(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Thursday with members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, telling them that the cause of unity is not an option undertaking. The 18 Anglican and Catholic members of the commission, known as ARCIC III, are holding their annual encounter this week at an ancient retreat house in the Alban hills, south of Rome. Philippa Hitchen reports Listen:
The original Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission was founded in the wake of a historic meeting in 1966 between a Pope and an Archbishop of Canterbury – the first since the Reformation and the Church of England’s breakaway from Rome. On that occasion, Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey inaugurated a dialogue “ founded on the Gospels and on the ancient common traditions” which they hoped would lead to “unity in truth for which Christ prayed”. Meeting with the members of ARCIC III, Pope Francis noted the current session is studying the relationship between the universal Church and the local Church – a question central to his own reform programme – with particular reference to difficult decision making over moral and ethical questions. These discussion, the Pope said, and the forthcoming publication of five jointly agreed statements from the previous phase of the dialogue, remind us that ecumenism is not a secondary element in the life of the Church and that the differences which divide us must not be seen as inevitable. Despite the seriousness of the challenges, he said we must trust even more in the power of the Spirit to heal and reconcile what may not seem possible to our human understanding. Finally Pope Francis highlighted the powerful testimony of Christians from different Churches and traditions who have been victims of violence and persecution. The blood of these martyrs, he said, will nourish a new era of ecumenical commitment to fulfill the last will and testament of the Lord: that all may be one. Please see below the full text of Pope Francis’ address to the members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 1. It is a pleasure to be with you, the members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. In these days you are gathered for a new session of your dialogue, which is now studying the relationship between the universal Church and the local Church, with particular reference to processes for discussions and decision making regarding moral and ethical questions. I cordially welcome you and wish you a successful meeting. Your dialogue is the result of the historic meeting in 1966 between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Ramsey, which gave rise to the first Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. On that occasion, they both prayed with hope for “a serious dialogue which, founded on the Gospels and on the ancient common traditions, [would] lead to that unity in truth for which Christ prayed” (The Common Declaration by Pope Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Michael Ramsey, Rome, 24 March 1966). We have not yet reached that goal, but we are convinced that the Holy Spirit continues to move us in that direction, notwithstanding new difficulties and challenges. Your presence here today is an indication of how the shared tradition of faith and history between Anglicans and Catholics can inspire and sustain our efforts to overcome the obstacles to full communion. Though we are fully aware of the seriousness of the challenges ahead, we can still realistically trust that together great progress will be made. 2. Shortly you will publish five jointly agreed statements of the second phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, with commentaries and responses. I offer my congratulations for this work. This reminds us that ecumenical relations and dialogue are not secondary elements of the life of the Churches. The cause of unity is not an optional undertaking and the differences which divide us must not be seen as inevitable. Some wish that, after fifty years, greater progress towards unity would have been achieved. Despite difficulties, we must not lose heart, but we must trust even more in the power of the Holy Spirit, who can heal and reconcile us, and accomplish what humanly does not seem possible. 3. There is a strong bond that already unites us which goes beyond all divisions: it is the testimony of Christians from different Churches and traditions, victims of persecution and violence simply because of the faith they profess. The blood of these martyrs will nourish a new era of ecumenical commitment, a fervent desire to fulfill the last will and testament of the Lord: that all may be one (cf. Jn 17:21). The witness by these our brothers and sisters demands that we live in harmony with the Gospel and that we strive with determination to fulfill the Lord’s will for his Church. Today the world urgently needs the common, joyful witness of Christians, from the defence of life and human dignity to the promotion of justice and peace. Together let us invoke the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to be able to respond courageously to “the signs of the times” which are calling all Christians to unity and common witness. May the Holy Spirit abundantly inspire your work. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received the President of the Republic of the Seychelles, James Alix Michel, who subsequently met the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-Secretary for Relations with States.
The Republic of the Seychelles is an archipelago-nation in the Indian Ocean, about 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Southeast Africa, with a population of 92,000.
A statement from the Holy See Press Office called the discussions “cordial”, and said satisfaction was expressed for the good relations existing between the Holy See and the Republic of the Seychelles.
Mention was made of the Catholic Church’s contribution to the service of society, especially in the fields of welfare and education, and themes of common interest were considered, such as the dignity and full development of the human person and the protection of the environment.
Finally, there was an exchange of opinions on the socio-political situation in the country and in the region.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father’s universal prayer intention for May is: “That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbours who suffer, especially the sick and the poor”.
His intention for evangelisation is: “That Mary’s intercession may help Christians in secularised cultures be open to proclaiming Jesus”….
