wfn.org | National Council of Churches looks to Benedict For Continued

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Commitment to Christian Unity

National Council of Churches looks to Benedict
For Continued Commitment to Christian Unity

NEW YORK, April 21 -- The National Council of Churches has expressed 
appreciation for Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that Christian unity will 
be a central goal of his pontificate.

"We pray that in the years of Benedict's papacy, we in the United States 
will find deeper and richer ways to live out our common commitment to 
Christ's own prayer that we 'may all be one,'" said Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, 
Jr., president of the NCC.

The NCC is composed of 36 Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant and historic 
African American communions representing 45 million people in the U.S. 
Bishop Hoyt is the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church bishop of Louisiana 
and Mississippi.

Hoyt also praised Benedict as a scholarly theologian whose close 
relationship with the late Pope John Paul II encourages the view that "he 
will follow in the broad lines of the most recent pontificate, taking 
vigorous leadership in applying the teachings of the Second Vatican Council 
in our changing world."

The new pope's decision to take the name Benedict suggests an affinity with 
the last pope of that name, Benedict XV (1914-1922), Hoyt said. Benedict XV 
opposed war and "supported research in the ancient theological heritage of 
the Eastern Churches and had a notable reputation for a positive 
relationship with the Muslim-majority countries of the Eastern
Mediterranean."

During the new pontificate, "we anticipate rich and fruitful partnerships 
of shared commitment to the urgent need for peace and care for those most 
in need," Hoyt said.

The full text of the statement follows:

The member communions of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in 
the USA, which come from the Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant traditions, 
including the Historic Black and Peace traditions, rejoice with the 
Christians of the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches in the gift of their 
new pope, Benedict XVI. We anticipate that, having worked for so many years 
as a close colleague of Pope John Paul II, the new pope will follow in the 
broad lines of the most recent pontificate, taking vigorous leadership in 
applying the teachings of the Second Vatican Council in our changing world. 
As a scholar himself, we expect in him a deep commitment to the 
intellectual heritage of the Church.

The new pontiff's choice of the name Benedict XVI is suggestive of a few 
special emphases in the present pontificate. In taking the name of 
Benedict, we look, among other places, to the heritage of Benedict XV for 
possible indicators of the present pope's intentions and hopes.

Pope Benedict XV was a major figure of the public world, calling for and 
working for peace during the very troubled years of World War I. He was a 
strong leader in offering aid and nurture to those in material need because 
of armed conflict. Benedict XV was a patron of missions, supported research 
in the ancient theological heritage of the Eastern Churches and had a 
notable reputation for a positive relationship with the Muslim-majority 
countries of the Eastern Mediterranean. He also gave encouragement to 
ecumenism, finding what was then a new endeavor to be a worthy one, despite 
his conviction that, at that time, the Catholic Church could not 
participate. It is hard to imagine how the Faith and Order movement, for 
instance, could have matured as it has without the spiritual support it 
received from such insightful leaders as Pope Benedict XV.

Taking hints from the new pontiff's own work in the Church as theologian 
and his choice of his new name, Benedict XVI, we anticipate rich and 
fruitful partnerships of shared commitment to the urgent need for peace and 
care for those most in need. We look to a continued commitment to 
ecumenical research and careful, patient theological inquiry into the faith 
proclaimed in the ancient creeds of the Church and attested to by the many 
Christian communities that do not use the words of the ancient Councils but 
articulate this same faith in diverse ways. We look to shared insights as 
Christians seek together to understand the implications of that faith for 
the Church today.

We pray that in the years of Benedict XVI's papacy, we in the United States 
will find deeper and richer ways to live out our common commitment to 
Christ's own prayer that we "may all be one" (John 17:21). Indeed, we note 
with great appreciation His Holiness' statement that a central goal of his 
papacy will be the unity of all Christians.

-end-

Contact: NCC News, Philip E.  Jenks, 212-870-2252