NEW ECUMENISM, THE
How the Catholic Church after Vatican II Took Over the Leadership of the World Ecumenical Movement

The last several popes have made the quest for Church unity an item of the highest priority on their agendas. This has been true to perhaps a much greater extent than most Catholic, and indeed most Protestants, have generally noticed or realized. Yet it is hard to imagine on what John Paul II put in more time and effort, personally, than he did on his efforts to seek better relations with our fellow Christians. And from the time of his election to the chair of Peter in 2005 Benedict XVI has followed pretty much the same pattern. These popes were acting in response to a mandate of the Second Vatican Council which inaugurated a whole new era in “ecumenism” for the Catholic Church. The subject of ecumenism – the Catholic Church’s relations with other Christians, and with the search for Christian unity – is what is being dealt with in this extraordinarily will researched and very readable book. May it foster in all who read it a greater understanding and love of the Church which Jesus Christ founded 2000 years ago.

About the Author: Kenneth D. Whitehead is a former Assistant Secretary of Education appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Prior to that he was a career Foreign Service Officer for some ten years stationed in American embassies in Rome, the Middle East, and North Africa. For eight years he was Executive Vice President of Catholics United for the Faith. Since retiring, he works as a writer, lecturer, editor, and translator in Falls Church, Virginia. He is the author of hundreds of articles, and of some eight books, most recently, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press, 2000). With Jame Likoudis, he is the co-author of a study of the “changes” in the liturgy following the Second Vatican Council, The Pope, the Council, and the Mass (25th Anniversary Revised Edition: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2006). Mr. Whitehead was educated at the University of Utah and the University of Paris, and he holds an honorary degree as a Doctor of Christian Letters from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Mr. Whitehead is married to the former Margaret O’Donohue, a professional religious educator, and they are the parents of four grown sons.