An Ecumenical Reflection
Friday, February 16, 2024
The Department of Catholic Studies proudly presents the Archbishop John J. Myers Lecture Series: "Discerning Ethical
Questions in a Synodal Church: An Ecumenical Reflection" by Myriam Wijlens, a Dutch
theologian, a full-time professor, and vice president of Canon Law at the University
of Erfurt (Germany) on Thursday, April 4 2024, at 2 p.m. in the University Center, Chancellor Suite .
Professor Myriam Wijlens holds a licentiate in theology from the University of Nijmegen,
a doctorate in canon law from Saint Paul University in Ottawa, and a habilitation
with venia legendi for canon law from the University of Munster.
Regarding ecumenical experience, on behalf of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the promotion
of Christian Unity, she has been a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the
World Council of Churches since 2003 and served as a co-convenor of its study group,
"Moral Discernment in the Church" (2015-2023). She is an expert on the Anglican Roman
Catholic International Commission (ARCIC 2018-2022).
In 2021, Pope Francis appointed her as Consultor to the Synod's General Secretariat,
where she currently serves on the coordinating committee of the Synod on Synodality.
She participated in the Synod of 2023 as an expert.
In her presentation, Professor Wijlens will focus on some of the outcomes of the current
Synod on Synodality, then highlight the awareness that ecumenism implies synodality
and that synodality implies ecumenism.
Categories: Faith and Service
