{"id":1617,"date":"2012-11-15T19:38:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-worlds-spiritual-poverty-heightens-need-for-christian-unity\/"},"modified":"2012-11-15T19:38:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-15T19:38:00","slug":"pope-worlds-spiritual-poverty-heightens-need-for-christian-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/pope-worlds-spiritual-poverty-heightens-need-for-christian-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope: World’s spiritual poverty heightens need for Christian unity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Nov 15, 2012 \/ 12:38 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Christians must not allow their divisions to keep them from working together to evangelize a world enduring a \u201ccrisis of faith,\u201d Pope Benedict XVI told the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.<\/p>\n

\tThe failure to do so, he said, \u201cgoes against the will of Christ, and is a scandal in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe council, which is meeting Nov. 15 \u201319, will address the theme of \u201cThe Importance of Ecumenism for New Evangelization.\u201d The theme dovetails with the topic of overcoming Christian divisions, which was widely-discussed topic at last month\u2019s synod of bishops on the New Evangelization.<\/p>\n

\tSpeaking in the Clementine Room of the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 15, the Pope stressed the necessity of having theological dialogue with Christians who do not hold the Catholic faith, in order to give a credible witness to Christ in a world suffering a crisis of faith and spiritual poverty.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEven if we do not see the possibility of the restoration of full communion in the near future, (other faiths) enable us to understand the wealth of experience, spiritual life and theological reflections that become a stimulus for a deeper testimony,\u201d the Pope said.<\/p>\n

\tThe aim of ecumenism is a \u201cvisible unity between divided Christians,\u201d he told the assembly, and the Lord must be invoked to make even an imperfect unity possible.<\/p>\n

\tAnd even if Christians\u2019 unity is imperfect, it is still needed to evangelize a culture gone awry, especially in the Western world.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe cannot follow a truly ecumenical path while ignoring the crisis of faith affecting vast areas of the world, including those where the proclamation of the Gospel was first accepted and where Christian life has flourished for centuries,\u201d he told council members.<\/p>\n

\tThe situation has grown so bad that many people no longer regard the absence of God in their lives as a vacuum to be filled. This presents a situation all Christians must address, discovering common ground that overcomes their denominational divisions.<\/p>\n

\tThe essential unity of Christians needs to be emphasized in order to bear witness to God before the world. This, he said, consists in faith in the Trinity \u2013 a faith received at baptism which all Christians can profess together \u201cin hope and charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tA truly ecumenical spirit, the Pope noted toward the end of his remarks, demands abandonment to the will of God in order to bring others to belief in him.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn the final analysis,\u201d Pope Benedict concluded, \u201cecumenism and new evangelization both require the dynamism of conversion, understood as the sincere desire to follow Christ and to fully adhere to the will of the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tStarting on the afternoon of Nov. 17, council participants will deliberate on the work of last month\u2019s synod and explore the progress of ecumenical work in different parts of the world.<\/p>\n

\tCouncil president Cardinal Kurt Koch will give the opening address.<\/p>\n

\tIn a Nov. 13 interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Koch said he hopes the council meeting will foster Christian unity and aid evangelization efforts.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe credibility of the message of the Gospel depends on unity,\u201d he said. \u201cThe division of the Church in the world is the biggest obstacle to the missionary activity in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity was founded by Pope John XXIII during the Second Vatican Council and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Nov 15, 2012 \/ 12:38 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians must not allow their divisions to keep them from working together to evangelize a world enduring a “crisis of faith,” Pope Benedict XVI told the Pontifical Council for the P…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nPope: World's spiritual poverty heightens need for Christian unity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Nov 15, 2012 \/ 12:38 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians must not allow their divisions to keep them from working together to evangelize a world enduring a “crisis of faith,” Pope Benedict XVI told the Pontifical Council for the P...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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