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IV. Dialogue with the Western Ecclesial Communities

1. The differences with the Western Ecclesial Communities are not only historical and cultural, but also of a doctrinal nature, and are more serious than those with the Eastern Churches (UUS 64–68). However, what we have said about the changes in the ecumenical scene and on the lights and shadows of ecumenism is also relevant to dialogues with Western Ecclesial Communities. We are committed to many of these. Among the Churches and Ecclesial Communities, the Catholic Church is by far the one that undertakes the greatest number of ecumenical dialogues. After the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999), and as will be clearly evident in the Activity Reports of the officials of this Dicastery, the dialogues continue to progress, albeit slowly, yet seriously, within a context of positive relations. Many dialogues have had positive developments, particularly with respect to the World Evangelical Alliance with the document on Church, Evangelisation and Bonds of Koinonia, and the Methodists, who have initiated a process of adhering to the Joint Declaration on Justification. New dialogues, or rather conversations, have been established with Mennonites and Adventists. Difficulties arose after the publication of the Declaration Dominus Iesus (2000), the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003), and after the Kirchentag in Berlin (June 2003). Yet overall, a solid foundation based on trust has been created, enabling us to overcome difficulties and disagreements, and to resolve them within the degree that is possible.