Vatican City, 7 March 2014 (VIS) –
This morning the Holy Father met with Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit,
secretary general of the World Council for Churches, accompanied by a
delegation. The Pope remarked that this encounter “marks an
important chapter in the long and fruitful relationship between the
Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches”, and
acknowledged “the service it performs in the cause of unity between
believers in Christ”.
“Since its creation, the World
Council of Churches has offered a great contribution to forming the
sensibility of all Christians with regard to the fact that our
divisions represent a major obstacle to our witness to the Gospel in
the world. These divisions must not be accepted with resignation, as
if they were simply an inevitable component of the historic
experience of the Church. If Christians ignore the Lord's call to
unity, they risk ignoring the Lord Himself and the salvation He
offers through His Body, the Church: 'there is salvation in no one
else, for there is no other name … by which we must be saved.'”
“The way to full and visible
communion is a path which still proves today to be arduous and
uphill. The Spirit, however, urges us not to be afraid, to go ahead
with trust, and not to content ourselves with the progress that we
have been able to experience in these decades. Prayer is fundamental
on this path. Only in a spirit of humble and persistent prayer can we
attain the necessary farsightedness, discernment and motivations for
offering our service to the human family, in all its weakness and
with all its needs, both spiritual and material”.
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