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'Ut unum sint': revelation and invocation
After the Funeral of Pope John Paul II and the feeling of bewilderment
at our loss, it is important in a calmer atmosphere to recall one of the
indispensable commitments that was deeply rooted in the ministry of the
Bishop of Rome. Let us borrow his words to define it: "Christian unity
has been a constant concern of my Pontificate and continues to be a
demanding priority of my ministry".
The constant concern for Christian unity impelled John Paul II
to make himself a pilgrim of communion to the See of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople a few weeks after the solemn inauguration
of his Pontificate.
It dictated many of the Bishop of Rome's prophetic gestures; it
nourished his prayer; it encouraged him to welcome to Rome with sincere
friendship the Authorities and Spokespersons of all the Churches and
Ecclesial Communities of East and West, to meet other Christians on his
Journeys and to preach harmony, peace and collaboration, since, "before
the world, united action in society on the part of Christians has the
clear value of a joint witness to the name of the Lord. It is also a
form of proclamation, since it reveals the face of Christ" (Ut Unum
Sint, n. 75).
The demanding priority of Christian unity inspired John Paul
II to give all possible support to a theological research which, without
straying from the truth, would shed light on the desire of Christians to
understand one another more deeply, over and above what divides them.
Aware of the gap created by the divisions between Christians, he
appealed to the power of dialogue: "Ecumenical dialogue, which prompts
the parties involved to question each other, to understand each other
and to explain their positions to each other, makes surprising
discoveries possible. Intolerant polemics and controversies have made
incompatible assertions out of what was really the result of two
different ways of looking at the same reality. Nowadays, we need to find
the formula which, by capturing the reality in its entirety, will enable
us to move beyond partial readings and eliminate false interpretations"
(ibid., n. 38).
The demanding priority of unity induced John Paul to insist that
history be reread, for he had at heart that all the parties be purified
from sin and forgive one another; this enabled the Bishop of Rome to
introduce a style of brotherly relations with which to confront serenely
the recurring difficulties, thorny problems and misunderstandings that
arise on the ecumenical journey: "What is needed is a calm,
clear-sighted and truthful vision of things, a vision enlivened by
divine mercy and capable of freeing people's minds and of inspiring in
everyone a renewed willingness, precisely with a view to proclaiming the
Gospel to the men and women of every people and nation" (ibid.,
n. 2).
This "demanding priority" convinced him that: "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" (ibid., n. 9).
Thus, in the as yet fragmented and imperfect context of the ut
unum sint, John Paul II, ill but profoundly peaceful, weak but
stronger than ever in his determination to exercise to his very last day
the ministry entrusted to him, pointed out a path illumined by hope, a
sort of testament: unity, a gift of the spirit, should be sought above
all in prayer.
The Bishop of Rome prayed before the sacred Icon of the Mother of God
of Kazan, with whom he had built up a trusting conversation over the
years, "asking that the day may come when we will all be united and able
to proclaim to the world, with one voice and
in visible communion, the salvation of our one Lord Jesus Christ and his
triumph over the evil and impious forces which seek to damage our faith
and our witness of unity" (Message to Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow
and All Russia, for the Return to Russia of the Icon of the Mother of
God of Kazan, 25 August 2004; L'Osservatore Romano English
edition, 1 September 2004, p. 3).
He also entrusted to that famous image of the Theotokos the
task of making present in Russia, without misunderstandings, his concern
for unity as Bishop of Rome. In presenting to the Ecumenical Patriarch
some relics of the Patriarchs and Doctors of the Church of
Constantinople, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian, deeply
revered witnesses of the faith for all Orthodoxy, he saw in these two
Saints the most eloquent way to raise a harmonious supplication to the
Lord.
Concern for Christian unity
It would be impossible to outline in this reflection all that Pope
John Paul II did in the 26 years of his Pontificate to weave into the
fabric of the Catholic Church the need for ecumenical commitment and to
open Catholic hearts to other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, in
line with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council that he
attentively and faithfully put into practice. Nor would it be possible
to mention the Papal Documents, texts implementing the Council, Common
Declarations and fundamental writings that have guided theological
research, the voluminous correspondence he exchanged with the Patriarchs
and Ecclesial Authorities of East and West, or the Bishop of Rome's
participation in the joyful and sad events of other Churches and
Ecclesial Communities.
Yet his Funeral Rite in St Peter's Square on Friday, 8 April, only
six days after his death, thoroughly demonstrated that his constant
concern for Christian unity, a demanding priority of his ministry, had
not only been understood, but deeply accepted and shared.
