ROME — Monsignor Michael Clay recently participated in a weeklong dialogue meeting between members of the Catholic Church and the Disciples of Christ Church.
He has been involved in this ecumenical process since his appointment by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in 2013 as a delegate of the Catholic Church.
The recent meeting, which took place June 12 – 16, concludes six years of dialogue on the topic of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the ministries of the Church. Monsignor Clay presented an academic paper on a Catholic understanding of ministry. A final report reflecting the progress made during this phase has been submitted to the dicastery for approval and publication.
Highlights of this meeting, Monsignor shared, were concelebrating a Sunday Mass at the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica and engaging in stimulating discussions among the commission’s 12 members from various parts of the world and different fields of expertise.
Ecumenism is something near and dear to Monsignor Clay’s heart having been raised in New Bern by a Catholic mother and a Protestant father in a diocese that covered the entire state and was 1% Catholic during his youth. A particularly significant ecumenical moment in his life was his ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Raleigh in a Methodist Church building in New Bern because the church at his home parish, St. Paul, was too small at that time.
“I’m grateful for the invitation to be a dialogue partner in the Church’s efforts to build bridges between the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. It is an honor to sit among biblical scholars and theologians to both learn from one another and discern how the Spirit is moving us slowly-but-surely toward unity, something for which Christ prayed so fervently at the Last Supper,” he said.