Avoiding difference? or listening to all sides?

Another discussion point that came up at meeting #2 was how to deal with differences of opinion, differences of belief, and conflicts.

One approach is to avoid disputed points. Try to address things off line as much as possible.
The thinking behind that approach is the acknowledgement that most people have a strong emotional attachment to their faith, and we don't want to scare people away by making them feel threatened.

Another approach is to listen to each person's views with as much respect and understanding as possible, letting Catholics speak for Catholics, Baptists speak for Baptists, etc.; but there shouldn't be a need to avoid the issues.

I think that we agreed that the latter approach is our desired approach. One person expressed a commonly held opinion that "ecumenism" is often associated with "compromise" or with the "watering down" of truth. I believe that everyone who was at our meeting agreed that we don't want to have to water things down or avoid difficult issues.

How that plays out will require great gentleness and care. St. Paul reminds us of just that in his letter to the Colossians where he says:
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."