| Summary: | "In the following I take for granted the theological basis of the Catholic ecumenical movement. We believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Jesus Christ, united to him as his earthly body; but we also believe that men outside the Church in good faith who confess Jesus Christ as God and Saviour and are baptized in water and the Holy Ghost are truly Christian, reborn in Christ, alive in the Spirit, and hence, despite their separation, our Christian brethren. I take for granted in these pages that Christian faith and supernatural charity are found in communities beyond the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church, and that Christians guiltlessly separated from us have access to sacramental grace and spiritual life...This book is not written simply to give information. It is also a plea. Its purpose is to create a sense of urgency among Catholics. There is so much we can do for Christian unity, even as lay people. We must find new dimensions of Christian charity; we must discover a new vision of the Church's ecumenical task; and we must pray and suffer for unity knowing that these are the mainsprings of any renewal in the Church." [Foreword].
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