Ecclesial relations
71.
We must give thanks to Divine Providence also for all the events which attest
to progress on the path to unity. Besides theological dialogue, mention should
be made of other forms of encounter, common prayer and practical cooperation.
Pope Paul VI strongly encouraged this process by his visit to the headquarters
of the World Council of Churches in Geneva
on 10 June 1969,
and by his many meetings with representatives of various Churches and Ecclesial
Communities. Such contacts greatly help to improve mutual knowledge and to
increase Christian fraternity.
Pope John Paul I, during
his very brief Pontificate, expressed the desire to continue on this
path.124 The Lord has enabled me to carry on this work. In addition to
important ecumenical meetings held in Rome,
a significant part of my Pastoral Visits is regularly devoted to fostering
Christian unity. Some of my journeys have a precise ecumenical
"priority", especially in countries where the Catholic communities
constitute a minority with respect to the post-Reformation communities or where
the latter represent a considerable portion of the believers in Christ in a
given society.
72.
This is true above all for the European countries, in which these divisions
first appeared, and for North America. In this
regard, without wishing to minimize the other visits, I would especially
mention those within Europe which took me twice to Germany, in November 1980
and in April-May 1987; to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Wales) in
May-June 1982; to Switzerland in June 1984; and to the Scandinavian and Nordic
countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland) in June 1989. In an
atmosphere of joy, mutual respect, Christian solidarity and prayer I met so
very many brothers and sisters, all making a committed effort to be faithful to
the Gospel. Seeing all this has been for me a great source of encouragement. We
experienced the Lord's presence among us.
In this respect I would
like to mention one demonstration dictated by fraternal charity and marked by deep
clarity of faith which made a profound impression on me. I am speaking of the
Eucharistic celebrations at which I presided in Finland and Sweden during
my journey to the Scandinavian and Nordic countries. At Communion time, the
Lutheran Bishops approached the celebrant. They wished, by means of an agreed
gesture, to demonstrate their desire for that time when we, Catholics and
Lutherans, will be able to share the same Eucharist, and they wished to receive
the celebrant's blessing. With love I blessed them. The same gesture, so rich
in meaning, was repeated in Rome
at the Mass at which I presided in Piazza Farnese, on
the sixth centenary of the canonization of Saint Birgitta
of Sweden,
on 6 October 1991.
I have encountered similar
sentiments on the other side of the ocean also: in Canada, in September 1984; and
particularly in September 1987 in the United States, where one notices a
great ecumenical openness. This was the case, to give one example, of the
ecumenical meeting held at Columbia,
South Carolina on 11 September 1987. The very
fact that such meetings regularly take place between the Pope and these
brothers and sisters whose Churches and Ecclesial Communities originate in the
Reformation is important in itself. I am deeply grateful for the warm reception
which I have received both from the leaders of the various Communities and from
the Communities as a whole. From this standpoint, I consider significant the
ecumenical celebration of the Word held in Columbia on the theme of the family.
73.
It is also a source of great joy to observe how in the postconciliar
period and in the local Churches many programmes and activities on behalf of
Christian unity are in place, programmes and activities which have a
stimulating effect at the level of Episcopal Conferences, individual Dioceses
and parishes, and at the level of the various ecclesial organizations and
movements.
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