Vatican City, 16 February 2015 (VIS) –
The Right Rev. John P. Chalmers, moderator of the Church of Scotland,
accompanied by a group of representatives of the same Church, were
received this in audience this morning by the Holy Father who, in his
greeting, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to meet and
share with them a common commitment to the service of the Gospel and
the cause for Christian unity.
“Scotland’s rich cultural and
historical traditions have been shaped by outstanding saintly
witnesses to Christ from various confessions”, he observed. “The
present state of ecumenical relations in Scotland clearly shows that
what we, as Christians, hold in common is greater than all that
divides us. On this basis the Lord is calling us to seek ever more
effective ways to overcome old prejudices and to find new forms of
understanding and cooperation”.
The Pope remarked that he was heartened
to see that “the good relations between the Church of Scotland and
the Catholic Church have borne fruit in shared reflection on the
challenges posed by contemporary society, and that in many cases we
are able to speak with one voice on issues which deeply affect the
lives of all Christians. In our globalised and often confused world,
a common Christian witness is a necessary requisite for the
effectiveness of our efforts to evangelise.
“We are pilgrims and we journey
alongside one another. We need to learn to have 'sincere trust in our
fellow pilgrims, putting aside all suspicion or mistrust, and turn
our gaze to what we are all seeking: the radiant peace of God’s
face', he continued, citing his Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii
gaudium”. He went on to reiterate that faith and Christian witness
current face such great challenges that “only by working together
will we be able effectively to serve the human family and enable the
light of Christ to reach every dark corner of our hearts and of our
world”.
“May the journey of reconciliation
and peace between our communities continue to draw us closer, so
that, prompted by the Holy Spirit, we may bring life to all, and
bring it in abundance. Let us pray for one another, and continue to
advance in the way of wisdom, good will, strength and peace”. Pope
Francis then added, in his native Spanish, “allow me to use my
mother tongue to express a profound and sad sentiment. Today I have
read about the execution of those twenty-one or twenty-two Coptic
Christians. They said only: 'Jesus, help me'. They were assassinated
for the mere fact of being Christians. You, Brother, in your
discourse, referred to what is happening in Jesus' land. The blood of
our Christian brothers is a testimony that calls to us. Regardless of
whether they are Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, Lutherans – this does
not matter, they are Christians. And blood is the same. Their blood
confesses Christ. In remembrance of these brothers of ours who have
died for the mere fact of confessing Christ, I ask that we encourage
each other to go ahead with this ecumenism, that is giving us
strength, this ecumenism of blood. The martyrs are all Christians.
Let us all pray for each other”.
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