World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 21/01/2008 11:19:52 AM
POPE BENEDICT XVI AND WCC GENERAL SECRETARY SAMUEL KOBIA TO PRAY FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY IN ROME
Pope Benedict XVI and Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), along with high-level representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC, will meet in Rome on Friday, 25 January 2008, at the centennial of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
On Friday morning, the WCC general secretary will meet the Pope in a privateaudiencealong with members of the Joint Working Group ( http://www. oikoumene.org/?id=3618 )between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC. The group, a "think tank" advising the parent bodies on areas of common concern, is holding its annual plenary meeting in Rome from 21-26 January.
Pope Benedict XVI will preside at an ecumenical Vespers serviceat the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at 5:30 pm that same day. During the service, Kobia will bring greetings on behalf of the fellowship of 347 churches constituting the WCC.
The ecumenical service concludes the 18-25 January period during which the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed in the northern hemisphere, while in the global south the days around Pentecost are favoured. 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the week of prayer, which every year is celebrated by millions of Christians all over the world.
Christian Unity Award
An ecumenical award will be presented to the two bodies which, for 40 years have jointly prepared and promoted the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity ( http://www.va tican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ )(PCPCU) and the Faith and Order Commission ( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3606 )of the WCC.
The Paul Wattson Christian Unity Award will be presented by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement to Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the PCPCU; Rev. Dr John Gibaut, WCC director of Faith and Order; and his predecessor, Rev. Dr Thomas F. Best. The ceremony on Thursday, 24 January, 4:30 pm, at the Centro Pro Unione ( http://www.prounione.urbe.it/att-act/e_activities.h tml )includes a lecture by Kasper and an ecumenical service at which Gibaut will preach.
The award takes its name from one of the initiators of the first Octave of Prayer for Church Unity held in January 1908 in Graymoor, New York, by the Society of the Atonement, a small religious community in the Franciscan tradition. The first celebration of the octave 100 years ago is recalled as the foundational moment of the week of prayer in this year's centennial celebrations.
Media contact in Rome: Martin Robra +39.06.698.619 / +41.79.464.0673 (cell phone)
More information on the Week of prayer for Christian unity http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3193
Feature: Praying together for Christian unity throughout a century of changes: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/praying -together-for-chri.html
The Society of the Atonement on the Christian Unity Award: http://www.weekofprayer2008.org/news-events.html
Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363media@wcc -coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
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