FINNISH ECUMENICAL DELEGATION: REAL BUT INCOMPLETE COMMUNION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 20, 2003 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received members of an ecumenical delegation from Finland who came to Rome to celebrate the feast of their patron, St. Henrik.

John Paul II recalled that the "Second Vatican Council committed the Catholic Church 'irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture, thus heeding the Spirit of the Lord Who teaches people to interpret carefully the 'signs of the times'."

"This is an invitation," he continued, "that I have embraced throughout my Pontificate. At this time, we recognize a new ecumenical moment in which we can acknowledge a real, if still incomplete, communion. The Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification is a concrete sign of this new situation as a 'brotherhood rediscovered'."
The Holy Father expressed the hope that "by building on this brotherhood we can further promote a shared spirituality which will assist us in our pilgrimage towards full communion."

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