Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

Transcription

1 Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity N. 141 (2013/I) TABLE OF CONTENTS N. 146 (2015/II) POPE FRANCIS AND ECUMENISM (July-December 2015) Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic (25 30 November 2015)... 1 Visit of Pope Francis to the Evangelical-Lutheran Community in Rome (15 November 2015)... 2 Other statements by Pope Francis... 5 VISIT TO THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE BY A DELEGATION OF THE HOLY SEE FOR THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW (29 November 1 December 2015) Word of Presentation by Cardinal Kurt Koch... 8 Message of Pope Francis to His Holiness Bartholomew I (30 November 2015)... 8 Greeting of His Holiness Bartholomew I to the Holy See Delegation (30 November 2015)... 9 ECUMENICAL NEWS Catholics and Pentecostals: Sixth Round of Conversations, Rome, Italy (10-17 July 2015) Anglican and Oriental Orthodox Churches reach historic agreements on the incarnation of Christ and procession of the Holy Spirit (9 October 2015) COMMISSION FOR RELIGIOUS RELATIONS WITH THE JEWS... The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable (Rom 11:29.) A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50 th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate (N 4) Press Conference for Presentation of Document, Holy See Press Office, Vatican City (10 December 2015) Presentation by Cardinal Kurt Koch Intervention of Fr Norbert Hofmann, SDB Remarks of Rabbi David Rosen Reflections of Dr Edward Kessler Complete text of the Document: The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable (Rom 11:29). A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50 th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate (N 4) DOCUMENTATION SUPPLEMENT Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Letter of the PCPCU s Secretary to the Ecumenical Commissions of Episcopal Conferences and of Synods of Oriental Catholic Churches Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity OFFICE: Via della Conciliazione Rome (Italy) Tel: (Editorial Office) Fax: infoservice@christianunity.va

2 EDITOR Reverend Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP ADDRESS FOR ALL CORRESPONDENCE Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity VA Vatican City Back copies: 7 (US$9) The material in this Information Service is not copyright, but we would appreciate a copy of any publication which includes extensive quotation from it.

3 POPE FRANCIS AND ECUMENISM July December 2015 APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE FRANCIS TO KENYA, UGANDA AND THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC November 2015 HOLY MASS FOR THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA Area of the Catholic Shrine of the Martyrs of Namugongo (Uganda) 28 November 2015 On Saturday morning, 28 November, Pope Francis visited the Anglican and Catholic shrines in Namugongo, where the 24 Uganda martyrs were killed between 1885 and Following his visit to the Anglican shrine in the morning, the Pope celebrated Mass in memory of the martyrs in the large natural park that surrounds the Catholic shrine. The following is an excerpt of the English translation of the homily which the Holy Father gave in Italian. ( ) You shall receive the power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). From the age of the Apostles to our own day, a great cloud of witnesses has been raised up to proclaim Jesus and show forth the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, we recall with gratitude the sacrifice of the Uganda martyrs, whose witness of love for Christ and his Church has truly gone to the end of the earth. We remember also the Anglican martyrs whose deaths for Christ testify to the ecumenism of blood. All these witnesses nurtured the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives and freely gave testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ, even at the cost of their lives, many at such a young age ( ). ORE, 4 December 2015 MEETING WITH EVANGELICAL COMMUNITIES Faculty of Evangelical Theology (FATEB), Bangui 29 November 2015 On Sunday afternoon, 29 November, after having lunch with the bishops of the Central African Republic, the Pope met with Evangelical communities at the headquarters of the Faculty of Evangelical Theology of Bangui. The following is the English text of the Holy Father s discourse, which he gave in Italian. * Sources of the texts are designated as follows: OR: L Osservatore Romano, daily edition in Italian; ORE: L Osservatore Romano, weekly edition in English. If texts come from sources other than L Osservatore Romano, this will be noted. When translation is undertaken by the Information Service it is indicated by the abbreviation: IS. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am happy to be able to meet you in this Faculty of Evangelical Theology. I thank the Dean of the Faculty and the President of the Evangelical Alliance of Central Africa for their kind words of welcome. With fraternal affection I greet each of you and, through you, all the members of your communities. All of us are here in the service of the risen Lord who assembles us today; and, by virtue of the common baptism we have received, we are sent to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to men and women of this beloved country of Central Africa. For all too long, your people have experienced troubles and violence, resulting in great suffering. This makes the proclamation of the Gospel all the more necessary and urgent. For it is Christ s own flesh which suffers in his dearest sons and daughters: the poorest of his people, the infirm, the elderly, the abandoned, children without parents or left to themselves without guidance and education. There are also those who have been scarred in soul or body by hatred and violence, those whom war has deprived of everything: work, home and loved ones. God makes no distinctions between those who suffer. I have often called this the ecumenism of blood. All our communities suffer indiscriminately as a result of injustice and the blind hatred unleashed by the devil. Here I wish to express my closeness and solidarity to Pastor Nicholas, whose home was recently ransacked and set on fire, as was the meeting-place of his community. In these difficult circumstances, the Lord keeps asking us to demonstrate to everyone his tenderness, compassion and mercy. This shared suffering and shared mission are a providential opportunity for us to advance together on the path of unity; they are also an indispensable spiritual aid. How could the Father refuse the grace of unity, albeit still imperfect, to his children who suffer together and, in different situations, join in serving their brothers and sisters? Dear brothers and sisters, the lack of unity among Christians is a scandal, above all because it is contrary to God s will. It is also a scandal when we consider the hatred and violence which are tearing humanity apart, and the many forms of opposition which the Gospel of Christ encounters. I appreciate the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation existing between the Christians of your country, and I encourage you to continue on this path of common service in charity. It is a witness to Christ which builds up unity. With increasing intensity and courage, may you add to perseverance and charity, a commitment to prayer and common reflection, as you seek to achieve 1

4 greater mutual understanding, trust and friendship in view of that full communion for which we firmly hope. I assure you of my prayerful support along the path of fraternal charity, reconciliation and mercy, a path which is long, yet full of joy and hope. I ask the Lord Jesus to bless all of you! May he bless your communities, and our Church as well! I ask you to pray for me. Thank you very much. ORE, 4 December 2015 VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN COMMUNITY IN ROME 15 November 2015 The Holy Father paid a visit to Christuskirche parish on Sunday evening, 15 November. Before the common prayer, Pope Francis responded off the cuff to the questions of three members of the Evangelical Lutheran community of Rome. CONVERSATION OF THE POPE WITH THE COMMUNITY Julius a nine-year-old boy, asked him: What do you like most about being Pope? The answer is simple. If I were to ask you what you like most about a meal, you would say cake, the dessert! Wouldn t you? But you have to eat everything. Quite honestly what I like is being a pastor, being a parish priest. I do not like office work. I don t like these tasks. I don t like giving official interviews this one is not official, it s comfortable! but I have to give them. Thus, what do I like best? Being a parish priest. Once, when I was rector of the faculty of theology, I was a priest in the parish next to the faculty, and you know, I liked teaching the Catechism to the children and saying Mass on Sunday with the children. There were 250 children, more or less; it was difficult for all of them to keep quiet, it was difficult. Dialoguing with children... I like this. You are a child and perhaps you will understand me. You are concrete, you do not ask theoretical, far-fetched questions: Why is this so? Because.... It is just that I like being a parish priest and, as a priest what I like best is being with children, talking with them, and one learns so much. One learns so much. I like being Pope in the style of a parish priest. Service. I like it in the sense that I feel good, when I visit the sick, when I talk with people who are somewhat in despair, sad. I really love going to prisons, but not those that put me in jail! To talk with the inmates... Perhaps you will understand what I am saying every time I enter a prison, I ask myself: Why them and not me?. And there I feel the salvation of Jesus Christ, the love of Jesus Christ for me. Because it is He who saved me. I am no less a sinner than they are, but the Lord took me by the hand. I feel this too. And when I go to a prison I am happy. Being Pope is being a bishop, being a priest, being a pastor. If a Pope is not a bishop, if a Pope is not a 2 priest, if he is not a pastor, he may be a very intelligent, very important person, he may have a great deal of influence in society, but I think I think! that in his heart he is not happy. I don t know if I have responded to what you wanted to know. Then Anke de Bernardinis, the wife of a Roman Catholic, expressed sorrow at not being able to partake together in the Lord s Supper and asked: What more can we do to reach communion on this point?. Thank you, Ma am. Regarding the question on sharing the Lord s Supper, it is not easy for me to answer you, especially in front of a theologian like Cardinal Kasper! I m afraid! I think the Lord gave us [the answer] when he gave us this command: Do this in memory of me. And when we share in, remember and emulate the Lord s Supper, we do the same thing that the Lord Jesus did. And the Lord s Supper will be, the final banquet will there be in the New Jerusalem, but this will be the last. Instead on the journey, I wonder and I don t know how to answer, but I am making your question my own I ask myself: Is sharing the Lord s Supper the end of a journey or is it the viaticum for walking together? I leave the question to the theologians, to those who understand. It is true that in a certain sense sharing is saying that there are no differences between us, that we have the same doctrine I underline the word, a difficult word to understand but I ask myself: don t we have the same Baptism? And if we have the same Baptism, we have to walk together. You are a witness to an even profound journey because it is a conjugal journey, truly a family journey, of human love and of shared faith. We have the same Baptism. When you feel you are a sinner I too feel I am quite a sinner when your husband feels he is a sinner, you go before the Lord and ask forgiveness; your husband does the same and goes to the priest and requests absolution. They are ways of keeping Baptism alive. When you pray together, that Baptism grows, it becomes strong; when you teach your children who Jesus is, why Jesus came, what Jesus did, you do the same, whether in Lutheran or Catholic terms, but it is the same. The question: and the Supper? There are questions to which only if one is honest with oneself and with the few theological lights that I have, one must respond the same, you see. This is my Body, this is my Blood, said the Lord, do this in memory of me, and this is a viaticum which helps us to journey. I had a great friendship with an Episcopalian bishop, 48 years old, married with two children, and he had this concern: a Catholic wife, Catholic children, and he a bishop. He accompanied his wife and children to Mass on Sundays and then went to worship with his community. It was a step of participating in the Lord s Supper. Then he passed on, the Lord called him, a just man. I respond to your question only with a question: how can I participate with my husband, so that the Lord s Supper may accompany me on my path? It is a problem to which each person must respond. A pastor friend of mine

5 said to me: We believe that the Lord is present there. He is present. You believe that the Lord is present. So what is the difference? Well, there are explanations, interpretations.... Life is greater than explanations and interpretations. Always refer to Baptism: One faith, one baptism, one Lord, as Paul tells us, and take the outcome from there. I would never dare give permission to do this because I do not have the authority. One Baptism, one Lord, one faith. Speak with the Lord and go forward. I do not dare say more. Lastly, Gertrud Wiedmer, a Swiss woman and treasurer of the community, presented a project which aids refugees and asked the Pope: What can we do, as Christians, so that people do not give up or build new walls? You, being Swiss and being the treasurer, hold all the power in your hands! Service... Misery... You said this word: misery. Two things come to mind to say: The first, walls. Man, from the first moment if we read Scripture is a great builder of walls that separate man from God. In the first pages of Genesis we see this. There is an illusion behind human walls, the illusion of becoming like God. I think the myth, to put it in technical terms, or the account of the Tower of Babel, is really the attitude of men and women who build walls, because to build a wall is to say: We are powerful, you are outside. But in saying we are powerful and you are outside there is the arrogance of power and the attitude described in the first pages of Genesis: you will be like God (Gen 3:5). To build a wall is to exclude, it goes along this line. The temptation is: if you eat this fruit, you will be like God. In regard to the Tower of Babel perhaps you have heard me say this, because I repeat it, but it is so vivid there is a midrash written around 1200, in the time of Thomas Aquinas, of Maimonides, more or less in that time, by a Jewish rabbi who, to his faithful in the Synagogue, explained the construction of the Tower of Babel, where the power of man was felt. This construction was very difficult, because mud bricks had to be made and there was not always water nearby, straw had to be found, the mixture had to be made, then cut, then drained, then dried, then baked in the oven and at the end taken out, and the workers moved them... If one of these bricks fell it was a catastrophe because they were valuable, they were expensive, costly. If a worker fell, however, nothing happened! Walls always exclude, they prefer power in this case the power of money because the bricks were costly, or the tower that they hoped would reach heaven and thus they always exclude humanity. A wall is a monument to exclusion. In us too, in our interior life, how often do riches, vanity, pride become a wall before the Lord, they distance us from the Lord. Building walls. To me, the words that come to me now, rather spontaneously, are those of Jesus: what can we do so as not to build walls? Service. Play the part of the least. Wash feet. He set the example for you. Service to others, service to brothers, to sisters, 3 service to the neediest. With this work of supporting 80 young mothers you do not build walls, you serve. Human selfishness seeks to defend itself, to defend one s own power, one s own selfishness, but in such defense one distances oneself from the source of wealth. In the end walls are like suicide, they close you off. It is an awful thing to have a closed heart. And today we see it, the tragedy... My brother Pastor mentioned Paris today: closed hearts. Even the name of God is used to close hearts. You asked me: We try to be of help against misery, but we also know that assistance is limited. What can we do as Christians, so that people do not give up or build new walls?. Speak clearly, pray because prayer is powerful and serve. One day, they asked Mother Teresa of Calcutta a question: What s the use of the effort you make just to allow these people, who are three or four days from death, to die with dignity?. It is a drop of water in the ocean, but after this, the ocean is no longer the same. And, always with service, the walls fall down by themselves; but our selfishness, our desire for power always seeks to build them. I don t know, this is what came to my mind to say. Thank you. IMPROVISED HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER After the Gospel Reading, the Pope gave the homily extemporaneously in Italian. The following is a translation. Jesus, during his life, made many choices. The one which we heard about today will be the final choice. Jesus made many choices: the first disciples, the sick whom he healed, the crowd that followed him... they followed him to listen because he spoke as one with authority, not like the doctors of the law who were strutting about; but we are able to read who these people were two chapters earlier. In Matthew chapter 23, did they not see authenticity in him; and those people followed him. Jesus made choices and even corrected with love. When the disciples made mistakes in their method: Shall we make fire come from the sky...? You do not know what your spirit is. Or when the mother of James and John went to ask the Lord: Lord, I d like to ask you a favour, that my two sons, at the time of your Kingdom, that one be at your right, the other at your left.... And he corrected these things: he always guided, accompanied. Even after the Resurrection there is so much tenderness in seeing how Jesus chooses the right moment, chooses people, he doesn t frighten. Let us consider the journey to Emmaus, how he accompanied [the two disciples]. They were supposed to go to Jerusalem; but they flee from Jerusalem out of fear, and he goes with them, he accompanies them. Then he shows himself, he reassures them. It is one of Jesus choices. Then the great choice which always touches me, when the son s wedding feast is being prepared, he says: go to the crossroads and bring here the blind, the deaf, the lame.... The good and the bad! Jesus always chooses. Then the choice of the lost sheep. He does not make a financial calculation: I have 99, I have lost one.... No.

