The November 8 issue of America features an article by theologian Christopher Ruddy on how the U.S. bishops can work toward Christian unity. America has taken up the issue of ecumenism many times over the years. Here are two notable articles on the subject.

In the August 27-Sept. 3, 2007 issue, theologian Richard Gaillardetz reflected [3] on the history of ecumenism in light of the Vatican’s 2007 statement, Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church, [4] which was issued in July by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the October 28, 2000 issue, a group of scholars analyzed Dominus Iesus [5], another Vatican document on the Catholic Church’s relationship with other churches. Among the participants was Francis A. Sullivan, S.J., who was pleased by some elements of the document, but disappointed by others. The document, he wrote [6], "has some remarkably positive points that seek to improve relations with the Orthodox." Yet he also notes that "the positive assessment of other Christian communities expressed at Vatican II...would surely have warranted a more positive appreciation of the ecclesial character of the Anglican and Protestant communities."