Vatican City, 30 April 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, spoke yesterday at the opening of the Symposium “Christians in the Middle East: what future?”, organised by the Sant’Egidio Community and the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto, Italy. In his address, the cardinal remarked that many Christians in the East, hearing just a few days ago the story of Pilate’s famous gesture of washing his hands, “may have thought of the indifference and inaction to which the international community appears to have resigned itself before the tragedies that have for some years now been wearing away at Syria and Iraq”. He added, “it is also saddening to see the incapacity of leaders in Lebanon, even those who are Christians, to arrive at consensus on the new president on the basis of a line of conduct due less to conscience than to the weighty influences of the forces that compete for supremacy in the area”. “We trust, however, that in the heart of all people, both in the West and in the East, the governor Pilate’s poignant question remains alive: ‘Quid est veritas?’, ‘What is truth?’, followed by his search and service to it. The truth is first and foremost an act of removing every veil and covering from reality. It cannot be denied that if a solution has not yet been found it is certainly because the problems are many and complex, and also touch upon the internal relations between the different groups of Muslim faithful and between them and other religions present in the region, including Christians. But it is also legitimate to think that there are interests and balances of power and wealth that go before – seemingly without conceding a step – the mere survival, rather than the well-being, of the populations. And this is a scandal: let us remember what the Lord says, still today, to all the Cains on earth: ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground’. Cardinal Sandri went on to mention that every year he launches an appeal, on behalf of the Holy Father, for support and aid to Christians in the Holy Land, a term that designates not only those who live within the borders of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but also all the places linked to salvation history, the area of Mesopotamia and Persia, where the apostles preached, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, where the Holy Family sought refuge. “But mentioning a presence thus configured must be an indication of a method also for discussion at other levels”, he added. “It is not possible to speak of stability in the Middle East without reference to the age-old question of Israel and Palestine, accepting that Christians are permitted to live relatively peacefully in both territories. On the other hand, there must be no doubt regarding the need for all States, including Israel, to exist and be protected, not threatened. It is the task of Christian pastors throughout the Middle East to help their faithful to grow in this knowledge, pouring abundant oil of consolation, forgiveness and mercy on the wounds of the recent past. If we do not move in this direction, there is no doubt that power-crazed groups such as ISIS will multiply, especially as they are supported with arms and resources by various interested parties”. “The West appears to have lost, over the centuries, the capacity for conceiving of itself within a healthy religious framework of reference, and increasingly favours an exasperated secular model, if not indeed a true ‘eclipse of God’. The destruction and horrors of the Middle East – which some wish to attribute exclusively to the religious factors – must not become an excuse to confirm this partial and mistaken vision, but rather a stimulus for rethinking the coexistence of and collaboration between different sectors of society for the full development of humanity”, concluded the prefect. The participants in the symposium subsequently attended the Basilica of St. Nicholas, patron of Bari, where they prayed for the saint’s intercession to bring an end to the suffering of Christians in the Middle East and to accompany the work of the Pan-Orthodox Council, to be held in Turkey in 2016….
(Vatican Radio) “History and service.” In his homily on Thursday morning, Pope Francis spoke about these “two traits of Christian identity.”
Beginning with “history,” Pope Francis said Saint Paul, Saint Peter, and the other disciples “did not proclaim a Jesus without a history: They proclaimed Jesus in the history of the people, a people God led through the centuries in order to arrive… at the fullness of time.” God enters into history and into the journey with His people:
“The Christian is a man or woman of history, because he does not pertain to himself alone – he is inserted into a people, a people that is on a journey. One cannot imagine a Christian selfishness, no, this won’t fly. The Christian is not a spiritual man or woman in a laboratory, [the Christian] is a spiritual man or woman inserted into a people, which has a long history and which continues to journey until the Lord returns.”
It is a “history of grace, but also a history of sin”:
“So many sinners, so many crimes! Today, Paul mentions King David, a saint – but before he became a saint, he was a great sinner. A great sinner. Our history must take up both saints and sinners. My own personal history, the history of each one of us, must take up our sin, our own proper sin, and the grace of the Lord that is with us, accompanying us in our sin in order to forgive and accompanying us in grace. There is no Christian identity without history.”
The second trait of Christian identity is service. “Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, inviting them to do as He has done: to serve”:
“Christian identity is service, not selfishness. ‘But Father, we are all selfish.’ Ah, really? It is a sin, a habit we have to break away from. Ask for forgiveness, that the Lord will convert us. We are called to service. Being Christian is not about appearance, or even about social conduct, it’s not a little make-up for the soul, because it should be a little more beautiful. To be Christian is to do what Jesus did: serve!”
Pope Francis called us to ask ourselves, “In my heart, what more can I do? Do I have other people serve me, do I use others, the community, the parish, my family, my friends? Or do I serve, am I at the service of others?”
(from Vatican Radio)…