CONCLUSION
99.
Together Catholics and Methodists confess the Church as part of
the Triune God's eternal purpose for the salvation of humankind.
The Church is the communion of those who have received, receive
and will receive through faith the benefits of the redemptive work
of God accomplished in the life, death and resurrection of the Word
made flesh. In the Holy Spirit they acknowledge the lordship of
Christ to the glory of the Father. Thus constituted and sustained
by the Word and the Spirit, the Church is both a sign and an instrument
of the Father's good pleasure for the world: it is a sign, because
it is the first fruits of God's gracious purpose and work; it is
an instrument because it has the task of further proclaiming the
Gospel and doing the works that belong to God's kingdom. By its
own communal life it bears witness to that society of love in which
the city of God will consist.
100.
Catholic and Methodist formularies differ over the concrete location
of the Church which they both confess. While Wesley and the early
Methodists could recognize the presence of Christian faith in the
lives of individual Roman Catholics, it is only more recently that
Methodists have become more willing to recognize the Roman Catholic
Church as an institution for the divine good of its members. For
its part, the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II certainly includes
Methodists among those who, by baptism and faith in Christ, enjoy
"a certain though imperfect communion with the Catholic Church";
and it envisages Methodism among those ecclesial communities which
are "not devoid of meaning and importance in the mystery of
salvation (Unitatis redintegratio, 3).
101. In the quarter-century since its inception,
the Joint Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the World
Methodist Council has contributed to the degree of mutual recognition
which now exists. It has done so by the clarification of Methodist
and Catholic positions and traditions, especially as these impinge
on each other. A large measure of common faith has been brought
to light, so that the increase in shared life that has begun may
confidently be expected to continue. The need now is to consolidate
the measure of agreement so far attained and to press forward with
work on those areas in which agreement is still lacking. Continuing
doctrinal progress should both encourage and reflect the growth
in mutual recognition and in sharing in the life of the Triune God.
[Information Service 78 (1991/III-IV) 212-225]
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