In front of the Basilica, recollected in prayer beside his coffin
were: H.H. Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch; the Primate of the
Orthodox Church of Finland; the Metropolitan of Paphos, Acting
Archbishop Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus; H.B. Christodoulos,
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece; H.B. Anastas, Archbishop of Tirana
and All Albania; H.H. Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians [Armenian Apostolic Church]; H.H. Aram I, Catholicos of
Cilicia for Armenians; H.H. Abba Paulus, Patriarch of the Orthodox
Church of Ethiopia; H.H.Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos Patriarch of the
Assyrian Church of the East.
H.B. Patriarch Teoctist, who had wanted to come to Rome but could not
make the journey for reasons of health and age, delegated important
Dignitaries of his Church to represent him, giving them a message that
went far beyond mere ecclesial courtesy.
In addition to those mentioned above, all other Orthodox Churches and
the Oriental Orthodox Churches (Ancient Churches of the East) sent
important representatives: the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
and All Africa, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the
Patriarchate of Moscow, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the
Patriarchate of Moscow, the Orthodox Church of Georgia, the Orthodox
Patriarchate of Serbia, the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria, the Orthodox
Church of the Czech Republic and of Slovakia, the Orthodox Church of
Poland, the Orthodox Church in America, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
of Egypt, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East,
the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
(India).
Since the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, H.B. Ignace IV Hazim,
was ill, he sent a handwritten message in Arabic that fully expresses
the feeling of such unanimous participation in John Paul II's funeral:
"The Supreme Pontiff, the Pope has departed from his body, bequeathing
his spirit to our world.... May God's mercy be poured out on John Paul
II, the one who filled the whole earth with his love, and even more so,
by his death".
The Archbishop of Canterbury came to Rome with a large delegation of
the Anglican Communion, which included his closest collaborators for
relations with the Catholic Church. In addition, all the Christian
Communions with which the Catholic Church has an official dialogue were
present at the funeral and broadly represented: the Lutheran World
Federation, the Methodist World Council, the World Alliance of Reformed
Churches, the World Baptist Alliance, the Mennonite World Conference,
the Disciples of Christ, the Salvation Army and the Old Catholic
Churches of the Union of Utrecht.
Paying their respects
Present in St Peter's Square was the new General Secretary of the
World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, whom the Holy Father
had been expecting in Rome this May on the occasion of the official
visit that he had asked to make after the beginning of his mandate. Rev.
Kobia was accompanied by the Lutheran Bishop Jonas Jonson, Co-President
of the Joint Working Group of the Catholic Church and the World Council
of Churches, and Ms Teny Pirri-Simonian of the General Administration of
the World Council of Churches.
The Conference of European Churches was represented by its General
Secretary.
Representatives of the Church of Scotland were also present, with the
Moderator of the Church's General Assembly; Bishop Wolfgang Huber,
President of the German Evangelical Churches (Evangelische Kirche
Deutschlands, EKD), the Archbishop Presidents of the Lutheran Church of
Sweden and Finland, the Lutheran Bishop of Trondheim, Norway, the Bishop
Primate of the Polish National Church of the United States, the YMCA,
represented by its General Secretary, the Billy Graham Evangelical
Organization and the Universal Biblical Alliance. Nor can we fail to
mention the representatives of the other Churches and Ecclesial
Communities of Rome.
After they had arrived in Rome on Thursday, 7 April, the majority of
these Representatives immediately asked to pay homage to the Holy
Father's mortal remains, still lying in state in St Peter's Basilica.
The Ecumenical Patriarch brought a floral tribute from Istanbul which he
lay close to the body with a card that he himself had written.
It is now necessary to reflect fully on the deep significance of the
unanimous support of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities in the
"absence", as Patriarch Ignace IV Hazim said, of Pope John Paul II.
There are surprising events, for the Spirit always astonishes, and these
must be slowly assimilated in order to be fully understood. We believe
that the brotherly and heartfelt participation experienced by the
Catholic Church, the spiritual and physical closeness that the Churches
and Ecclesial Communities have generously assured us without hesitation,
can be defined with Pope John Paul II's words: "The reality of division
among the Church's children appears at the level of history as the
result of human weakness in the way we accept the gift which flows
endlessly from Christ the Head to his Mystical Body. The prayer of Jesus
in the Upper Room
—
'as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in
us' (Jn 17:21)
—
is both revelation and invocation" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, n.
48).
Because of this significant and deeply-felt presence of the Churches
and Ecclesial Communities, the funeral of the Bishop of Rome was both a
revelation and an invocation. The power of dialogue,
reciprocal encounter and the brotherhood that has been so often
rediscovered in the past 26 years, certainly permit us to say together:
Duc in altum, let us put out into the deep with hope.
The reality of this hope and its viability for the future are a very
rich legacy of the ministry of unity left to us by our beloved Pope
John: Paul II.
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