We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Exhortation for Christian-Unity Week
FREE Catholic Classes
"An Expression of That 'Inner Conversion'"
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2005 (Zenit) - Here is a translation of John Paul II's address at Wednesday's general audience, which he dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
* * *
1. Yesterday began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. They are extremely opportune days of reflection and prayer to remind Christians that the restoration of full unity among them, according to the will of Jesus, involves every baptized person, both pastors as well as the faithful (see "Unitatis Redintegratio," No. 5).
The Week takes place months after the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's decree "Unitatis Redintegratio," a key text which has placed the Catholic Church firmly and irrevocably in the line of the ecumenical movement.
2. This year, the theme presents a fundamental truth to us for all ecumenical commitment, namely, that Christ is the foundation of the Church. The Council strongly recommended prayer for unity as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement (see "Unitatis Redintegratio," No. 8). Given that the reconciliation of Christians surpasses "human powers and capacities" (ibid., 24), prayer gives expression to hope that does not disappoint, to trust in the Lord who makes all things new (see Romans 5:5; Revelation 21:5). But prayer must be accompanied by purification of the mind, the feelings and the memory. Thus it becomes an expression of that "inner conversion," without which there is no true ecumenism (see ibid., 7). In a word, unity is a gift of God, a gift to be tirelessly implored with humility and truth.
3. The desire for unity is spreading and deepening, touching new environments and contexts, arousing fervor for works, initiatives and reflections. Recently the Lord has also enabled his disciples to engage in important contacts of dialogue and collaboration. The pain of separation is felt with ever-greater intensity, given the challenges of a world that awaits a clear and unanimous evangelical testimony on the part of all believers in Christ.
4. As usual, in Rome the Week will conclude with the celebration of vespers, on Jan. 25, in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. I thank the Lord Cardinal Walter Kasper, who will represent me in that liturgical meeting, in which representatives of other Christian Churches and confessions will take part. I will unite myself spiritually, and I also ask you to pray so that the whole family of believers may attain as soon as possible the full communion desired by Christ.
[At the end of the audience, one of the Pope's aides read the following summary in English:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Yesterday, the Church began its Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, dedicated to reflection and prayer on the need for all the baptized to work for the restoration of full Christian unity, according to the desire of the Lord Jesus. This year's theme is "Christ, the Only Foundation of the Church." May our prayers be accompanied by a purification of the mind and heart, that "inner conversion" without which there is no true ecumenism.
[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today's audience. I greet particularly the members of the Servite Secular Institute and the groups from Scotland, Finland, Australia and the United States of America. Wishing you a pleasant and fruitful stay in Rome, I cordially invoke upon you the joy and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
I wish you all a happy New Year!
Contact
The Vatican
https://www.catholic.org
, VA
Pope John Paul II - Bishop of Rome, 661 869-1000
info@yourcatholicvoice.org
Keywords
Pope, Prayer, Christian, Unity, Vatican
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol