian city. The report, entitled "Gambling with our (Kids') Futures: Gambling as a family policy Issue" was written by Arlene Moscovitch, and is available online or in print through the Vanier Institute. The report argues that gambling is more than just a personal problem. Treating problem gambling as an individual pathology discounts its impact on the families of the problem gambler, as well as the wider society. Recent research supports a move towards a public health model that considers the impact of gambling on the community. Social policy relating to alcohol and tobacco has been greatly strengthened by a similar move to a public health model. In related news, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary has sent a letter to each Catholic school in the Calgary separate school system critical of a recent decision of the school board. In late 2005, Bishop Frederick Henry asked the Catholic school board to put an end to school-based fundraising practices that involve morally repugnant forms of gambling. On May 31, 2006 the board adopted a task force report on school-based fundraising. One recommendation of the report rejected the bishop's request, allowing the continued use of fundraising under guidelines to be established by the school district in consultation with school councils and principals. In Bishop Henry's recent letter, dated June 20, the bishop said: "The acceptance of the Task Force's recommendations constitutes a failure in Catholic leadership, pays lip-service to the pillar of 'Catholicity,' and is equivalent to Esau selling his birthright for a mess of pottage (cf. Gen.25: 29-34)."

Posted: July 08, 2006Transmis: juillet 08, 2006
Technorati tags: 2006 | gambling | social policy | canada | vanier institute of the family | calgary | frederick henry
Kasper's line in the sand?

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has given "a clear and helpful contribution" to the Church of England's debate over the consecration of women bishops, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. The gracious response offered by Williams was to be expected between two close friends and theological colleagues. Nevertheless, Kasper's frank address to the House of Bishops was a sign of the significance that the Vatican places on the English church's decision. As an exercise in ecumenical brinkmanship it may be unparallelled in recent times.

Posted: June 10, 2006Transmis: juin 10, 2006
Technorati tags: walter kasper | church of england | women | bishops | episcopacy | ordination | ecumenism | anglican | catholic
Interchurch families a laboratory of unity: Benedict XVI

In his address to a gathering of ecumenical leaders in Warsaw on May 25, Pope Benedict XVI has expressed strong support for pastoral care of interchurch families. Speaking to the Polish Council for Ecumenism and leaders of other religious groups, Benedict encouraged the work of a bilateral commission of the Catholic bishops' conference and the Polish Council for Ecumenism which is drafting a document on marriage and family life, on interdenominational marriages, and on joint pastoral care of families. Highlighting the ecumenical potential of Christians marrying across denominational barriers, Benedict said: "The decision [to enter an interchurch marriage] can lead...

Posted: May 26, 2006Transmis: mai 26, 2006
Technorati tags: interchurch families | ecumenism | marriage | benedict xvi | christian unity | pope
A Catholic Philosopher Argues for Relativism

"After the first few months of the new pontificate, the general impression is that no one within the Church is seriously criticizing the central theses - philosophical and theological - of Benedict XVI's preaching. But that's not the way it is. One Catholic philosopher has disputed one of the main points of Joseph Ratzinger's thought: the one dealing with the natural law and relativism. The philosopher is Dario Antiseri, a professor of social sciences methodology at the Free International University of Social Studies in Rome." The above comes from Sandro Magister, an Italian journalist. The full text can be found at http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it. Magister's article includes a translation of a major piece of Dario Antiseri's original journal article.

Posted: November 06, 2005Transmis: novembre 06, 2005
Technorati tags: benedict xvi
UCC considering a new statement of faith

The United Church of Canada is engaged in a study process towards the adoption of a new statement of faith. The proposed statement would not replace any existing document -- the Basis of Union, the 1940 Statement of Faith, or A New Creed (1968) -- but would supplement the existing statements. The study process, entitled Faith Talk II: A draft statement of faith for discussion and response, seeks responses from congregations, groups, and individuals by October 2005. In 2000, the 37th General Council described the proposed draft statement as "honouring the diversity of our church and acknowledging our place in...

