Ecumenical Meeting (17 June 1983)

On Friday, 17 June 1983, the Holy Father took part in an ecumenical meeting in the Residence of the Cardinal Primate in Warsaw. The Pope spoke of overcoming “all historical misunderstandings and contingent controversies, to find ourselves again in our common condition as Christians , that is, as Redeemed Ones.”

Dear Brothers in Christ

"May God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself direct our journey towards you. As for you, may the Lord make charity increase and abound towards one another and towards everyone, just as we do towards with you" ( 1 Thess . 3, 11-12). These words of supplication for charity towards one another that the Apostle Paul once wrote to the community of believers in Thessalonica, I address today to all the Christian Brothers in my homeland, with whom I am united by the same apostolic faith in Jesus Christ. We can in fact repeat with the eminent Protestant theologian, included in the group of spiritual fathers of the renewal desired with the Second Vatican Council , that "although we still believe in a different way, it is not in the Other" (Karl Barth). The experience of living faith in the same Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, determines the ecumenical character of today's meeting in Warsaw.

I ardently desired this meeting during my first apostolic journey in my native country. Expressing gratitude for the letter I then received from the representatives of the Polish Ecumenical Council, I said in Blonia Krakowskie: "Although, because of the dense program, a meeting in Warsaw was not reached, remember, dear brothers in Christ, that I bring this meeting in the heart as a living desire and as an expression of confidence for the future" ( AAS 71, 1979, p. 878). With joy, therefore, I thank God because today he fulfilled my desire and fulfilled my project (cf. Ps . 19/20, 5). I believe that this joy is reciprocal, because it comes from the same Source, which is Christ. It is He who presides over our meeting, because He himself assured us: "Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, I am among them" ( Mt. 18, 20).

With the Polish greeting "Be praised Jesus Christ" I welcome all participants in this ecumenical meeting , both Catholics and other Christians.

I cordially greet the President of the Episcopate Commission for the problems of Ecumenism, Bishop Alfons Nossol, Ordinary of the Diocese of Opole. Among us is D. Wladyslaw Miziolek, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, vice-president of the aforementioned Commission; In his person I salute the tireless herald of ecumenism on the Vistula.

I extend fraternal greetings of love and peace to those present at today's meeting, that is, to the Representatives of the eight Churches associated with the Polish Ecumenical Council, which for a few months has been presided over by the Bishop of the Ausburg-Evangelical Church, Janusz Narzynski.

I also greet the Representatives of the Israeli and Muslim Communities present here, with whom we are united by faith in the One, Omnipotent, Merciful and Just God.

The spirit of fraternal love , which distinguishes the Gospel of Christ, animates our encounter. This spirit of fraternal love gives rise to mutual understanding, respect for the opinions and tastes of others and, in particular, for different confessions or customs, in inter-human relationships. This is the spirit of tolerance, so deeply rooted in our religious, social and national traditions, that Poland rightly deserves the name of a "state without pyres".

A spirit of openness towards others and the desire for a reciprocal rapprochement between the different Christian confessions have long encouraged ecumenical aspirations in this country. Let me quote here the " Colloquium charitativum ", convened in Torun in 1645, on the initiative of the Catholic bishops gathered together two years earlier, at the Warsaw synod, and with the support of King Ladislaus IV. That "encounter of love" was intended to reestablish unity and harmony between Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. All of Europe was interested in its development. The long discussions, in which 76 theologians took part, mainly covered doctrine, praxis and customs. Due to the strident dogmatic differences, and also to social conditioning, the expected agreement was not achieved. According to the opinion of historians, the " Colloquium Charitativum " of Torun nevertheless constituted an attempt to achieve unity through the confrontation of opinions. Although he did not give the expected results, he nevertheless aroused respect for the spiritual and political leaders of the Republic, initiating, in a certain sense, practical ecumenism.

The last Vatican II Ecumenical Council clearly increased in the Catholic Church the desire for unity , requested by Christ from the Father at the moment of farewell to the apostles (cf. Jn . 17). We are aware that the return to full union requires great humility and love, courage and hope. Under the breath of the Holy Spirit, we have already overcome many difficulties and many obstacles. With many Christian Churches and Communities we are conducting an official ecumenical dialogue in a spirit of searching for truth in love. The ever-increasing rapprochement and openness of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Roman Catholic Church give good hope for the future, especially the sincere colloquia and common ecumenical efforts in the Mixed Commission of both Parties.

With joy I receive from my Brothers in the Episcopate all the news about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity , which has been traditionally celebrated in the month of January for many years. The common prayers of Christ's confessors are not only an opportune opportunity to get to know other Christians who live in the same society, but above all they constitute an encouragement to practice a more lively faith. They are, in a sense, a call to love Christ more deeply. That Christ, in whom we are all one! Even if we sometimes have different traditions, different customs, different ways of thinking, we all feel called to the closest union with Christ and around Christ. Prayers for the unity of the Churches serve precisely this purpose. Without them, the ecumenical movement would not be what it is.

Even the other concrete examples of real ecumenism are not strange to me. I am particularly aware of the sharing of scientific and cultural heritage , which is the fruit of Christian reflection on Divine Revelation and the history of the Churches. In Catholic and non-Catholic books and newspapers — to be honest, with a small circulation — texts by authors belonging to different theological traditions are published more and more frequently. These publications demonstrate the continuous deepening of reciprocal knowledge between Catholic and Christian theologians. They allow wider layers of believers to follow the transformations taking place in the Universal Church and throughout Christianity. Our contacts with each of the Orthodox Churches are very lively. The representatives of Poland actively collaborate with the Mixed Catholic-Panorthodox Commission; His participation in meetings in Patmos and Munich, dedicated to theological issues, is known. All of this undoubtedly contributes to the formation of new and sincere ecumenical attitudes. It is also a specific dialogue for the benefit of knowledge and reciprocal love within a large community of believers in Christ. For this ecumenical service worthy of respect and recognition in Poland, I address to Catholics and believers of other Christian Churches, the due "Bog zaplac" (God reward you), invoking the blessings of the Sir.

I also wish to wish for a fruitful and fraternal collaboration to those who will take part in the congress of the World Council of Churches, which will carry out its work between the months of July and the month of August, in Vancouver, under the motto: "Jesus Christ lives of the world":

At the end of this meeting I wish to renew that warm appeal that I addressed "to all those responsible and to the members of the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities" when I proclaimed the Jubilee of Redemption to all the faithful of the Catholic world ( Address to Cardinals and Members of the Roman Curia , 9: "L'Osservatore Romano", December 24, 1982). Indicating the values ​​of this Jubilee, he highlighted that it is "a great service to the cause of Ecumenism. By celebrating it, we overcome all historical misunderstandings and contingent controversies, to find ourselves again in our common condition as Christians , that is, as Redeemed Ones . Redemption unites us all in the one love of Christ, Crucified and Resurrected" ( ibid .). Therefore I ask you, Dear Brothers, to accompany, together with the Churches and Communities, the celebrations of the Year of Redemption with your prayer, with your faith in Christ the Redeemer, with your love "that becomes an increasingly profound way of performing Jesus' prayer, before his redemptive Passion: 'ut omnes unum sint' ( John 17, 21)" ( ibid .).

United with the bond of fraternal love and peace, let us pray together with the words of the prayer that Christ himself taught us: "Our Father...".

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana