God ‘suffers’ when believers injure, ignore those God loves, pope says

God suffers and grieves when those who profess to believe in him do not love the people he loves and do not work for the justice he desires, Pope Francis said.
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Posted: Jan. 25, 2023 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=13172
Categories: CNS • In this article: Pope Francis, WPCU Transmis : 25 janv. 2023 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=13172
Catégorie : CNS • Dans cet article : Pope Francis, WPCU

Week of Prayer: Visit to Rome explores growth towards Christian unity

As the annual Christian Unity week draws to a close, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Prof. Dirk Lange is in Rome praying with Pope Francis and representatives of other churches for reconciliation within the Christian world.
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Posted: Jan. 25, 2023 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=13148
Categories: Lutheran World Information • In this article: Dirk Lange, Lutheran World Federation, WPCU Transmis : 25 janv. 2023 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=13148
Catégorie : Lutheran World Information • Dans cet article : Dirk Lange, Lutheran World Federation, WPCU

Bishop Farrell: ‘Synodality’ and the search for Christian unity

As Christians come together to mark the annual ecumenical Week of Prayer, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), Bishop Brian Farrell, says Pope Francis’ synodal process could make a “hugely important” contribution to improving relationships between the different churches.
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Posted: Jan. 20, 2022 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=11280
Categories: Lutheran World Information • In this article: Brian Farrell, Christian unity, Dirk Lange, synodality, WPCU Transmis : 20 janv. 2022 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=11280
Catégorie : Lutheran World Information • Dans cet article : Brian Farrell, Christian unity, Dirk Lange, synodality, WPCU

Unity Week: Cardinal Koch celebrates a “truly ecumenical year”

As we mark the annual week of prayer for Christian Unity, Catholics have much to celebrate because 2016 was “truly an ecumenical year”. That’s the view of Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who accompanied Pope Francis on all his ecumenical journeys throughout the past year.

The cardinal was reflecting on the theme for this week of prayer which is centred on a verse from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: ‘Reconciliation: the love of Christ compels us’. Members of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany were asked to prepare material on this theme which is set in the context of this year’s 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Cardinal Koch says the leitmotif for this week of prayer is reconciliation, proposed by Christians in Germany, where the Reformation began. While we have much gratitude for the Reformation and the rediscovery of all that is in common between Lutherans and Catholics, he says, we must also recognise the painful history of the last 500 years. Though Luther did not want to divide the Church, he notes the “horrible confessional wars” that followed the Reformation “transformed Europe into a red sea of blood”. We must acknowledge both of these pages, he says, working for repentance and reconciliation, but also showing gratitude for the gifts of the Reformation.
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Posted: Jan. 18, 2017 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=9619
Categories: Vatican News • In this article: Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Kurt Koch, WPCU Transmis : 18 janv. 2017 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=9619
Catégorie : Vatican News • Dans cet article : Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Kurt Koch, WPCU

The sweet song of Christian unity

Our Lord and his apostles used many figures of speech to describe the Church. From our beloved St. Paul: “We are God’s fellow labourers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9). “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Or Jesus’ words: “Fear not, little flock” (Luke 12:32a). “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5a).

Many of us have admired a well-ordered cathedral, such as St. Paul’s, London, or All Saints, Nairobi. We recognise — almost unconsciously — the beauty of the human person, of a pastoral scene or vineyard. No wonder they make fitting images for the Church, the heavenly Jerusalem, a city “at unity with itself” (Ps. 122:3).

Our experience of the Church’s unity tends to fall short of these glorious figures. We see “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions” (see Gal. 5:19-21).

In recognition of this, Anglicans have turned to other images over the past 14 years: among them, “walking together in synodality,” “walking apart,” or even “walking at a distance.” This language proves useful, vividly illustrating different degrees or intensities of communion: some choose to be close; some go their own way; some wander onto the wrong path.

