U.S. ecumenical ties strong despite challenges to Christian unity

Published: 2008-02-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More people profess Catholicism in the United States than any other single religion. There are 64.4 million Catholics, representing close to 22 percent of the nation's total population. But the overall number of Catholics and other Christians represents an overwhelming majority of the U.S. population, which has now passed the 300 million mark. Although there are denominational divides and new fissures continue to threaten unity even within faiths considered mainstream, Catholic and other Christian leaders engaged in ecumenical relations continue to see its importance. The U.S. Catholic Church's ecumenical efforts include dialogues with Lutherans, Methodists and evangelicals and a consultation with Anglicans. It also belongs to Christian Churches Together in the USA, founded in March 2006 and considered the broadest, most inclusive ecumenical movement in U.S. history. That's the ecumenical landscape Pope Benedict XVI will find during his mid-April visit to the United States.

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