wfn.org | Statement of CEC General Secretary on the election of new Pope

["Ruth Gill" <rag@cec-kek.org>]

Conference of European Churches - Office of  Communications
Press Release No. 05-17/e		20 April 2005

STATEMENT OF CEC GENERAL SECRETARY ON THE ELECTION OF NEW POPE

The General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the
Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, has issued the following statement on the
election of the new Pope:

The Conference of European Churches greets the election of Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church with heartfelt prayers for
the blessings of God's strength, guidance and wisdom upon his pontificate.
The cardinals who have elected him have chosen a person of forceful
personality and intellectual ability to lead their Church into a future
which poses many challenges within that Church, in relations with the
other Christian Churches and in the world at large.

As Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI has long been known to ecumenical
circles, in Europe and beyond, as a strong proponent of the traditional
Roman Catholic self-understanding of his Church and the view that the
search for unity must be grounded on conviction of the truth. The
Conference of European Churches comprises Churches - Protestant, Orthodox,
Anglican and Old Catholic - which are no less committed to the centrality
of Jesus Christ and the Gospel as enshrined in Holy Scripture and the
Ecumenical Creeds. Equally they believe that the way into deeper apprehension of the truth lies in dialogue that is honest, humbly respectful of the
positions and insights of others, and open to the guidance of the Holy
Spirit who, as promised by our Lord himself, will lead us into all truth.
As the Charta Oecumenica states, "There is no alternative to dialogue." We
therefore look for a further stage of the ecumenical journey and in the
coming days will welcome every sign and assurance from the Roman Catholic
Church that we can walk together on that road.

At this historic moment, we in the CEC particularly greet our partners in
the Council of Bishops' Conferences in Europe (CCEE) with our assurances
of love and prayers as we journey further together towards the 3rd
European Ecumenical Assembly to take place in Sibiu, Romania, in 2007
under the theme "The Light of Christ Shines Upon All - Hope for Renewal
and Unity in Europe."  With that goal in mind our prayer for Pope Benedict
XVI, for all our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters and for ourselves in
the Conference of European Churches, is that there may be fulfilled in us
the most profound test of truth, integrity and faithfulness, found in the
words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "By this everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another."

* * * *

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 125
Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all
countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in
1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

For information:
Office of Communications
Conference of European Churches
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org