As the first year of the new millennium draws to a close, the calls for Christian unity regardless of truth, seem to be ever louder. The following article came to EN from The Institute for Evangelical Formation and Documentation (IFED) and Italian Evangelical Alliance.
In the years following Vatican II (1962-65) evangelicals have shown renewed interest in Roman Catholicism.
On an international level this interest has led to a series of meetings on the theme of Mission, 'The Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission 1977-1984', and has opened the way for an ongoing dialogue between The World Evangelical Fellowship and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on the themes of Justification, Scripture and Tradition (Venice 1995) and the Church (Jerusalem 1997). In 1986 the World Evangelical Fellowship also published an important document on Catholicism entitled 'An Evangelical Perspective on Roman Catholicism. In the USA more controversial documents have been drawn up such as, 'Evangelicals and Catholics Together' (1994) and 'The Gift of Salvation' (1997). Until quite recently it could be said that the overall evangelical evaluation of Catholicism was invariably critical. Today this is no longer true. In many areas there are clear signs of a definite change in the way many evangelicals perceive the Catholic Church. The common understanding has given way to a comprehension which is less certain and often confusing. This article is intended to be a contribution to the evangelical understanding of Catholicism and the criteria which should be used when relating to it.
