| Friday morning, 15 May 2009, after celebrating Mass in private in
the chapel of the Apostolic Delegation, the Holy Father was transported
by car to meet with His Beatitude the Patriarch Teofilo III in the
Throne Hall of the Patriarchate. The Pope's discourse on the occasion
was as follows.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with profound gratitude and joy that I make this visit to the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem; a moment to which I have much
looked forward. I thank His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III for his
kind words of fraternal greeting, which I warmly reciprocate. I also
express to all of you my heartfelt gratitude for providing me with this
opportunity to meet once again the many leaders of Churches and
ecclesial communities present.
This morning I am mindful of the historic meetings that have taken place
here in Jerusalem between my predecessor Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical
Patriarch Athenagoras I, and also between Pope John Paul II and His
Beatitude Patriarch Diodoros. These encounters, including my visit
today, are of great symbolic significance. They recall that the light of
the East (cf. Is 60:1; Rev 21:10) has illumined the entire world from
the very moment when a "rising sun" came to visit us (Lk 1:78) and they
remind us too that from here the Gospel was preached to all nations.
Standing in this hallowed place, alongside the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, which marks the site where our crucified Lord rose from the
dead for all humanity, and near the cenacle, where on the day of
Pentecost "they were all together in one place" (Acts 2:1), who could
not feel impelled to bring the fullness of goodwill, sound scholarship
and spiritual desire to our ecumenical endeavors? I pray that our
gathering today will give new impetus to the work of theological
dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, adding
to the recent fruits of study documents and other joint initiatives.
Of particular joy for our Churches has been the participation of the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness Bartholomew I, at
the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome dedicated to the theme: The Word of
God in the Life and Mission of the Church. The warm welcome he received
and his moving intervention were sincere expressions of the deep
spiritual joy that arises from the extent to which communion is already
present between our Churches. Such ecumenical experience bears clear
witness to the link between the unity of the Church and her mission.
Extending his arms on the Cross, Jesus revealed the fullness of his
desire to draw all people to himself, uniting them together as one (cf.
Jn 12:32). Breathing his Spirit upon us he revealed his power to enable
us to participate in his mission of reconciliation (cf. Jn 19:30;
20:22-23). In that breath, through the redemption that unites, stands
our mission! Little wonder, then, that it is precisely in our burning
desire to bring Christ to others, to make known his message of
reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), that we experience the shame of our
division. Yet, sent out into the world (cf. Jn 20:21), empowered by the
unifying force of the Holy Spirit (ibid. v. 22), proclaiming the
reconciliation that draws all to believe that Jesus is the Son of God
(ibid. v. 31), we shall find the strength to redouble our efforts to
perfect our communion, to make it complete, to bear united witness to
the love of the Father who sends the Son so that the world may know his
love for us (cf. Jn 17:23).
Some two thousand years ago, along these same streets, a group of Greeks
put this request to Philip: "Sir, we should like to see Jesus" (Jn
12:21). It is a request made again of us today, here in Jerusalem, in
the Holy Land, in the region and throughout the world. How do we
respond? Is our response heard? Saint Paul alerts us to the gravity of
our response: our mission to teach and preach. He says: "faith comes
from hearing, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Rm
10:17). It is imperative therefore that Christian leaders and their
communities bear vibrant testimony to what our faith proclaims: the
eternal Word, who entered space and time in this land, Jesus of
Nazareth, who walked these streets, through his words and actions calls
people of every age to his life of truth and love.
Dear friends, while encouraging you to proclaim joyfully the Risen Lord,
I wish also to recognize the work to this end of the Heads of Christian
communities, who meet together regularly in this city. It seems to me
that the greatest service the Christians of Jerusalem can offer their
fellow citizens is the upbringing and education of a further generation
of well-formed and committed Christians, earnest in their desire to
contribute generously to the religious and civic life of this unique and
holy city. The fundamental priority of every Christian leader is the
nurturing of the faith of the individuals and families entrusted to his
pastoral care. This common pastoral concern will ensure that your
regular meetings are marked by the wisdom and fraternal charity
necessary to support one another and to engage with both the joys and
the particular difficulties which mark the lives of your people. I pray
that the aspirations of the Christians of Jerusalem will be understood
as being concordant with the aspirations of all its inhabitants,
whatever their religion: a life of religious freedom and peaceful
coexistence and - for young people in particular - unimpeded access to
education and employment, the prospect of suitable housing and family
residency, and the chance to benefit from and contribute to economic
stability.
Your Beatitude, I thank you again for your kindness in inviting me here,
together with the other guests. Upon each of you and the communities you
represent, I invoke an abundance of God’s blessings of fortitude and
wisdom! May you all be strengthened by the hope of Christ which does not
disappoint!
Distributed by:
The Holy See Press Office
15 May 2009
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