Pope concludes Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with call to prayer, neighborliness
January 26, 2024
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and other Christian leaders concluded the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on January 25 with the celebration of ecumenical Vespers at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (video).
Pope Francis preached, “Together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray with Paul and say: ‘What are we to do, Lord?’ In asking that question, we already have an answer, because the first answer is prayer. Prayer for unity is the primary responsibility in our journey together.”
The Pontiff also asked, “Do I act like a neighbor? Do I, and then my community, my Church, my spirituality, act like a neighbor? Or are they barricaded in defense of their own interests, jealous of their autonomy, caught up in calculating what is in their own interest, building relationships with others only in order to gain something for themselves? If that were the case, it would not only be a matter of mistaken strategies, but of infidelity to the Gospel.”
During Vespers, Archbishop Welby joined Pope Francis in sending forth pairs of Anglican and Catholic prelates taking part in an ecumenical summit to “testify to the unity willed by God for his Church in their respective regions.”
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