Sunday, January 27, 2008

Pope urges prayers for Christian unity



(The article below is published on the website of The Star Phoenix)

Pope Urges Prayers for Christian Unity

Reuters
Published: Saturday, January 26, 2008

ROME (Reuters) -- Pope Benedict on Friday urged Christians around the world to intensify their prayers for unity of their divided Churches.

"We are ever more aware of how much the work of recomposing unity, which requires all of our energy and strength, is above our possibilities," he said at an evening vespers service at Rome's Basilica of St. Paul's.

"Unity with God and our brothers and sisters is a gift that will come from on high," he said at an ecumenical prayer service marking the end of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, head of the World Council of Churches, which groups most non-Catholic Christian faiths, attended the service along with representatives of other Christian Churches. Earlier in an interview, Kobia, the WCC Secretary General, called for full communion among all denominations by the middle of this century. He told the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano he was convinced relations between Catholicism and the Protestant and Orthodox churches in the Geneva-based Council would grow stronger in coming years.

The Vatican bars intercommunion because of disagreements about the Eucharist, the central act of worship in many Christian churches. Many Protestant churches allow members of other denominations to share their consecrated bread and wine.

Intercommunion would symbolize unity among Christians and ease practical problems in countries such as Britain, Germany and the United States where mixed marriages are frequent.

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008



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