VATICAN - Commitment to re-establish full and visible communion among all the baptised…concerns every Christian of every diocese and parish, of every community in the Church: the Pope said on the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Vatican II decree "Unitatis Redintegratio":”

Vatican City (Fides Service) - In his homily during First Vespers of the 33rd Sunday of the Year on Saturday 13 November in St Peters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Vatican II decree on Christian unity Unitatis Redintegratio, in the presence of representatives of various Christian communions, Pope John Paul II said: “Commitment to re-establish full and visible communion among all the baptised applies not only to a few experts in ecumenism; it concerns every Christian of every diocese and parish, of every community in the Church. All are called to assume this commitment and no one can fail to make his own Jesus’ prayer that all may be one. All are called to pray and work for the unity of Christ’s disciples.”
“This ecumenical journey is more than ever necessary today in a world growing towards its unification and when the Church faces new challenges for her evangelising mission - the Pope said -. Ecumenical activity and missionary activity are therefore connected and are two paths along which the Church carries out her mission in the world concretely expressing her Catholicity”. He said that in our era “a mistaken humanism without God” is spreading while numerous conflicts shed blood in the world. “Our epoch has a deep longing for peace. The Church, a credible sign and channel of peace, cannot fail to work to overcome divisions among Christians and so become ever more a witness of the peace which Christ offers the world”.
Although ecumenical meetings at all levels, theological dialogue and rediscovery of common witnesses of faith have deepened and enriched communion with other Christians, “we have not yet reached the goal of our ecumenical journey” the Pope said. “At times there remain not only misunderstandings and prejudice, but also deplorable laziness and narrowness of mind, and above all differences in questions of faith concentrated mainly on the subject of the Church, her nature, her ministries”. Nevertheless this “must not lead to resignation, indeed on the contrary it should encourage us to persevere in prayer and activity for unity.”
With regard to the “ecumenical future”, the Pope underlined the need to “reinforce the foundations of ecumenical activity, that is common faith in everything expressed in the baptismal profession, in the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed”. This faith must then give rise to “the concept and spirituality of communion” which means, “sharing together the journey towards unity in the integral profession of faith, the sacraments and the ecclesiastic ministry”
The Pope ended his homily saying, “There can be no authentic Ecumenism without interior conversion and purification of memory, holiness of life in conformity with the Gospel and above all, intense and assiduous prayer to echo the prayer of Jesus.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2004; Righe 34; Parole 471)