VATICAN - At the Angelus prayer the Pope recalls history-making meeting of Paul VI and Orthodox Patriarch Athenagora I of Constantinople in 1964 and urges Catholics to pray “for full unity of Christians”.

Monday, 28 June 2004

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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “On 29 June we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and for the occasion I will have the joy of welcoming once again to the Vatican His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople ” Pope John Paul II said before praying the Angelus prayer at midday on Sunday June 27. “We intend to commemorate the historical meeting of our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, forty years ago when they exchanged that unforgettable embrace of brotherhood and peace in Jerusalem. The meeting took place during a pilgrimage which the Servant of God Paul VI made in January 1964 while the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council was taking place.”
Pope John Paul II also recalled that in November of 1994 the Council Fathers approved the ‘Unitatis redintegratio’ decree on ecumenism which affirmed <“the promotion of unity among all Christians is one of the main goals of the Council and something to which all ecclesial institutions and communities must tend”. Since that day, despite the difficulties which remain, ecumenism has made progress and the People of God has developed ecumenical awareness>.” Lastly the Pope called on those present “to pray for full unity among all Christians, invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary” that the memory of the encounter between Paul VI and Athenagoras I “may foster new commitment for communion among Catholics and Orthodox”.
After the Marian prayer the Pope mentioned the World Day against Torture June 26, and underlined the need to “ban this intolerable violation of human rights radically opposed to the dignity of the human person”. Greeting a group of Palestinian and Israeli boys and girls guests in Naples the Pope said: “Together they want to tell the world that they desire peace and reconciliation for the Holy Land. They say this all the more because their families, Palestinian and Israeli, have had members killed in the present conflict. It is the duty of all not to disappoint these young people and to help them grow up with trust for God and in people.”
(S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 28/6/2004 - Righe 23; Parole 341)