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African-American Pentecostals on roots-searching pilgrimage to VaticanAfrican-American Pentecostals on roots-searching pilgrimage to Vatican

Millions of pilgrims are expected in Rome this year thanks to the efforts of Pope John Paul II. The Pope has made ecumenism, or efforts to bring Christians of all denominations together, a major theme of the Juliee 2000 Holy Year.

African-American Pentecostals are some of the first making the trek, as 170 delegates from the Cleveland-based Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops are in Rome this week for a visit. The group is on a roots-searching pilgrimage emphasizing values that bind this brand of Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.

John Paul, speaking in English, told the bishops at the audience that he was extending them ''a special welcome.''

''I am confident that your visit to Rome will help strengthen ecumenical relations between Catholics and Pentecostals,'' the pope told the group.

One of the organizers of the trip, Bishop Carl H. Montgomery, II, assistant presiding bishop of the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ, wondered aloud in an interview on the eve of the audience: ''Can we in this 21st century not dwell on the differences'' among Christians?

The pilgrimage to Rome ''is our way of saying we recognize the Catholic Church as our historical grandparents,'' said the bishop, whose church is in Baltimore, birthplace of the Roman Catholic church in the United States.

The bishops will attend seminars at a pontifical college where U.S. seminarians study and participate Sunday in a service in a Catholic Church in Rome where many U.S. expatriots worship. The leader of Cleveland's Catholic diocese, Bishop Anthony Pilla, helped arrange the pilgrimage.

Pentecostalism, concentrated in inner cities, has experienced rapid growth in the 1990s, with Asian and Caribbean immigrants to the United States among the newest members. The same spontaneity and exuberance that characterize those religious gatherings are also catching on in some Catholic churches, and the pope has given his blessing to an increasingly popular charismatic movement in the United States and elsewhere.

Montgomery praised the pontiff as ''the most ecumenical of modern times.'' The pope's frequent championship of the poor is also much appreciated among the Pentecostals. Montgomery hopes his group is one of the firsts to make the trek to the Vatican and that many more will follow. Millions are expected to make the trip to Rome this year at the Pope’s urging to bring religions together. (Source: Associated Press) Millions of pilgrims are expected in Rome this year thanks to the efforts of Pope John Paul II. The Pope has made ecumenism, or efforts to bring Christians of all denominations together, a major theme of the Juliee 2000 Holy Year.

African-American Pentecostals are some of the first making the trek, as 170 delegates from the Cleveland-based Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops are in Rome this week for a visit. The group is on a roots-searching pilgrimage emphasizing values that bind this brand of Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.

John Paul, speaking in English, told the bishops at the audience that he was extending them ''a special welcome.''

''I am confident that your visit to Rome will help strengthen ecumenical relations between Catholics and Pentecostals,'' the pope told the group.

One of the organizers of the trip, Bishop Carl H. Montgomery, II, assistant presiding bishop of the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ, wondered aloud in an interview on the eve of the audience: ''Can we in this 21st century not dwell on the differences'' among Christians?

The pilgrimage to Rome ''is our way of saying we recognize the Catholic Church as our historical grandparents,'' said the bishop, whose church is in Baltimore, birthplace of the Roman Catholic church in the United States.

The bishops will attend seminars at a pontifical college where U.S. seminarians study and participate Sunday in a service in a Catholic Church in Rome where many U.S. expatriots worship. The leader of Cleveland's Catholic diocese, Bishop Anthony Pilla, helped arrange the pilgrimage.

Pentecostalism, concentrated in inner cities, has experienced rapid growth in the 1990s, with Asian and Caribbean immigrants to the United States among the newest members. The same spontaneity and exuberance that characterize those religious gatherings are also catching on in some Catholic churches, and the pope has given his blessing to an increasingly popular charismatic movement in the United States and elsewhere.

Montgomery praised the pontiff as ''the most ecumenical of modern times.'' The pope's frequent championship of the poor is also much appreciated among the Pentecostals. Montgomery hopes his group is one of the firsts to make the trek to the Vatican and that many more will follow. Millions are expected to make the trip to Rome this year at the Pope’s urging to bring religions together.

(Source: Associated Press)

DATE: 2/11/2000

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