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"Yes, it will. I'm more interested, though, to see how Pope Benedict XVI treats us Protestants. If reconciliation means coming under the authority of the papacy, I can't imagine many Protestants would go for it."

I am an ordained Southern Baptist pastor and we as a denomination do not agree or recognize anyone as the final authority other than God. I could not imagine someone Catholic or Protestant exerting a perceived authority without disastrous results.

I am an ordained Southern Baptist pastor and we as a denomination do not agree or recognize anyone as the final authority other than God.

That's my point. I can't imagine that many Protestants would willingly come under papal authority. However, there IS common ground between Protestants and Catholics, and that common ground should be emphasized whenever possible.

All Christian faiths have the same thing in common, a belief in Jesus Christ. That is common ground that should be expanded. Working with other faiths does not mean bringing them under any authority other than God's.

Healing rifts does not mean making Protestants into Catholics, it means that there are common beliefs that should be emphasised where all faiths can work together and differences that are acknowledged but put to the side.

The evil in the world today needs common cause to fight. Look at what is happening to Christianity here in the US. Despite the fact that most Americans are believers, we are being pushed from the public square, having evil forced down our throats, and stand helpless as laws are passed that go against everything we believe. Christians MUST unite.