In a first article we have already reported on some meetings with various churches and movements. (See here in Washington, and in Phoenix). Here are those with leaders of the Catholic Church and some Catholic movements.
"Walking together" towards 2033
The first person we visit is Fr. Walter F. Kedjierski, executive director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Bishops' Conference. The first thing he asks us is if we have a connection with the Global Christian Forum. Having just visited its General Secretary, Casely Essamuah, in Washington, we have an immediate answer. Yes, we are connected and participated in the French-speaking Christian Forum in 2018 and the French-speaking Swiss Christian Forum in 2021. By the way C. Essamuah gave a talk at the gathering we organized in the Coptic monastery in Egypt last year. (see here )
Realizing that we, like the Christian Forum, are working for the unity of the Body of Christ, Kedjiersky exclaims, "It is the work of the Spirit to bring together Pentecostals and churches of the ecumenical world”. He appreciates the fact that we come well in advance for a project and finds the experience in Egypt remarkable, especially the fact that we were able to gather so many young people (one third out of 280). https://jc2033.org/en/blog/global-gathering-2021-anafora.html
Olivier explains to him that we want to invite to "walk together towards 2033", as Pope Francis said during his visit to the World Council of Churches in 2018: "unity is made by walking". And the road to 2033 is a beautiful opportunity for a common walk. He also tells him that he has visited 57 nations to date. "Everywhere I see the Holy Spirit at work. He forms us to go out together and meet everyone," he says. Because - Olivier is convinced of this and repeats it often - "unity is not the goal in itself. But the goal is for the world to know that Christ is truly risen, as Jesus says in the Gospel (John 17:21).
With the Bishops' Conference
Very interested in this conversation, Father Walter promises to tell the Ecumenical Committee of the Bishops' Conference about our conversation so that we can present JC2033 to them. We were received there five months later, on October 21, by videoconference. We shared our experience and our reflections for fifteen minutes. At a distance of 6,500 kilometers from Washington and via the Internet, it is difficult to get an idea of the reaction of the bishops. Especially since there was no dialogue after our presentation.
An email from Walter arrived sometime later that made us think that this meeting had touched hearts: "The bishops were absolutely delighted with your visit. They enjoyed hearing from you. As I expected, you both did a perfect job. The enthusiasm you have for the Lord comes across very well on the screen," he writes.
The bishops particularly liked the idea of the walk - or pilgrimage - to 2033. They want all the U.S. bishops to be contacted to remind them of the importance of being ecumenically inclusive in preparing for the 2000e anniversary of the resurrection. They want to stay in touch and be inspired by our experiences.
The following week we received a beautiful letter from Bishop David P. Talley, Bishop of Memphis and Chairman of the Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. "The Commission was very interested in discerning ways to work with you to make this a truly ecumenical celebration," he writes.
He is also particularly interested in how others plan to "walk in pilgrimage" to 2033 in an ecumenical way and concludes: "Let us pray for each other and for the success of the ecumenical movement. May the resurrection of Christ bring us all together in Jesus Christ.
A Cardinal receives us
At the St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, an enormous building with a chapel of naïve frescoes, we were received by Cardinal Gregory Walton, Archbishop of that city. A very approachable man, with a big heart, who immediately understood the challenges and opportunities of this project. He also suggested that we talk to the Bishops' Conference about it.
At the end of the interview, he expresses the essence of his reflection in a short video in which he says: "We are about to celebrate this extraordinary transformative moment, the 2000 years of our redemption and the resurrection of Jesus. I hope that Christians will find ways to celebrate it together." See : https://jc2033.org/en/blog/washington-dc-unity-in-diversity.html
Visits to Catholic movements:
National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the US / Pentecost Today USA
From their headquarters at The Ark and the Dove in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, the leaders of Pentecost Today USA connect with us through 
"Zoom”. Alicia Hartle, the executive director, is a young, smiling servant leader of this important spiritual renewal movement. She explains that it was in this retreat house, in 1967, that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit was experienced by a group of about twenty-five Duquesne University students, helping to bring the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit to over 160 million Roman Catholic Christians today.
Ron Riggings, chairman of the board and businessman, shared his experience of the Holy Spirit leading to a radical conversion. Since his conversion, he has been involved in this movement. He is a strong Roman Catholic Christian who had a Presbyterian upbringing.
They begin by sharing the significance of the new and ongoing Pentecost of the "Renewal" in light of the Apostolic Age we are living in today and then we ask them this question: "What gift could you bring to Jesus for the 2000 years of his resurrection”? Their answer: to be together (the gift of unity); to share the joy of a meal (the gift of celebration); to tell everyone (the gift of witness). Joy is perhaps the greatest gift...and it lives in us at the end of this beautiful meeting. We are on the same page and we promise to pray for each other.
“May the Holy Spirit ignite a decade of the Resurrection through a new and ongoing Pentecost in and through us - may we and all we minister to be cut to the heart as those who heard Peter were on the day of Pentecost... and, repent, believe, and receive in Jesus' name. May we be moved by the Lord alone. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die”. (John 11:25), wrote to us Alicia Hartle after that meeting.
