SUMMARY:
- THE AIM
OF ECUMENISM IS THE UNITY OF DIVIDED CHRISTIANS
-
AUDIENCES
______________________________________
THE
AIM OF ECUMENISM IS THE UNITY OF DIVIDED CHRISTIANS
Vatican
City, 15 November 2012 (VIS) - The close ties between the work of
evangelisation and the need to overcome the divisions that still
exist between Christians was the central theme of this morning's
address by the Holy Father to the members and consultors of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on the occasion of
their plenary assembly dedicated to "The importance of ecumenism
in new evangelisation".
The Pope
stated, "We cannot follow a truly ecumenical path while ignoring
the crisis of faith affecting vast areas of the world, including
those where the proclamation of the Gospel was first accepted and
where Christian life has flourished for centuries. On the other hand,
we cannot ignore the many signs indicating a persistent need for
spirituality, which is made manifest in various ways. The spiritual
poverty of many of our contemporaries, who no longer perceive the
absence of God in their lives as a form of deprivation, poses a
challenge to all Christians".
In this
context, the Pope added, "we, believers in Christ, are called
upon to return to the essential, to the heart of our faith, to bear
witness to the living God before the world. … We must not forget
what it is that unites us: our faith in God the Father and Creator,
revealed in His Son Jesus Christ, effusing the Spirit which revives
and sanctifies. This is the faith we received in Baptism and it is
the faith that, in hope and charity, we can profess together.
"In
the light of the primacy of faith we may also understand the
importance of the theological dialogues and conversations in which
the Catholic Church is engaged with Churches and ecclesial
communities. Even when we cannot discern the possibility of
re-establishing full communion in the near future, such dialogue
facilitates our awareness, not only of resistance and obstacles, but
also of the richness of experience, spiritual life and theological
reflection, which become a stimulus for ever deeper testimony".
Benedict
XVI emphasised that the aim of ecumenism is "visible unity
between divided Christians". To this end, we must "dedicate
all our forces, but we must also recognise that, in the final
analysis, this unity is a gift from God, and may come to us only from
the Father through His Son, because the Church is His Church. From
this perspective we see, not only the importance of invoking the Lord
for visible unity, but also how striving after this end is relevant
to the new evangelisation.
"It
is good to journey together towards this objective, provided that the
Churches and ecclesial communities do not stop along the way,
accepting the various contradictions between them as normal or as the
best they can hope to achieve. It is, rather, in the full communion
of faith, Sacraments and ministry that the strength of God, present
and working in the world, will find concrete expression".
The Pope
concluded, "Unity is on the one hand the fruit of faith and, on
the other, a means - almost a prerequisite - for an increasingly
credible proclamation of the faith to those who do not yet know the
Saviour or who, while having received the proclamation of the Gospel,
have almost forgotten this valuable gift. True ecumenism, recognising
the primacy of divine action, demands above all patience, humility,
and abandonment to the will of the Lord. In the final analysis,
ecumenism and new evangelisation both require the dynamism of
conversion, understood as the sincere desire to follow Christ and to
fully adhere to the will of the Father".
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 15 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience eleven prelates of the Episcopal Conference of France, on
their "ad limina" visit:
-
Archbishop Thierry Jordan of Reims
- Bishop
Jean-Luc Bouilleret of Amiens.
- Bishop
Jacques Benoit-Gonnin of Beauvais.
- Bishop
Gilbert Louis of Chalons.
- Bishop
Philippe Gueneley of Langres.
- Bishop
Herve Giraud of Soissons.
- Bishop
Marc Stenger of Troyes.
-
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Lille, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop
Gerard Coliche.
- Bishop
Jean-Paul Jaeger of Arras.
-
Archbishop Francois Garnier of Cambrai.
Following
yesterday's general audience, Benedict XVI met with Saad Hariri,
former prime minister of Lebanon. The former prime minister
subsequently went on to meet with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
secretary for Relations with States.
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