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                               VIS-Press releases

PLENARY OF PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

VATICAN CITY, 18 NOV 2010 (VIS) - Participants in the plenary assembly of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who have been meeting to
examine the subject "Towards a new stage of ecumenical dialogue",
were received
this morning by the Holy Father.

Benedict XVI began his address to them by recalling the fiftieth anniversary,
which fell yesterday, of the foundation of this dicastery, created by Blessed
John XXIII in 1960 on the eve of Vatican Council II. Originally called the
Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, it became a pontifical council in
1988 by wish of John Paul II.

John XXIII's decision "represented a milestone on the ecumenical journey of the
Catholic Church", said the Pope. "Over these fifty years more realistic
knowledge and greater respect for other Churches and ecclesial communities have
been acquired, overcoming the sediments of historical prejudice. Theological
dialogue has increased, and so has the dialogue of charity. Various forms of
collaboration have been developed, including - apart from those that aim to
defend of life, protect creation and combat injustice - important and fruitful
steps in the field of the ecumenical translations of Sacred Scripture".

The Pope then turned his attention to the "Harvest Project", an
initiative of
the dicastery to draw up an initial assessment of results. It has, he said,
"highlighted areas of convergence and those in which reflection must continue
and intensify". In this context the Holy Father invited members of the
pontifical council to continue "your task of promoting the correct reception of
the results achieved so far, and publicising the current state of theological
research on the journey towards unity.

"Today", he added, "some people believe that this journey
has lost its impetus,
especially in the West. Thus do we see the urgent need to revive ecumenical
interest and give a fresh incisiveness to dialogue", facing such challenges as
"new anthropological and ethical understandings, the ecumenical education of
new generations and the greater fragmentation of the ecumenical panorama".

"The Catholic Church passionately continues her dialogue with the Orthodox
Churches and the Ancient Eastern Churches, with which bonds of the 'closest
intimacy' exist, seriously and rigorously seeking to develop our shared
theological, liturgical and spiritual heritage, and to face the elements that
still divide us. With the Orthodox we have reached a crucial point of
confrontation and reflection: the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion
of the Church. The ecclesiological question is also at the heart of dialogue
with the Ancient Eastern Churches: despite many centuries of misunderstanding
and remoteness we have joyfully noted that we have preserved a precious shared
heritage".

"Though faced with new problematic situations or difficult points of
discussion, the goal of the ecumenical journey remains unchanged, as does the
firm intention to continue. This is not however, a commitment that falls into
what could be called political categories, in which negotiating ability or
greater capacity to reach compromise come into play, and in which the
participants hope that, as good mediators, after a certain period they will
reach an agreement acceptable to everyone.

"Ecumenical activity has a dual dynamic", the Pope explained.
"On the one hand
it means searching dedicatedly, passionately and tenaciously for all the unity
in truth, devising models of unity, illuminating points of contention and
obscurity in order to achieve unity. This must take place through the necessary
theological dialogue, but above all in prayer and penance, in that ecumenical
spirit which constitutes the pulsating heart of the entire journey. The unity
of Christians is and remains prayer, it dwells in prayer. On the other hand
there is another operational dynamic which arises from our firm awareness that
we do not know the time that the unity of all Christ's disciples will be
achieved, and we cannot know it because we do not 'make' unity, God 'makes' it;
it comes from on high, ... it is a participation in divine unity. Yet this must
not diminish our commitment; quite the contrary, it must make us ever more
attentive to recognising the signs and times of the Lord, knowing how to
recognise with gratitude what unites us and working to ensure it ... grows".

"In the final analysis", the Holy Father concluded, "also on
the ecumenical
journey we must leave to God that which is exclusively His and seriously
explore, with constancy and dedication, our own task, bearing in mind that that
our commitment is characterised by the twofold concepts of acting and
suffering, activity and patience, fatigue and joy".
AC/VIS 20101118 (760)

SUMMARY

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