Chemin Neuf Community
It was a great joy for Olivier to briefly see Father Jean-Hubert Thieffry, the leader of this community, also a fruit of the Charismatic Renewal, in Washington. He had collaborated with him when he was in charge of the "Alpha Course" in Switzerland and the latter had written a book on this course in the Catholic world in order to introduce the evangelical dynamism: "En chemin vers l'Essentiel". https://transformationpastorale.fr/ressources/formation/en-chemin-vers-lessentiel/
This is the first time he has heard about JC2033 and is excited to learn more. His first reaction is very favorable.
Focolare Movement
On the campus of Georgetown University, Amy Uelmen and Carlos Bajo welcome us in the law school. Both are leaders of this movement rooted in the Catholic Church, but also open to other churches. Amy teaches intercultural and interreligious dialogue and Carlos is committed to fostering dialogue among people involved in political life. A good part of the interview is about this "art of dialogue" in a very polarized society. How is it possible to continue living together?
Since Martin also reflected on the relationship between dialogue and witness following the Anafora gathering, Amy agreed to reread the text he wrote on this topic. She made several helpful suggestions to him. (See his text here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1POKjFw9_B0i6L-yyDCpiEQayvI3E7RlI/edit
Catholic - Evangelical/Pentecostal dialogue
Through our relations with the Focolare Movement, we have been able to meet other movements interested in developing links with us. Beautiful relationships between Christians are being lived out, particularly with the evangelical-pentecostal movement, as we are also seeking to live them out within the framework of JC2033.
"John 17 movement"
In Phoenix we meet Patrick Markey and Fritz Zuger, also two members of the Focolare. Both have worked for many years for the Bishops' Conference in the international aid service. Fritz is Swiss and has lived in the USA for many years. His work is to help in the relationships between the Bishops’ Conference in the US and the Bishops' Conferences in Africa.
O. Fleury, F. Zuger, D. Gonvers and P. Markey
Both are connected to the John 17 movement and Pat is a member of its Board of Directors. The John 17 Movement is dedicated to building unity in the Body of Christ through relationships that bring healing and reconciliation. Pat explains that " it was the Holy Spirit that drew bishops, pastors, and movements like the Focolare to this initiative." https://john17movement.com/
"The Initiative
This is another movement where Christians from different churches meet. Tom Masters and Greg Metzger, who are also connected to the Focolare, testify to what they experience there. The Initiative emerged from the experience of John Armstrong, an Evangelical minister, who was "struck by the passage of John 17:21 on unity." Upon his retirement from active ministry, his board of advisors discerned that his work—which he calls “missional ecumenism”—should continue in an intentional community. The executive director is Scott Brill, a Lutheran. The aim of The Initiative is for members to pray, to work proactively for missional ecumenism, and to share their lives with Christians from traditions other than their own. Those who participate commit to "take the initiative to live in deep and growing friendship with God and others, so that the love of Jesus may overcome all divisions.”
It is a spiritual ecumenism where the emphasis is on relationships. "I see it as a way of living my vocation as a member of the Focolare, of inculturating the spirituality of the Focolare (which developed within an Italian Catholic milieu) in a culture that is fundamentally Protestant," says Tom. https://theinitiative.org
Glenmary
Through "Zoom" we meet Nathan Smith, the Director of Ecumenism for the Catholic religious society, Glenmary Home Missioners, which seeks to deepen Christian unity between the Catholic Church and evangelical and Pentecostal movements. "There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart," is his conviction. The goal of this movement is threefold: "to enhance understanding, to reduce alienation and to foster reconciliation." www.glenmaryunity.org
N. Smith explains that many charismatics are interested in deepening the unity of the Church. The Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America churches (more than 40 million members in the U.S.) have begun an exploratory dialogue with the United States Catholic Bishops' Conference. "These meetings are full of life, because loving Christ is our starting point," he says.
As far as JC2033 is concerned, Nathan likes its three values "Unity, Witness and Celebration", as well as the idea of the pilgrimage to 2033, symbolized by the proposal to walk the road to Emmaus. We will meet with him twice more because we have so much to share.
Global 2033
Aurore Girardet, Henri Cappelo, Olivier and Nathan Fleury
Sometime later, a happy "coincidence" of travel planning meant that we were in Phoenix for a weekend, with Henry Cappello, founder of the Catholic mission "Global 2033". https://global2033.org The appointment was made in a café on Saturday morning, November 19. We realized we had friends in common. This opens our hearts. And very quickly, we discover that we have the same background in the charismatic movement. Henry has a vision of bringing together Catholic movements to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ. JC2033 and Global 2033 are very similar and the two founders are looking forward to working together.
Watch his video here: https://youtu.be/R1YuVhMziiY
Martin Hoegger, JC2033
Olivier Fleury with Cardinal Walton (Washington)
Next - Chronicles of the week of prayer for Christian unity in Jerusalem
