Archbishop Lipscomb to Address Annual LARC Conference

By Michael F. Flach
HERALD Editor
(From the issue of 10/12/00)

Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb of Mobile will be the main presenter at the annual Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic (LARC) Conference to be held this year at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. It is the first time that the LARC conference will be held at the Cathedral.

St. Thomas More will host the afternoon sessions Dec. 1 and 2. Other participating churches will be St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (Dec. 1 evening) and Faith Lutheran Church (Dec. 2 morning), both in Arlington. The theme will be "Exercising Authority in the Church."

According to conference organizers, the purpose of the LARC conference is to "illuminate, celebrate and advance the cause of Christian unity" in Virginia.

One of the major points of discussion at this year’s conference undoubtedly will be the recently released Vatican document "Dominus Iesus" ("On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church"). The document reasserted "the definitive and complete character" of Jesus Christ’s revelation and said it must be firmly believed that the Church is necessary for salvation.

Last year’s LARC conference followed the historic signing of the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

Archbishop Lipscomb, who served as chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, will discuss "The Gift of Authority in the Life of the Bishop" at St. Thomas More on Dec. 1 at 1 p.m.

The archbishop’s presentation on Friday evening at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church will be " Common Ground in Receiving the Gift of Authority." On Saturday morning at Faith Lutheran Church he will discuss "Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue: An Exercise in Christian Commonality."

Archbishop Lipscomb was ordained a priest in Rome on July 15, 1956. He was ordained and installed as Archbishop of Mobile on Nov. 16, 1980. In addition to his responsibilties for the bishops’ conference, he also served on the International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde joined other Christian leaders from Virginia at last year’s LARC conference in Richmond to sign "A Call into Covenant." The document is a commitment to promote greater unity among the three churches through prayer, dialogue and shared apostolic activity.

Expected to join Bishop Loverde on the Saturday afternoon panel discussion will be Bishop David Bane of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia and Bishop Walter Sullivan of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

Msgr. R. Roy Cosby, vicar general and coordinator of ecumenical affairs for the Arlington Diocese, is one of the conference organizers.

The conference is open to all interested laity and clergy from the sponsoring denominations. The cost is $20 for the entire weekend. Student discounts are available. Permanent Deacon Sam Taub is the registrar. Checks can be sent to him at the Cathedral, 3901 Cathedral Lane, Arlington, Va. 22203. For additional information, call 703-525-1300.

Copyright ©2000 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.