6 But the final choice will be the definitive one. And what questions will the Lord ask us on that day: Did you go to Mass? Did you do a good catechesis?. No, the questions will be about the poor, because poverty is at the centre of the Gospel. He who was rich made himself poor to enrich us with his poverty. He did not retain the privilege of being like God but abased himself, humiliated himself, unto death on the Cross (cf. Phil 2:6-8). It is the choice of service. Is Jesus God? It is true. Is he the Lord? It is true. But he is a servant, and he will make the choice on that basis. You, have you used your life for yourself or to serve? To protect yourself from others with walls or to welcome them with love? And this will be Jesus final choice. This page of the Gospel tells us so much about the Lord. I can ask myself the question: which side are we on, Lutherans and Catholics, the left or the right? There have been bad times between us... Think of the persecutions between us! with the same Baptism! Think of the many burned alive. We have to ask each other forgiveness for this, for the scandal of division, because we all, Lutherans and Catholics, are in this choice, not in other choices, in this choice, the choice of service as he showed us by being a servant, the servant of the Lord. I would like, to finish, seeing the Lord as the servant who serves, I would like to ask him to be the servant of unity, to help us to walk together. Today we have prayed together. Praying together, working together for the poor, for the needy; loving one another together, with the true love of brothers and sisters. But Father, we are different, because our dogmatic books say one thing and yours say another. But one of your great [exponents] once said that there is a time for reconciled diversity. Let us ask for this grace today, the grace of this diversity reconciled in the Lord, in the Servant of Yaweh, of that God who came among us to serve and not to be served. I thank you very much for this fraternal hospitality. Thank you. PREPARED ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER The following is the text of the address that the Pope had prepared for the occasion. Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Today s meeting allows us to share a moment of fraternal prayer, and also gives us the opportunity to reflect on our relationship and on the ecumenical situation in general. Let us begin by thanking the Lord for the numerous steps we have taken towards unity, even while we are aware that there is still a long path ahead. Today, the ecumenical movement has become a fundamental element of the life of our communities. For many people, of different age groups, progress in the field of ecumenism has become an objective to which it is worthwhile committing oneself permanently. Many men and women are willing to 4 work together in order to overcome the divisions that are still present among us Christians. A very lively ecumenism is being experienced on a local, regional and global level. Even outside of our communities, men and women today are looking for an authentically lived faith. And this search is also the main reason for ecumenical progress. If ecumenism is to have a future, that future cannot but start from the concerns and problems of people today. First, it is important to recognize each other as a community of believers in search of the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, knowing well that in this way they will receive all the rest (cf. Mt 6:33). On this common journey we can learn from each other, support and encourage each other, and experience the gifts of a faith lived as a wealth and source of strength. The Gospel that we listened to once again proposes to us the parable of the Last Judgment (cf. Mt 25:31-46). It reminds us that we will, indeed, be judged on our genuine closeness to our brother in his actual situation, in his condition. This requires the ability to express consideration, compassion, sharing and service. This is a way of being Church, as was presented in the opening words of the Second Vatican Council s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes: The joy and the hope, the grief and the anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well (n. 1). This is also the vocation and ecumenical mission of Catholics, Lutherans and all Christians: a joint commitment in the service of charity, especially for the smallest and poorest of people, rendering credible our affiliation to Christ. Otherwise, it continues to be compromised by the divisions and conflicts between the Churches and between believers. Let us assume together the joy and toils of the diakonia of charity through greater ecumenical cooperation. Let us do this with children and the elderly who are most in need, with refugees, and with all those who need care and support. Another very important aspect of our path to unity is the recovery of all the richness of common prayer, of liturgical texts and the various forms of worship; the ecumenical celebrations of the Word, such as, for example, the ecumenical Liturgy of the Hours. Communal reading of the Bible belongs in a specific way to the sphere of spiritual ecumenism. I recall in particular the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Ecumenical Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which takes place on 1 September each year, and of other times your community diligently has organized along with various ecumenical partners. In addition, enlightened by our common Baptism, Lutherans and Catholics are called to continue theological dialogue. After 50 years of ecumenical dialogue, the ground covered shows that what unites us is already much more than what still divides us. We are constantly searching for a deeper

