Pope says ecumenical dialogue should lead to concrete activities

Published: 2008-01-18

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting members of a Lutheran-Catholic pilgrimage from Finland on the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict XVI said the theological agreements reached in ecumenical dialogue should lead to concrete joint activities. "May the ongoing dialogue lead to practical results in actions which express and build up our unity in Christ and therefore strengthen relationships between Christians," he said Jan. 18 to the pilgrimage sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. "In the new and challenging circumstances of today, and within your own country, there is much that Lutherans and Catholics can do together in the service of the Gospel and the advancement of the kingdom of God," the pope said. Pope Benedict said that prayers for Christian unity reinforce the bonds of communion already existing among Christians and enable them "to face courageously the painful memories, social burdens and human weaknesses that are so much a part of our divisions."

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .