A Canadian Lutheran leader had a chance to travel to Rome late last month for an opportunity to promote unity in faith.

The Roman Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) met with the former Vice President of Lutheran Church-Canada (LCC) on August 21, 2019.

Rev. Nolan Astley, who is now the senior pastor at Holy Cross in Kitchener, Ontario, met with the members of the PCPCU in order to engage in dialogue about the national ecumenical discussion taking place with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), reports Canadian Lutheran.

The conversation regarding church unity first began in 2013 between the LCC and the CCCB. 

PCPCU President Cardinal Kurt Koch and Fr. Augustinus Sander, an official of the council, were present to meet with Astley, who said it was good to meet with the council representatives to "discuss the growing friendly relations between confessional Lutherans and Roman Catholics."

Discussions at the meeting centered around the growing relationship between various sectors of faith.

Astley says, "Our conversations in Canada have been invaluable in breaking down old misconceptions, and finding out just how much we have in common—even as we acknowledge the differences which still exist."

The former LCC vice-president has been attending meetings on the subject of unity since they began. They regularly occur in Ontario.

Discussions between the two faith organizations have not existed in isolation, with confessional Lutherans and Roman Catholics in countries around the world taking part in further dialogue on the subject of church unity.