7 knowledge of divine truth. The experience of recent decades shows us that we must persevere in our efforts, to discover new aspects of divine revelation together and to bear witness to it together, according to the will of the Lord. With this trust in dialogue we shall be able to deepen the concerns of the Church, the Eucharist and Ministry in particular. I also believe it is important that the Catholic Church courageously carry forward a careful and honest reevaluation of the intentions of the Reformation and of the figure of Martin Luther, in the sense of Ecclesia semper reformanda, in the broad wake traced by the Councils, as well by men and women, enlivened by the light and power of the Holy Spirit. The recent document of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission on Unity, entitled From Conflict to Communion Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017, has addressed and carried out this reflection in a promising manner. Therefore, ecumenism between Catholics and Lutherans, which is a fundamental condition for bearing a convincing witness to our faith in Christ before the people of our time, is based on these pillars: common prayer, diaconal sharing with the poor, and theological dialogue. Soon the Jubilee Year of Mercy will begin. I invite you to join us on this journey, in ecumenical communion, in Rome and in all churches and local communities, so that it may be a time for everyone to rediscover the mercy of God and the beauty of love for brothers and sisters. May the Lord bless us and keep us in his peace. ORE, 20 November 2015 OTHER STATEMENTS BY POPE FRANCIS ADDRESS TO MEMBERS OF THE RENEWAL IN THE HOLY SPIRIT 3 July 2015 On Friday afternoon, 3 July, in St Peter s Square, the Holy Father met with members of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit, who had come to Rome for their 38 th annual Convention. The following is an excerpt of the Pope s address, which was given in Italian. Dear Brothers and Sisters, ( ) There is another strong sign of the Spirit in Charismatic Renewal: the search for unity of the Body of Christ. You, Charismatics, have a special grace to pray and work for Christian unity, so that the current of grace may pass through all Christian Churches. Christian unity is the work of the Holy Spirit and we must pray together spiritual ecumenism, the ecumenism of prayer. But, Father, can I pray with an Evangelical, with an Orthodox, with a Lutheran? You must, you must! You have received the same Baptism. We have all received the same Baptism; we are all going on Jesus path, we want Jesus. We have all made these divisions in history, for so many reasons, 5 but not good ones. But now, in fact, is the time in which the Spirit makes us think that these divisions are not good, that these divisions are a counter-testimony, and we must do everything in order to journey together: spiritual ecumenism, the ecumenism of prayer, the ecumenism of work, but of charity at the same time; the ecumenism of reading the Bible together... To go together towards unity. But Father, do we have to sign a document for this? Let yourself be carried forward by the Holy Spirit: pray, work, love and then the Spirit will do the rest!. This current of grace passes through all Christian Confessions, all of us who believe in Christ unity first of all in prayer. The work for Christian unity begins with prayer. Pray together. Unity, for the blood of today s martyrs makes us one. There is the ecumenism of blood. We know that when those who hate Jesus Christ kill a Christian, before killing him, they do not ask him: Are you a Lutheran, are you an Orthodox, are you an Evangelical, are you a Baptist, are you a Methodist? You are Christian! And they sever the head. They are not confused; they know there is a root there, which gives life to all of us and which is called Jesus Christ, and that it is the Holy Spirit who leads us to unity! Those who hate Jesus Christ, led by the Evil One, do not confuse one with the other. They know and therefore kill without asking questions. And this is something that I entrust to you, perhaps I have already told you this, but it is a true story. It is a true story. In Hamburg, a city of Germany, there was a parish priest who studied the writings to carry forward the cause for the beatification of a priest killed by Nazis, guillotined. The reason: he taught children the catechism. And, as he studied, he discovered that after the priest, five minutes later, a Lutheran pastor was guillotined for the same reason. And the blood of both was mixed: both were martyrs, both were martyrs. It is the ecumenism of blood. If the enemy unites us in death, who are we to be divided in life? Let us allow the Spirit to enter, let us pray to go forward all together. But there are differences!. Let us leave them aside; let us walk with what we have in common, which is enough: there is the Holy Trinity; there is Baptism. Let us go forward in the strength of the Holy Spirit. A few months ago, there were those 23 Egyptians who were also beheaded on the beach in Libya, who in that moment said Jesus name. But they were not Catholics.... But they were Christians, they are brothers, they are our martyrs! the ecumenism of blood. Fifty years ago, at the canonization of the young martyrs of Uganda, Blessed Paul VI made reference to the fact that their Anglican companion catechists had also poured out their blood for the same reason; they were Christians, they were martyrs. Excuse me, do not be scandalized, they are our martyrs! Because they gave their life for Christ and this is the ecumenism of blood pray, remembering our common martyrs.

