PRAY FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY AND THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

VATICAN CITY, JUN 29, 2000 (VIS) - In reflections made before praying the angelus, Pope John Paul recalled that today is "the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, considered the columns of the universal Church. Peter, the 'rock' on which Christ founded His Church; Paul, the 'chosen instrument' to bring the Gospel to peoples."

He added that "a mysterious design brought them both to Rome to seal their witness with their blood: Peter crucified and Paul decapitated: One was buried at the foot of Vatican Hill and the other along the Ostiense way."

The Pope also pointed to the presence in Rome, as is customary on this feast day, of a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, saying: "The meaningful presence of these brothers in faith is a gesture which invites us to hope and pursue the path of ecumenical dialogue, without ever getting discouraged."

He then urged everyone to pray for "two intentions which are particularly dear to me at the start of the Third Millennium: Christian unity and the new evangelization."

In concluding remarks, John Paul II said: "May St. Peter intercede for us so that the ministry of the Successor of Peter be recognized and accepted by everyone as a service to the unity of the People of God."

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