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Dialogue with Right Rev. David Clarke |
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1. Since your childhood and particularly since the time of your ordination
as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, what kind of
relationship have you had with Roman Catholic priests and people? 2. Misunderstandings about the nature and joy of our salvation by God cause deep divisions among Christians. To what extent is this true of the relations between Presbyterians and Roman Catholics? To what extent does an awareness of our common Baptism bind us? 3. What do you see as the implications for Presbyterians of the prayer of Jesus “Father, may they all be one…so that the world may believe that you sent me”. Tell us about Ecumenism within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. 4. Older Presbyterians I’ve known have had a warm and living love for the Holy Scriptures. We Catholics are strongly recommended to develop the same love in our lives. What advice would you give us for doing so? 5. John Calvin was a great and creative Reformer. What is his charism for the whole Church – his greatest gift to us all? How did the 16th century divisions of the Church impact on him? 6. The first apostle must surely be Mary, the Mother of God made man, who freely chose to follow Jesus, having been herself chosen by God. Presbyterians I know don’t seem to have any special relationship with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Why is this? 7. How and at what age does a Presbyterian young person come to make his/her first Communion? 8. When you yourself receive in faith the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, what takes place in your heart and mind? 9. The apostle James told the Christian community in the first century “Confess your sins to one another (5.16). What form does the confession of sins to one another take in the congregations of the Presbyterian Church to-day? 10. What does a Presbyterian minister do when he calls to the home of a very sick member of his/her congregation? Does “anointing the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5.14) have a place in his/her ministry to the sick person? 11. John Calvin was a liturgical reformer. He wanted the Church in Geneva to celebrate Holy Communion every week on the Lord’s Day but the rulers of the city were opposed to this. What implications, if any, for the Presbyterian Church to-day has this reforming desire of John Calvin in regard to the frequent celebration of Holy Communion? 12. What is your hope for the reconciliation of the Presbyterian and Roman Catholic ordained ministries and the coming of the day when we will be able to celebrate a common Eucharist? 13. Would you like to comment on the so-called Peace Walls – the 16 of them which divide us? What can the Churches do about these walls? 14. I know that the elders in the Presbyterian Church have an important role to play in the running of the Church. If you had an important decision to make for the good of the Church and its people and the elders did not agree with that decision, what would you do? 15. Do you believe in the power of prayer – Northern Ireland 5 - Sweden 0? |
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