8 Unity in working together for the poor and the needy, who are also in need of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It would be so beautiful to organize seminars of life in the Spirit, together with other Christian Charismatic realities, for brothers and sisters who live on the street: they too have the Spirit within who impels them, so that someone will open wide the door from the outside. ORE, 31 July 2015 MESSAGE TO THE TAIZÉ COMMUNITY 16 August 2015 Choose to love : with these words of Frère Roger, the Pope asked the Taizé Community to continue to nurture the message of their Founder. The community is celebrating the 75 th anniversary of its founding as well as the centenary of the birth and 10-year anniversary of the death of Frère Roger, its Founder. On this occasion, the Pope sent a message to Frère Aloïs and to the entire Community. The following is a translation of the message which was written in French. To Frère Aloïs and to the Taizé Community In this year in which the Taizé Community is celebrating three anniversaries, the 75 th of its founding, the 100 th of Br Roger s birth, and the 10 th of his death, I join in your activity of giving thanks to God, He who always creates new faithful witnesses until the end. I have entrusted to my Venerable Brother Cardinal Kurt Koch the task of imparting to you and to all members of your Community the assurance of my affection. As Pope Benedict XVI said to young people, on the occasion of the European Meeting organized by the Taizé Community of Rome in 2012, Br Roger was a tireless witness to the Gospel of peace and reconciliation, ardently committed to an ecumenism of holiness (Speech of 29 December 2012). It was this fire that urged him to found a community which can be considered a true parable of communion which, up to today, has played such an important role in building bridges of fraternity among Christians. In seeking with passion the unity of the Church, Body of Christ, Br Roger opened himself up to the treasures safeguarded in the different Christian traditions without, however, causing a rupture with his Protestant origin. With the perseverance by which he gave proof during his long life, he helped to modify the relations between still distant Christians, marking for many a path of reconciliation. Nourished by Holy Scripture, Br Roger also took inspiration from the Holy Fathers of the Church, he drew from Christian sources and knew how to render them current among the young. Br Roger understood the younger generations; he had confidence in them. He made Taizé a meeting place where the youth of the whole world felt respected and accompanied in their spiritual search. 6 Br Roger loved the poor, the disowned, who seemingly counted for nothing. He showed, with his existence and with that of his brothers, that prayer goes hand in hand with human solidarity. I give thanks to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the gift of Br Roger s life, up to his violent death. May the Taizé Community always maintain the passion of the witness he bore to Christ Risen and the appeal that he ceaselessly renewed to choose to love. From the Vatican, 16 August 2015 FRANCISCUS PP ORE, 21 August 2015 MESSAGE TO THE SYNOD OF THE WALDENSIAN METHODIST CHURCH 24 August 2015 Torre Pellice, Turin (Italy) To His Excellency Monsignor Pier Giorgio Debernardi His Holiness assures the participants in the Waldensian-Methodist Synod of his spiritual closeness. The Pope promises a fervent remembrance in his prayers, that the Lord may grant to all Christians the joy of journeying with sincerity of heart toward full communion, in order to bear witness to Jesus Christ and to His Gospel, working together in service to humanity, especially in defence of the dignity of the human person, in the promotion of justice and peace, and in giving a common response to the suffering that afflicts so many people, especially the poor and the weak. Cardinal Pietro Parolin Secretary of State of His Holiness ends_greetings_to_waldensian_synod/ TO THE CATHOLICOS PATRIARCH OF THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST 21 September 2015 Solidarity with those who suffer because of the tragic situation in the Middle East, especially our Christian brothers and sisters and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. Pope Francis expressed this in a message sent to the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Gewargis III, who was elected on 16 September and succeeded Mar Dinkha IV, who died on 26 March. The following is the text of the Pope's message, sent on Monday 21 September. His Holiness Mar Gewargis III Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East I received with joy the news of the election of Your Holiness as Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. I gladly extend to you and to the

9 clergy and faithful of the Assyrian Church of the East my good wishes and prayerful solidarity, asking the Holy Spirit to bestow his abundant blessings upon your lofty ministry. It is my prayer that Your Holiness may be an inspirational pastor for the flock entrusted to your care and an untiring builder of peace and harmony, serving the common good and the good of the entire Middle East. I join your Holiness in prayer and solidarity with all who suffer because of the tragic situation in the Middle East, especially our Christian brothers and sisters and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. With you, I ask the Lord to grant them strength so that they may persevere in their Christian witness. In expressing gratitude to Almighty God for the bonds of fraternity between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, I hope and pray that our continuing friendship and dialogue may be further developed and deepened. May our heavenly Father fill Your Holiness with peace and strength for the noble task that awaits you, FRANCISCUS PP ORE, 9 October 2015 POPE S MESSAGE ON THE OCCASION OF THE SOPHIA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE HONORARY DOCTORATE TO ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW I 26 October 2015 To His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Betori Archbishop of Florence Grand Chancellor of the Sophia University Institute On the occasion of the Conferral of the Honorary Doctorate in the Culture of Unity to His Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, by the Sophia University Institute, I wish to assure you of my spiritual closeness and send my warmest greetings to all those present. I send special greetings to my beloved brother Bartholomew, with whom I renew sentiments of profound and heartfelt appreciation. I am pleased with this award which, besides being a rightful recognition of his commitment to the promotion of the culture of unity, contributes