Bishop Brown Hails Appointment of USCCB Staff Person to Position at National Council of Churches
WASHINGTON (February 27, 2002) -- Bishop Tod D. Brown, Chairman of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), hailed the appointment of Dr. Ann Riggs as Director of Faith and Order for the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC).
The appointment was announced by the NCC February 26.
"Her appointment is especially gratifying for me because Dr. Riggs served as Assistant to the Director of our Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the past five years," Bishop Brown said. "While Dr. Riggs was working full-time for us assisting the director and associates in implementing our plans and programs, she completed her final requirements for a doctorate at the Catholic University of America. She also co-authored the textbook Introduction to Ecumenism, with Bro. Jeffrey Gros, F.S.C., and Fr. Eamon McManus, which is used in some of our seminaries and other schools. I am not only thrilled for Dr. Riggs, but I am encouraged for the future of the Faith and Order movement in the United States. The churches and communities participating in the U.S. Faith and Order Commission will benefit from the full-time attention of a skilled, knowledgeable and experienced ecumenist."
The USCCB has been a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ since 1969. The Chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs appoints five Catholics to serve on this Commission. The Holy See appoints Catholic members of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. The work of Faith and Order has influenced significantly the whole ecumenical movement. Pope John Paul II cited the achievements of Faith and Order several times in his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint, particularly the consensus on baptism, eucharist, and ministry and two other studies on confessing the one faith and the unity of the church as communion.