Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "Since the modern ecumenical movement was born, more than a century ago, there has always been a clear recognition that the lack of unity among Christians hinders the effective announcement of the Gospel and endangers our credibility". This is what the Holy Father Benedict XVI said in his catechesis during the general audience on Wednesday, January 18, dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year has the theme: "We will all be changed by the victory of Jesus Christ, our Lord "(1 Cor 15, 51-58).
The Pope emphasized that "with regards to the fundamental truths of the faith, there is more that unites us than divides us. Divisions remain and regard many practical and ethical questions, giving rise to confusion and mistrust, weakening our ability to transmit the saving word of Christ". He then quoted the Blessed John Paul II, "which in his Encyclical Ut unum sint talks about the damage caused to the Christian witness and proclamation of the Gospel due to the lack of unity", and concluded: "This poses a huge obstacle to the new evangelization, which would be more fruitful if all Christians proclaimed together the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and gave a common response to the spiritual thirst of our age".
The origins, developments and significance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which was introduced in 1908 by Father Paul Wattson, founder of an Anglican religious community that later entered the Catholic Church, were recalled by Benedict XVI in his speech during which he also focused on the particular history of the Polish nation, since the subsidies for the Week of Prayer this year have been prepared by an ecumenical group of that nation. "The full and visible unity of Christians, for which we yearn, requires that we allow ourselves to be transformed and to be an ever more perfect image of Christ - the Pope highlighted -. The unity for which we pray requires an inner conversion, both shared and individual".
After recalling that "the Second Vatican Council placed the search for christian unity at the center of the life and the work of the Church", the Holy Father said that " ecumenism is the responsibility of the entire Church and of all the baptized, that must increase the partial communion that already exists among Christians until achieving full communion in truth and charity. Therefore, praying for unity must not be limited to this Week of Prayer, but must become an integral part of our prayer, the prayer life of all Christians in all times and places". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 19/01/2012)
