Pope meets Bruderhof leaders, encourages cooperation on life issues

Published: 2004-06-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II held a historic meeting with leaders of the Bruderhof, a U.S.-based international Anabaptist Christian group, and encouraged interchurch cooperation in the defense of human life and the family. The pope met with Johann Christian Arnold, an elder of the Bruderhof Communities, and 10 others at the Vatican June 26. Arnold told Catholic News Service afterward that the encounter was a landmark event -- the first private papal audience for the Bruderhof, which means "Society of Brothers." Arnold said, "I greeted him on behalf of the 3,000 brothers I represent, and thanked him for all that he's doing for world peace. You know, an old man like (the pope) needs encouragement for all the work he's doing." In person, the pope "radiates something very intense," Arnold said. The Bruderhof, founded by Arnold's grandfather in 1920, is one of several Christian groups with Anabaptist roots; they have eight communities, six of which are in the United States.

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