Posted: July 28, 2005Transmis: juillet 28, 2005
Technorati tags: statements of faith | united church of canada | documents | news
Papal Reflections on Marriage and the Family

Papal Reflections on Marriage and the Family I found this article on the Vatican Information Service about Pope Benedict's comments at a Rome congress on "The Family and the Christian Community." I think that he has some positive affirmations to make about families, but I find it interesting that as I was trying to attend to the positives, he kept turning to the negatives. So, for example, he speaks about marriage but ends the section by cautioning about "pseudo-marriage" and divorce. I wonder whether this gives us some insight into Benedict's character, or at least some insight into his attitude towards married life. He ends his comments by calling for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. That's not exactly a rousing endorsement of marriage. We should remember that Benedict's favourite theologian is Augustine of Hippo, who had very similar fears about marriage. It is good and natural in theory, but a risky venture that might imperil your salvation. One is better off avoiding it altogether.

Posted: June 08, 2005Transmis: juin 08, 2005
Technorati tags: benedict xvi | marriage | family
ARCIC's method

As I have been reading various news reports, blogs, and editorials commenting upon the the new Anglican - Roman Catholic dialogue report on "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ" I have been a little annoyed to hear critics repeat the same line again and again: that the "old ecumenism" is wishy washy. This is frequently contrasted with a proposed new ecumenism that would be committed to truth. What? Is the "old ecumenism" not committed to truth? The bulk of my annoyance stems from the fact that these critiques are not only rejecting the conclusions of the dialogues (a legitimate response), but also that they present the theologians and churches involved as insincere or unfaithful. Most of time these critiques stem from a general rejection of the ecumenical endeavour, not from any understanding of the content of the dialogues.

Posted: May 28, 2005Transmis: mai 28, 2005
Technorati tags: dialogue | mary | arcic | anglican | catholic
Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue back on track

According to a VIS report published May 13, 2005, the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue will be back on track following next Monday's release of a document on Mary. IARCCUM (pronounced "yar-come") is the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. It was established after the Mississauga consultation between bishops of the two communions in 2000. It was intended to parallel the work of ARCIC II (the theological dialogue) with an emphasis on "communion in mission", that is, to find ways that Anglicans and Roman Catholics can work together to reflect the current stage of our unity. IARCCUM's mandate was detoured following the 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson and the New Westminster decision to bless same-sex unions.

Posted: May 13, 2005Transmis: mai 13, 2005
Technorati tags: dialogue | mary | arcic | anglican | catholic
The holiness of the Church on earth

In today's Vatican Information Service (VIS), a report of the ad limina visit of some U.S. bishops to Rome can be found. The pope will be speaking to each group of U.S. bishops as they visit over the coming months, and it has been announced that he will be speaking to them about their ministry as bishops. This is an opportunity to reiterate some of the reflections arising from the Synod of Bishops a few years back, but also a chance to speak to them about their special struggles as a result of the sexual abuse scandals in the past...

Posted: April 29, 2004Transmis: avril 29, 2004
Technorati tags: john paul ii | holiness | church
Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh

Issue No. 5, March 2004 "Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh", Same-sex marriage in Canada Marriage is a fundamental structure of all human societies. Regardless of religious or cultural perspectives, every human community has recognised, encouraged, and celebrated marriage. Marital and familial bonds provide stability and social order. In many societies, the legal privileges resulting from marriage ensure and protect inheritance and the care of children and the elderly. Christians consider marriage to be more than a human institution. God has given us partners. We are made in the image of God, a community of persons in...

Posted: March 01, 2004Transmis: mars 01, 2004
Technorati tags: | sexual orientation | same-sex | marriage | homosexuality | christian | canada | links
Os de mes os, chair de ma chair

Numéro 5, mars 2004 « Os de mes os, chair de ma chair », Le mariage entre personnes de même sexe au Canada Le mariage est une structure fondamentale de toutes les sociétés humaines. Indépendamment des perspectives religieuses ou culturelles, chaque communauté humaine a reconnu, encouragé, et célébré le mariage. Les liens matrimonials et familials garantissent la stabilité et l'ordre social. Dans beaucoup de sociétés, les privilèges légaux résultant du mariage assurent et protègent l'héritage et le soin des enfants et des personnes âgées. Les chrétiens considèrent que le mariage est plus qu'une institution humaine. Dieu nous a donné des partenaires. Nous...

Posted: March 01, 2004Transmis: mars 01, 2004
Technorati tags: | homosexualité | mariage | même-sexe | chrétien | église | liens