Uni theme for 2000AD

ECUMENISM AND moves towards reconciliation with the Church of England in particular could be major features of the Vatican's programme for the Jubilee celebrations of Holy Year 2000.
The Vatican is discussing the possibility of collaborating with the Church of England and other denominations in drafting a new ecumenical martyrology, or "register" of saints.
It has also been suggested in Rome that the Catholic calendar be revised to include Protestant and Orthodox saints' days.
"This is a long-term project and it could be that it won't be finished by the Year 2000," said Italian Archbishop Sergio Sebastiani, 64, newly appointed head of the Holy Year Central Committee constituted on 16 March to coordinate preparations for the Jubilee.
It was important, said Archbishop Sebastiani, to grasp the full meaning of a new calendar or martyrology.
"When Paul VI visited Uganda he prayed for the martyrs of this great African nation. They included Anglicans and the Pope knelt before them, too. They died for Christ, to defend their faith in Christ and this is why we feel very close to them. This is true ecumenism," he said.
"Martyrdom for Jesus Christ does not belong exclusively to the Catholic Church. The Protestant and Orthodox communities have their martyrs, too," he added.
He pointed out that the project would also be based on recommendations inherent in Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Jubilee Year, Tertio millennio adveniente.
The Pope refers in his Letter to "unknown martyrs" not only of the first millennium Church but also of this century, in particular Christians persecuted by Communist regimes.
In an interview with the Italian monthly, 30 DAYS, Archbishop Sebastiani went on to reveal that a theological commission had been appointed to make an historical analysis of the Church's "errors of the past". It will be
chaired by the Theologian of the Pontifical Household, the Dominican Georges Cottier.
This Commission was also prompted by the Pope's Jubilee Letter, which appeals for an examination of conscience on the Church's part.
The Vatican has instituted two committees, one technical and one for press relations in view of the Holy Year 2000.
They will be directly answerable to a presiding council of five cardinals, including
Basque-born Roger Etchegaray.