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ZENIT News Agency, The World Seen from Rome  

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Papal Address to Secretary-General of World Council of Churches

Church's Commitment "to the Search for Christian Unity Is Irreversible"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI

delivered today to the Reverend Samuel Kobia, secretary-general of the World

Council of Churches, and his entourage.

* * *

Dear General Secretary,

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

(Philippians 1:2). With these words of Saint Paul, I gladly welcome you and the

members of the delegation from the World Council of Churches. After your

installation as General Secretary you had planned to visit my beloved

predecessor Pope John Paul II. Though this hope was never realized, I thank you

for representing the World Council of Churches at his funeral, and I express my

gratitude for the message which you sent to me on the occasion of the solemn

inauguration of my own ministry as Bishop of Rome.

Relations between the Catholic Church and the World Council developed during the

Second Vatican Council, where two observers from Geneva were present at all four

sessions. This led in 1965 to the establishment of the Joint Working Group as an

instrument of ongoing contact and cooperation, which would keep in mind the

common task of unity in answer to the Lord's own prayer, "that they may all be

one" (John 17:21). Next November an important consultation on the future of the

Joint Working Group will be held to mark the fortieth anniversary of its

founding. My hope and prayer is that its purpose and working methodology will be

further clarified for the sake of ever more effective ecumenical understanding,

cooperation and progress.

In the very first days of my Pontificate I stated that my "primary task is the

duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's

followers." This requires, in addition to good intentions, "concrete gestures

which enter hearts and stir consciences … inspiring in everyone that inner

conversion that is the prerequisite for all ecumenical progress" ("Missa pro

ecclesia," 5).

Pope John Paul II often recalled that the heart of the search for Christian

unity is "spiritual ecumenism." He saw its core in terms of being in Christ: "To

believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the

Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which

corresponds to the Father's plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of

Christ's prayer: 'Ut unum sint'" (Encyclical Letter "Ut Unum Sint," 9).

It is my hope that your visit to the Holy See has been fruitful, strengthening

the bonds of understanding and friendship between us. The commitment of the

Catholic Church to the search for Christian unity is irreversible. I therefore

wish to assure you that she is eager to continue cooperation with the World

Council of Churches. Again, I offer a special word of encouragement to you, Mr.

General Secretary, to the members of the Central Committee and to the entire

staff, as you work to lead and renew this important ecumenical body. Please know

that you are in my prayers and that you have my unfailing goodwill. "May grace

and peace be yours in abundance" (2 Peter 1:2).