wfn.org | Pope Stresses Commitment to Unity in Meeting with U.S. Presbyterians

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Note #6459 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

23-March-2001
01103

Pope Stresses Commitment to Unity in Meeting with U.S. Presbyterians

by Peggy Polk
Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II stressed his commitment to the goal of
Christian unity Thursday (March 22) at an audience with a delegation from
the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The Roman Catholic pontiff welcomed the delegation members to the audience
in the Hall of the Popes in the Apostolic Palace by telling them their visit
was "indeed a cause for joy."

"I greet all of you with affection in the Lord," he said.

The group is in Rome for talks with officials of the Pontifical Council for
Christian Unity. The council, headed by newly appointed German Cardinal
Walter Kasper, oversees Roman Catholic relations with other faiths.

The pope appeared intent on relieving the strains in ecumenical relations
caused by the Vatican's Sept. 5 "Declaration Dominus Iesus," which states
that only the Catholic Church offers "the fullness of the means of
salvation."

John Paul stressed his commitment "to work for full Christian unity" while
acknowledging that the goal remains far off.

"Despite the significant steps taken in recent decades toward the goal of
visible unity, we must acknowledge that, as we cross the threshold of the
new millennium, we take with us the sad heritage of the past, and we know
that there is still a long way to go," he said.

Quoting from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, the pope said he hoped that the
future would see Christians put on a "new nature, created after the likeness
of God in true righteousness and holiness."

"This, in fact, is a condition of our being able to overcome the barriers
which still keep Christians apart," he said.

"May your stay and your conversations with the Pontifical Council for
Christian Unity bear abundant fruit for the ecumenical tasks ahead," the
pope told the group.

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