Through such images, we see how harmony, order, and unity are gifts received, but also unwrapped and used. A field must be cultivated, a building maintained, a vine pruned.
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Posted: Jan. 18, 2017 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=9621
Categories: ACNS, Opinion • In this article: Anglican, WPCU Transmis : 18 janv. 2017 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=9621
Catégorie : ACNS, Opinion • Dans cet article : Anglican, WPCU

Pope Francis: Homily for Christian Unity Vespers

“I am the least of the Apostles … because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace in me was not without effect.” That’s how the Apostle Paul sums up the significance of his conversion. Coming after his dramatic encounter with the Risen Christ on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, it is not primarily a moral conversion but rather a transforming experience of the grace of Christ, and at the same time, a call to the new mission of announcing to everyone the Jesus that he previously persecuted by persecuting the disciples of Christ. At that moment, in fact, Paul understands that there is a real and transcendent union between the eternally living Christ and his followers: Jesus lives and is present in them and they live in him. The vocation to be an Apostle is founded not on Paul’s human merits, which he considers to be ‘the least’ and ‘unworthy’, but rather on the infinite goodness of God who chose him and entrusted him with his ministry.
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Posted: Jan. 26, 2016 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=9254
Categories: Vatican News • In this article: Pope Francis, Sermon, WPCU Transmis : 26 janv. 2016 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=9254
Catégorie : Vatican News • Dans cet article : Pope Francis, Sermon, WPCU

Unexpected blessing

Archbishop David Moxon, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, was invited to share the blessing with Pope Francis and Archbishop Gennadios of the Ecumenical Patriarchate during a service to mark the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Here, Archbishop David reflects on the unprecedented moment.

Last night Archbishop Gennadios and I were invited by Pope Francis to share in the giving of the Pontifical Blessing.

This took place in front of the 3000-strong congregation at the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls, the venue for the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome. We were called to the side of the Papal Throne and he said “let’s share this together”. He received his papal pastoral staff, began the prayer and raised his hand. Archbishop Gennadios (the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch) and I raised our hands also. It was incredibly moving to be part of what (I think) was an unprecedented invitation, which said far more even than the words which were actually recited.
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Posted: Jan. 26, 2016 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=9249
Categories: ACNS • In this article: Anglican Centre in Rome, David Moxon, Rome, WPCU Transmis : 26 janv. 2016 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=9249
Catégorie : ACNS • Dans cet article : Anglican Centre in Rome, David Moxon, Rome, WPCU

Pope Francis apologises for treatment of non-Catholic Christians

Pope Francis has apologised for behaviour towards Christians from non-Roman Catholic churches that “has not reflected Gospel values.” The Pope made his comments during a Vespers service in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome last night attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See, Archbishop Sir David Moxon.

The service was held to mark the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and was also attended by Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. At the end of the service the Pope invited Metropolitan Gennadios and Archbishop David to join him in blessing the congregation.
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Posted: Jan. 26, 2016 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=9251
Categories: ACNS • In this article: Pope Francis, spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 26 janv. 2016 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=9251
Catégorie : ACNS • Dans cet article : Pope Francis, spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

Kenneth Kearon: On Building an Ecumenical Barn

Anglican Bishop Kenneth Kearon used the image of constructing a barn to reflect upon the ecumenical movement during this year’s De Margerie Series on Christian Reconciliation and Unity, held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Saskatoon.

In addition to a public lecture “On Building an Ecumenical Barn,” held at St. Thomas More College Jan. 21, the 2016 De Margerie series also included two workshops – one for clergy and ministry leaders Jan. 22, and another on Jan. 23 for the general public, entitled “Being Church in the World Today.”

Dr. Terry Downey, president of St. Thomas More College opened the public lecture at STM with words of welcome. Held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the De Margerie series is jointly sponsored by STM, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. This year’s lecture was available for the first time on live-streamed video (and is now posted on the diocese’s YouTube channel).

Nicholas Jesson, ecumenical officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, noted that the De Margerie series is named for local ecumenical pioneer, Rev. Bernard de Margerie, one of the founders of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon and its first director. De Margerie is also the author of In God’s Reconciling Grace, a book of prayers about Christian unity, reflecting his conviction that prayer and conversion must be at the heart of the ecumenical movement.
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Posted: Jan. 21, 2016 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=8948
Categories: News • In this article: Anglican Communion, De Margerie Series, ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 21 janv. 2016 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=8948
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Anglican Communion, De Margerie Series, ecumenism, WPCU

A Uniting Church of Australia view of the journey to Christian unity

At the conclusion of the week of prayer for Christian Unity on Sunday, ministers and congregations from many different denominations gathered with Pope Francis in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls for Vespers marking the feast of the conversion of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Among those taking part for the first time was Reverend Tara Curlewis, former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia. An ordained minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, she’s also worked closely with the World Council of Churches and until recently co-chaired Australia’s National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews.

She talked to Philippa Hitchen about her own ministry and about the goal of the wider ecumenical movement today…
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Posted: Jan. 26, 2015 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7998
Categories: Vatican News • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Pope Francis, WPCU Transmis : 26 janv. 2015 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7998
Catégorie : Vatican News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Pope Francis, WPCU

Pope Francis: Jesus wants united Christians

On Sunday and before the Angelus, the Pope recalled the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and its theme, “Give me a drink”, the sentence uttered by Jesus to the Samaritan woman.

He told the faithful gathered that the “desire for unity” of the disciples of Jesus is part of our “thirst not only material for water, but above all our thirst for a full life, free from the slavery of evil and death.”

He went on to say that “Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises because it is he who gives to the Holy Spirit, the ‘living water’ that quenches our restless hearts, hungry for life, love, freedom, peace, thirsty for God.
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Posted: Jan. 25, 2015 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=8006
Categories: Vatican News • In this article: Christian unity, peace, Pope Francis, WPCU Transmis : 25 janv. 2015 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=8006
Catégorie : Vatican News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, peace, Pope Francis, WPCU

Pope Francis concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

On Saturday, Pope Francis presided over evening Vespers at Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica where he was joined by members of the many different Christian Churches present here in Rome.

The celebration, which lands on the Feast of Saint Paul, marks the closing of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which has been exploring the theme, taken from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “Has Christ been divided?”

Saturday’s celebrations coincide with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
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Posted: Jan. 25, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7227
Categories: News • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Pope Francis, spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 25 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7227
Catégorie : News • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Pope Francis, spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

WPCU day 8: Together… we proclaim the gospel

Together we proclaim anew the good news prophesied in Isaiah, fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, preached by the Apostle Paul, and received by the Church. Facing honestly the differences we have and the labels of denomination we embrace, we must never lose sight of the common mandate we have in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul is sent “to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power” (1 Cor 1:17). The path to unity is to be found in the power of the cross.

The Gospel we proclaim is made tangible and relevant to us as we bear witness to the work of Jesus Christ in our own lives and the life of the Christian community.
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Posted: Jan. 25, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7095
Categories: Resources • In this article: spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 25 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7095
Catégorie : Resources • Dans cet article : spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

Saskatoon’s Bolen makes history preaching to Evangelicals

Preaching to Evangelicals at the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity didn’t phase Saskatoon Bishop Don Bolen — much.

“I’m always a bit nervous. I’m very mindful of my own shortcomings and inadequacies whenever I preach anywhere,” Bolen told The Catholic Register a few days after his Jan. 19 appearance at Saskatoon’s Circle Drive Alliance Church. “I did prepare more because they told me I had 30 minutes. Sweet, but it did require more preparation.”

Bolen preached on the story of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus’ ruling under the law that the one who has no sin should cast the first stone.

“He chose a beautiful text,” said Circle Drive Pastor Eldon Boldt. “Jesus showed grace and it was mercy upon mercy upon mercy. One girl wrote me (after the service) and said, ‘I don’t know why, but I found myself choking back tears as the bishop spoke.’ Well, that’s just the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic bishop preaching in an Evangelical church is a rarity. As a member of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic International Consultation, Bolen hasn’t heard of other bishops preaching to Evangelicals. He plans to bring it up when the official international dialogue meets in March.
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Posted: Jan. 24, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7221
Categories: Catholic Register, Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue • In this article: Catholic, Donald Bolen, ecumenism, Evangelicals, WPCU Transmis : 24 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7221
Catégorie : Catholic Register, Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue • Dans cet article : Catholic, Donald Bolen, ecumenism, Evangelicals, WPCU

WPCU day 7: Together… we belong to Christ

Isaiah envisioned a day when Egyptians and Assyrians would worship together with Israel as God’s people. Christian unity belongs to the design of God for the unity of all humanity, and indeed of the cosmos itself. We pray for the day when we will worship together in one faith and one Eucharistic fellowship.

We are blessed by the gifts of various church traditions. Recognising those gifts in each other impels us towards visible unity.

