Ecumenism

The Ulster Unionists and the Irish Republican Army have pretty much stopped their long religious and political war. George W Bush, a staunch Protestant Southern Baptist, has appointed 2 Catholics, Samuel Alito and John Roberts, to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. These appointments effectively give Catholics a 5-4 majority in the US Supreme Court. Is this a sign that ecumenism is around the corner?

The US has always been the bedrock of the Protestant movement. There has only been one Catholic ever voted President of the United States, and that was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, whose presidency was unfortunately short-lived. However, with the recent appointment by George W Bush, does it signify that Protestants and Catholics are ready to set aside their differences?

Christianity today is split up broadly into 3 main categories: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The Eastern Orthodox Church has already been making some headway in reconciling their differences with the Catholic Church. The Protestant movement, however, has had quite a bit of infighting lately, especially with the Anglican Church in Europe threatening to split away from its Episcopal brethren in the US. So is there hope for ecumenism, for a unified Christian Church evolving? Probably. But it's not likely to happen in our generation.