He gave an overview of the Reformation differences between Catholic and various Protestant understandings of the Church. He noted, in particular, the emergence of Methodism from Anglicanism in the eighteenth century under the leadership of John Wesley, and that church's adaptation in postrevolutionary America. The contrasts between Methodist and Catholic understandings of Church are shown in their view of baptism. Catholic initiate new Christians into the universal Catholic Church in which they become full members. It is impossible for Catholics to think of incorporation into Christ without incorporation into a particular Church, with its bishops, Eucharistic communion and worldwide interdependence.
Catholics recognize a real, if imperfect communion, among all baptized.
It is only later in life that they are initiated into church membership through confirmation. One can be a member of the universal Church, even without membership in a particular denomination. This planning session spent considerable time in initiating the new members into the dialogue and in reviewing the proposal for the study which had been produced in the previous dialogue and approved by both churches. There was also a discussion of the results of the previous, fifth round, and its publication, Yearning to be One. This congregation oriented resource for stimulating parishes to bring their people into dialogue to stimulate an ecumenical spirituality was published in September, and is available from the US Catholic Conference, and Discipleship Resources of the United Methodist Church.