Our baptism unites us as one body in Christ. While we value our particular churches, Paul reminds us that all who call on the name of the Lord are with us in Christ for we all belong to the one body. There is no other to whom we can say, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor 12:21).
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Posted: Jan. 24, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7093
Categories: Resources • In this article: spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 24 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7093
Catégorie : Resources • Dans cet article : spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

WPCU day 6: Together… we seek to be in agreement

The disunity described in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 reflects a distortion of the gospel, undermining the integrity of the message of Christ. To acknowledge conflict and division, as Chloe’s people did, is the first step to establishing unity.

Women like Deborah and Chloe raise a prophetic voice among God’s people in times of conflict and division, confronting us with the need to be reconciled. Such prophetic voices may enable people to gather in renewed unity for action.

As we strive to be united in the same mind and the same purpose, we are called to seek the Lord and his peace as the psalmist wrote.
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Posted: Jan. 23, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7091
Categories: Resources • In this article: spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 23 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7091
Catégorie : Resources • Dans cet article : spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

The divisions must stop! Pope Francis’ catechesis on Christian Unity

Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of this Wednesday’s general audience to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which ends next Saturday, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. It is a spiritual initiative in which Christian communities have participated for over one hundred years, and is a time dedicated to prayer for the unity of all baptised persons, in accordance with Christ’s will “that they may all be one”. Every year an ecumenical group from one region in the world, under the guidance of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, suggests the theme and prepares the activities for the Prayer Week. This year the initiatives were prepared by the Churches and Ecclesiastical Communities of Canada, who have proposed the question posed by St. Paul to the Christians of Corinth: “Has Christ been divided?”
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Posted: Jan. 22, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7214
Categories: Vatican News • In this article: ecumenism, Pope Francis, WPCU Transmis : 22 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7214
Catégorie : Vatican News • Dans cet article : ecumenism, Pope Francis, WPCU

WPCU day 5: Together… we are called into fellowship

We are called into fellowship with God the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. As we draw closer to the Triune God, we are drawn closer to one another in Christian unity.

Christ has initiated a change in our relationship, calling us friends instead of servants. In response to this relationship of love, we are called out of relationships of power and domination into friendship and love of one another.

Called by Jesus, we witness to the gospel both to those who have not yet heard it and to those who have. This proclamation contains a call into fellowship with God, and establishes fellowship among those who respond.
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Posted: Jan. 22, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7089
Categories: Resources • In this article: spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 22 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7089
Catégorie : Resources • Dans cet article : spiritual ecumenism, WPCU

Praying together once a year is not enough for young Christians

Recently 30,000 young adults from all over Europe came together in Strasbourg, France. This gathering was the 36th European Meeting, an annual event prepared by our Taizé Community and held each time in a different European city.

By giving young people the opportunity to make personal contacts across borders, we want to help them acquire a true European awareness. The work of international institutions is essential, but unless there is a meeting of persons, Europe cannot be built.

If there is no longer a wall between East and West, there are still walls between our perceptions. The young people who came to Strasbourg want an open and inclusive Europe. They want solidarity between all European countries and solidarity with the poorest peoples of other continents.

They ask that a globalised economy be closely linked to a globalisation of solidarity. They expect rich nations to show greater generosity, both through investments in developing nations that truly offer justice and by a worthy and responsible welcome given to immigrants from these countries.
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Posted: Jan. 21, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7200
Categories: Opinion • In this article: Christian unity, ecumenism, Taizé, WPCU, youth Transmis : 21 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7200
Catégorie : Opinion • Dans cet article : Christian unity, ecumenism, Taizé, WPCU, youth

WPCU day 4: Together… we affirm that God is faithful

The eternal unity of Father, Son and Spirit draws us closer into the love of God, and calls us to participate in God’s work in the world which is love, mercy and justice. Mercy and justice are not divided in God, but rather are joined together in the steadfast love manifested in God’s covenant with us and with all of creation.

The new father Zechariah testifies to God’s manifestation of mercy in keeping his promises to Abraham and his descendents. God is faithful to his holy covenant.

As we continue to pray for the unity of the church, we must not neglect to meet together and encourage one another, spurring each other on towards love and good deeds, saying: “God is faithful.”
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Posted: Jan. 21, 2014 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=7087
Categories: Resources • In this article: spiritual ecumenism, WPCU Transmis : 21 janv. 2014 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=7087
Catégorie : Resources • Dans cet article : spiritual ecumenism, WPCU