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Interfaith Relations

New Pope Benedict says church unity will be his 'primary task'

22 April 2005 - Luigi Sandri
Source: Ecumenical News International,ENI-05-0287

Newly-elected Pope Benedict XVI pledged on Wednesday to do all in his power to promote the unity of churches and reach out to other religions. In an address read in Latin to cardinals in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel after his election the day before, the Pope said his "primary task" would be "that of working - sparing no energies - to reconstitute the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers". He said he was "aware that showing good sentiments is not enough for this. Concrete acts that enter souls and move consciences are needed."

Benedict said he was "fully determined to cultivate any initiative that might seem appropriate to promote contacts and understanding with representatives of different churches and ecclesial communities." And he pledged to "continue weaving an open and sincere dialogue" with people of other faiths or those simply looking for an answer to life's fundamental questions.

The election of German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope brought a reaction on Wednesday from the Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches. "We pray to our common Lord, Jesus Christ, asking that your Pontificate strengthen existing instruments of working together and initiate new ways of cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches," said Kobia in a message to the pontiff.

The WCC groups most of the world's Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations, and the Roman Catholic Church cooperates with the Geneva-based body on a number of programmes. "The level of trust and openness that was established has allowed a frank and open dialogue [and] has contributed to overcoming difficulties," said Kobia. Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, said it was a "pastoral priority" for churches to transmit their spiritual resources to a world where "violence, injustice, poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic are devastating so many lives".

Earlier, Cardinal Walter Kasper, who under Pope John Paul II was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told the television network CNN the election of Ratzinger was a "good sign" for the ecumenical movement. "The first meeting - short - I had with him [after the election], he told me, 'Well, now we will work together, walk together, on the paths to unity of the churches'," said Kasper who knows Ratzinger from the time when they were both theology professors in Munster, Germany in the 1960s

For his part, the president of the Federation of Italian Protestant Churches, Gianni Long, said: "For Italian Protestants, the election of Benedict XVI has generated high expectations. We hope he will continue in the spirit of the [Second Vatican] Council in promoting ecumenical dialogue to deal with certain problems that are still unresolved such as the division at the table of the Lord's Supper."

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