“Of All Nations … ”: For the Catholicity of the Churches

Abstract

AbstractIn November 2023, the Groupe des Dombes, a Francophone ecumenical group, published its new study “De toutes les nations … ”: Pour la catholicité des Églises (“Of All Nations … ” For the Catholicity of the Churches). Its central affirmation, following a common reading of history, and as a result of the biblical exploration that group has undertaken together, is that “it is possible to affirm that the Catholic Church and the Churches of the Reformation form One Church, although in imperfect communion.” This article recalls the history of the Groupe des Dombes, as a group gathering equal numbers of Roman Catholic and Protestant members, and sets out the main elements of the new study on catholicity. It concludes by discussing the central affirmation and returns to the calls for conversion, so important to the Groupe des Dombes, as a way to live together according to the gift of God: “For beyond themselves, the Churches have the common mission of bearing witness to the unity of humanity. The lived catholicity of the Church can be a sign of this.”