Pope faces challenges, brings talents to ecumenical movement

Published: 2006-01-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The morning after his election, Pope Benedict XVI told the College of Cardinals he was "prepared to do everything" in his power to promote Christian unity. But like his predecessors, Pope Benedict knows that not everything is possible and that unity must be based on a fully shared faith. In interviews with Catholic News Service before the Jan. 18 start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, ecumenical experts spoke about the talents Pope Benedict brings to the ecumenical movement and the challenges he faces. Pope Benedict is no stranger to ecumenism. In addition to his personal involvement in dialogues with Lutherans in Germany, all of the major agreements forged in Catholic dialogues with other Christians over the past two decades were vetted by him when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Many ecumenical observers have said Pope Benedict brings new hope for Christian unity precisely because of his expertise as a theologian and his background as a scholar accustomed to being challenged by the ideas of his peers.

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