The head of the Vatican organization in charge of ecumenism has reminded bishops of Asia that the Second Vatican Council taught Christ's Church is to be found only in the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, acknowledged that the Second Vatican Council left room for dialogue, but "it also wants to maintain that the Church of Christ has its concrete location in the Catholic Church. It is there that it is found."

He presented his remarks to 35 bishops, priests, Religious and lay persons attending a seminar July 18-20 in Uiwang, 25 kilometers south of Seoul.

Cardinal Kaspar's council jointly organized the seminar, The Search for Christian Unity: Where We Stand Today, with the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). The participants, representing eight national episcopal conferences in Asia, came from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

When he addressed the participants on July 18, the cardinal noted that "oneness" and "unity" are key terms in the New Testament and the Creed, where "we confess our belief in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church."