(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis revealed on Thursday that the search for Christian unity is one of his principle concerns, one that he prays may be shared by every baptized person. The Pope’s words came as he met in the Vatican with participants at a plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The meeting, from November 8th to 11th is exploring the theme “What model of full communion?”Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: In his words to the group of ecumenical experts from across the globe, the Pope recalled the many important encounters he has had this year with leaders of other Christian communities. In particular he recalled his recent visit to Lund in Sweden to jointly preside at a Lutheran-Catholic commemoration of the start of the Protestant Reformation. That visit, he said, reminded him of the so called ‘Lund Principle’, formulated by the World Council of Churches back in 1952, which states ‘churches sh...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis revealed on Thursday that the search for Christian unity is one of his principle concerns, one that he prays may be shared by every baptized person. The Pope’s words came as he met in the Vatican with participants at a plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The meeting, from November 8th to 11th is exploring the theme “What model of full communion?”
Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report:
In his words to the group of ecumenical experts from across the globe, the Pope recalled the many important encounters he has had this year with leaders of other Christian communities. In particular he recalled his recent visit to Lund in Sweden to jointly preside at a Lutheran-Catholic commemoration of the start of the Protestant Reformation. That visit, he said, reminded him of the so called ‘Lund Principle’, formulated by the World Council of Churches back in 1952, which states ‘churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately’.
Pope Francis stressed that Christian unity is an essential requirement of our faith, a journey of personal and community conversion to the will of Christ. He warned against three false models of communion, starting with the belief that we can achieve unity through diplomatic maneuvers or human efforts alone.
Unity, he insisted, is a gift from God and our task is to welcome that gift and make it visible to others. Rather than just a goal to be achieved, he said, we should see the search for unity as a journey that we undertake together with patience, determination, effort and commitment, knowing that all of us are sinners for whom God has infinite mercy. Remember, he said, that when we work, pray and serve the needy together, we are already united.
The second false model that he warned against was the model of uniformity. When theological, liturgical, spiritual and canonical differences are genuinely rooted in the apostolic tradition, he said, they are not a threat, but rather a treasure for the unity of the Church. Trying to suppress such differences, he warned, as happened in the past, goes against the Holy Spirit who enriches different Christians with a variety of gifts.
Finally Pope Francis cautioned against the idea of unity as ‘going back in time’ to incorporate one church into another. No one should deny their own faith history, he said, and no-one should tolerate the practice of proselytism which he called ‘a poison for the ecumenical journey’. True ecumenism, the Pope concluded, is when we focus not on our own reasons and regulations, but rather on the Word of God which requires us to listen, to receive and to witness to the world.
Ongoing construction work on St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, in April 2024. / Credit: Father Charbel MhannaACI MENA, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Construction is nearing completion on the St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, with plans to open its doors to worshippers in 2025, coinciding with the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year, according to Father Charbel Mhanna from Qatar's Maronite parish.In an interview with ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, Mhanna explained that with a capacity of about 3,000 people, St. Charbel will be the country's largest church, open to all Catholics. Once completed, it will be Qatar's second Catholic church, joining the existing Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. While precise statistics on the Christian population in Qatar are lacking, Mhanna estimates there are close to 1 million Christians there, of which about 70% are Catholic. Approximately 12,000 belong to the Maronite rite, which is in full communion with the ...
Clockwise, from top left: Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong, Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Father Mike Schmitz of Duluth, Minnesota, will address the Class of 2024. / Credits: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images; Edward Pentin/National Catholic Register; Benedictine College; and FOCUSNational Catholic Register, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Commencement ceremonies are underway at the nation's Catholic colleges and universities, many of which are annually highlighted in the National Catholic Register's "Catholic Identity College Guide."Notable speakers include Cardinal Stephen Chow at Boston College on May 20 and "The Bible in a Year" and "The Catechism in a Year" podcast host Father Mike Schmitz, who serves as chaplain at the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Newman Center and who spoke to Ave Maria University's Class of 2024 on May 4. "Life takes courage ... because love takes courage. And every one of you is called to love, eve...
Rosary College logo. / Credit: Rosary CollegeCNA Staff, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Author and Anglican convert Father Dwight Longenecker along with a number of Catholic scholars are launching the first Catholic college in South Carolina, a two-year liberal arts college set to open this fall.Rosary College will offer an associate of Catholic studies in integrated humanities degree, which can be transferred to a number of other universities. The college offers "an affordable, transferable credit for students who are either going on to a four-year Catholic college or those who are going into the workforce and/or trade school," Longenecker explained in a post on X. "Our focus is with our foundation on truth, beauty, and goodness, and in alignment with our primary value of Catholic identity," Mike Shick, founding president of Rosary College, told CNA in a phone call. "We want to ensure that we're in alignment with the magisterium of the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church."...