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Christianity in the 21st century is characterized by the pursuit of Church unity and the continued resistance to persecution, and secularization.
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Benedict XVI
With the election of Pope Benedict XVI, there was decentralized beatifications and reverted a decision of John Paul II regarding papal elections. In 2007, he set a Church record by approving the beatification of 498 Spanish Martyrs.
Major lawsuits emerged in 2001 claiming that priests had sexually abused minors.
Catholic-Orthodox dialogue
In June 2004, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I's visit to Rome afforded a meeting with Pope John Paul II, for conversations with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and for taking part in the celebration for the feast day in St. Peter's Basilica.
There was the Patriarch's partial participation in the Eucharistic liturgy; full participation in the liturgy of the Word, joint proclamation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in Greek, and as the conclusion, the final Blessing imparted by both the Pope and the Patriarch.
The declaration of Ravenna in 2007 re-stated the notion that the bishop of Rome is indeed the protos, although future discussions are to be held on the concrete ecclesiological exercise of papal primacy.
Francis
Since the election of Pope Francis in 2013, he has displayed a simpler and less formal approach to the office, choosing to reside in the Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal residence. Following the resignation of Benedict, Francis became the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere.
Protestantism
In February 2001, the United Methodist Church organized the Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery. It is a Methodist-Benedictine residential monastery for women in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Postmodern Christianity has influenced the emerging church movement. Critics allege, however, that this movement's understanding of faith has led many of its adherents outside the bounds of traditional Christianity.