favorably to the common journey of our churches towards full and visible unity, to which we tend with dedication and perseverance. I wish that the Sophia University Institute, following the charism of the Focolare Movement and remaining open to the action of the Spirit, may continue to be a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions. With the assurance of my prayers and, asking you to pray for me, I impart my blessing to all those present. FRANCISCUS PP e_sends_message_as_patriarc_receives_honorary_doct orate/ APPEAL OF THE POPE FOR THE WORLD S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS ON THE OCCASION OF THE GLOBAL CHRISTIAN FORUM 2-4 November 2015 Tirana, Albania To His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity I extend greetings to you and all those participating in the Global Christian Forum Consultation, to be held in Tirana from 2 to 4 November 2015, as you reflect on the theme Discrimination, persecution, martyrdom: following Christ together. In a particular way, I wish to greet our brothers and sisters of different Christian traditions who represent communities suffering for their profession of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. I think with great sadness of the escalating discrimination and persecution against Christians in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and elsewhere throughout the world. Your gathering shows that, as Christians, we are not indifferent to our suffering brothers and sisters. In various parts of the world, the witness to Christ, even to the shedding of blood, has become a shared experience of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals, which is deeper and stronger than the differences which still separate our Churches and Ecclesial Communities. The communio martyrum is the greatest sign of our journeying together. At the same time, your gathering will give voice to the victims of such injustice and violence, and seek to show the path that will lead the human family out of this tragic situation. With these sentiments, I assure you of my spiritual closeness. May the martyrs of today, belonging to many Christian traditions, help us to understand that all the baptised are members of the same Body of Christ, his Church (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-30). Let us see this profound truth as a call to persevere on our ecumenical journey towards full and visible communion, growing more and more in love and mutual understanding. FRANCISCUS PP ORE, 6 November

10 VISIT TO THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE BY A DELEGATION OF THE HOLY SEE FOR THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW 29 November 1 December 2015 Within the context of the traditional exchange of visits for the respective Feasts of the Holy Patrons, Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, led a delegation on 29 November to Istanbul for the feast of St Andrew accompanied by Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Dicastery and Msgr. Andrea Palmieri, Undersecretary. The Cardinal took part at the celebration of Divine Liturgy presided by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, at the Patriarchal Church of St George in the Phanar. Then Cardinal Koch met with the Ecumenical Patriarch and members of the Synod Commission in charge of relations with the Catholic Church. The Cardinal delivered to the Patriarch the message of Pope Francis which was read at the end of the liturgy. We publish here below the brief word pronounced by Cardinal Koch upon delivering the message and the text of the message, followed by the greeting of the Ecumenical Patriarch to the delegation. WORD OF PRESENTATION BY CARDINAL KURT KOCH On the 7 th of December it will be 50 years since here in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in the Phanar and simultaneously in Saint Peter s Basilica in Rome the joint declaration of the highest representatives of our two Churches was read out, removing from memory and from the midst of the Church the reciprocal anathema of 1054, so that they can no longer represent an obstacle to rapprochement in charity (Tomos Agapis, N. 127). With this courageous act the poison of excommunication was drawn from the organism of the Church, and the symbol of schism was replaced by the symbol of love. This act has become the starting point for the ecumenical dialogue of charity and truth, and also for the beautiful custom that the sister churches of Constantinople and Rome make reciprocal visits on the occasion of the feast of their patron saints in order to celebrate the fraternal embrace between Peter and Andrew. Last year the Holy Father Pope Francis was present in person at your patronal feast. This year, I have in turn the honour entrusted to me by Pope Francis of participating in this feast in Constantinople together with a delegation from Rome, to celebrate with you and to glorify the Triune God. With great joy it is my privilege at the close of this magnificent Divine Liturgy to express my heartfelt greetings, to convey to you the blessings of the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, and to present his message addressed with deep affection to Your All Holiness, and to all who are gathered here today. MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS TO HIS HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW I To His Holiness Bartholomew Archbishop of Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarch Your Holiness, Beloved Brother in Christ, A year has passed since we celebrated together, in the Patriarchal Church in the Phanar, the feast of Saint 8 Andrew, the first-called Apostle and brother of Saint Peter. The occasion was a moment of grace which permitted me to renew and to deepen, in shared prayer and personal encounter, the bonds of friendship with you and with the Church over which you preside. It was with joy that I also experienced the vitality of a Church which unceasingly professes, celebrates and offers witness to faith in Jesus Christ, our one Lord and Saviour. I am pleased once again to send a delegation of the Holy See to the Patronal celebrations as a tangible sign of my fraternal affection and the spiritual closeness of the Church of Rome to Your Holiness, as well as to the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy, monks and all the faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In our profound communion of faith and charity, and grateful for all that God has accomplished for us, I recall the fiftieth anniversary on 7 December 2015 of the Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I which expressed the decision to remove from memory and from the midst of the Church the excommunications of The memory of the mutual sentences of excommunication, together with the offensive words, groundless reproaches, and reprehensible gestures on both sides, which accompanied the sad events of this period, represented for many centuries an obstacle to rapprochement in charity between Catholics and Orthodox. Attentive to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who prayed to the Father on the eve of his Passion that his disciples may be one (Jn 17:21), Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I consigned these painful memories to oblivion. Since then, the logic of antagonism, mistrust and hostility that had been symbolized by the mutual excommunications has been replaced by the logic of love and brotherhood, represented by our fraternal embrace. While not all differences between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were brought to an end, there now existed the conditions necessary to journey towards re-establishing the full communion of faith, fraternal accord and sacramental life which existed among them during the first thousand years of the life

11 of the Church (Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration, 7 December 1965). Having restored a relationship of love and fraternity, in a spirit of mutual trust, respect and charity, there is no longer any impediment to Eucharistic communion which cannot be overcome through prayer, the purification of hearts, dialogue and the affirmation of truth. Indeed, where there is love in the life of the Church, its source and fulfilment is always to be found in Eucharistic love. So too the symbol of the fraternal embrace finds its most profound truth in the embrace of peace exchanged in the Eucharistic celebration. In order to progress on our journey towards the full communion for which we long, we need continually to draw inspiration from the gesture of reconciliation and peace by our venerable predecessors Paul VI and Athenagoras I. At all levels and in every context of Church life, relations between Catholics and Orthodox must increasingly reflect the logic of love that leaves no room for the spirit of rivalry. Theological dialogue itself, sustained by mutual charity, must continue to examine carefully the questions which divide us, aiming always at deepening our shared understanding of revealed truth. Motivated by God s love, we must together offer the world a credible and effective witness to Christ s message of reconciliation and salvation. The world today has great need of reconciliation, particularly in light of so much blood which has been shed in recent terrorist attacks. May we accompany the victims with our prayers, and renew our commitment to lasting peace by promoting dialogue between religious traditions, for indifference and mutual ignorance can only lead to mistrust and unfortunately even conflict (Common Declaration, Jerusalem 2014). I wish to express my deep appreciation for Your Holiness s fervent commitment to the critical issue of care for creation, for which your sensitivity and awareness is an exemplary witness for Catholics. I believe that it is a hopeful sign for Catholics and Orthodox that we now celebrate together an annual Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1 September, following the longstanding practice of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Your Holiness, it is incumbent upon humanity to rediscover the mystery of mercy, the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness (Misericordiae Vultus, 2). For this reason I have called for an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, a favourable time to contemplate the Father s mercy revealed fully in his Son, Jesus Christ, and to become ourselves an effective sign of God s love through our mutual pardon and works of mercy. It is providential that the anniversary of that historic Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration concerning the removal of the excommunications of 1054 occurs on the eve of the Year of Mercy. Following Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, Catholics and Orthodox today must ask pardon of God and one another for divisions that Christians have 9 brought about in the Body of Christ. I ask you and all the faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to pray that this Extraordinary Jubilee may bear the spiritual fruits for which we yearn. I willingly assure you of my prayers for the events that your Church will celebrate in the year to come, especially the Pan-Orthodox Great Synod. May this important occasion for all the Orthodox Churches be a source of abundant blessings for the life of the Church. With fraternal affection in the Lord, I assure you of my spiritual closeness on the joyous feast of the Apostle Andrew, and I willingly exchange with Your Holiness an embrace of peace in the Lord Jesus. From the Vatican, 30 November 2015 FRANCISCUS PP. ORE, 4 December 2015 GREETING OF HIS HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW I TO THE HOLY SEE DELEGATION 30 November 2015 Your Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch and the honorable entourage of the official delegation of our sister and elder Church of Rome, Your Eminence Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, President of the Catholic Conference of Bishops in Germany, it is with profound love and particular honor that we greet your presence here as bearers of the fraternal charity and congratulatory wishes of His Holiness Pope Francis, our dearly beloved brother, to whom we express our fervent gratitude personally and on behalf of our most holy Church of Constantinople for the gracious participation once again of his Church, through your person, in this year s celebration of our thronal feast. It is with special joy and thanks that we recall the personal presence of His Holiness among us on this auspicious occasion last year, for which we once again express our fervent thanks; for we appreciate this presence as a manifestation of Christ s love, which according to the Apostle compels us (2 Cor 5:14), and as support and solidarity for our Church in the struggle to bear witness to the Gospel in the contemporary world. Today s thronal feast of our Church is in many ways a common feast for both of our Churches, of elder and new Rome alike. This is because our founders, the Apostles Peter and Andrew were brothers in the flesh but also because, in accordance with the holy Gospel reading that we heard during today s Divine Liturgy, they both encountered the Lord and acknowledged Him as the Messiah and Savior of the world. Since that time, for almost an entire millennium, the two Churches founded by their preaching and martyrdom journeyed in the same faith, united in the one chalice of life, sharing the same Fathers and teachers, honoring the same saints and in particular the Most-Holy Theotokos. It is this full