To Different Churches and Christian Communions (14 September 1984)
ShareOn Friday, 14 September 1984, the Holy Father spoke to members of different churches and Christian communions in the Anglican Church of Saint Paul, Toronto. The Pope's speech concerned the unity of Christians in the “difficult but vital task … of proclaiming to all humanity the message of salvation.”
Dear Friends in Christ,
1. I am deeply pleased to join in the prayer of praise and petition with all of you who represent the different Churches and Christian Communions throughout Canada. With deep respect and love I greet you all in the words of the Apostle Paul: "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1, 2).
In the Gospel according to Saint Matthew we are told that Jesus "went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them" (Matth. 5, 1-2). We, too, are disciples of Jesus, and together we go to him. We go to listen to his word so that he may teach us as he once taught the crowd that gathered round him on the mountain. We wish to be instructed and inspired by his message of salvation. We also wish to pray together for the gift of unity among all Christians and to unite our hearts in praise of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. It is very good to be with you. I want you to know how deeply grateful I am for the Ecumenical Pastoral Letter which was addressed to Christian congregations and parishes throughout Canada prior to my pastoral visit. It was heart-warming to be assured of the prayerful support and fraternal interest of so many Christian brothers and sisters. I deeply appreciate the warm welcome which you have extended to me, and I am very pleased that you have seized this opportunity to affirm the necessity of the ecumenical movement, to point out many of the important steps towards full unity which have already been taken, and to encourage fresh initiatives and continued prayer for the achievement of that goal for which we so greatly long.
3. Exactly twenty years ago today, on September 14, 1964, my predecessor Paul VI addressed those taking part in the Second Vatican Council as they gathered to begin the Third General Session, which was to promulgate the Constitution on the Church and the Decree on Ecumenism. Towards the end of his address he spoke directly to the Observers from other Churches and ecclesial Communities, saying: "We wish to assure you once more of our aim and hope to be able one day to remove every obstacle, every misunderstanding, every suspicion that still prevents us from feeling fully ‘of one heart and one soul’ (Act. 4, 22) in Christ and in his Church . . . This is something of the greatest importance, having its roots in the mysterious counsels of God, and we shall strive, in humility and piety, to dispose ourselves to be worthy of so great a grace".
In the twenty years that have elapsed since these words were spoken, we can rejoice to see the great strides that have been made, for indeed many obstacles, misunderstandings and suspicions have been removed. For all of this we give thanks to God. At the same time, I am grateful for this occasion, and others such as this, which give us the opportunity to appreciate more fully what God’s grace has wrought in our midst, and which give us renewed strength and courage for pursuing together the path which still lies ahead.
4. In my first Encyclical letter, "Redemptor Hominis", written shortly after my election to the See of Peter, I stated: "In the present historical situation of Christianity and the world, the only possibility we see of fulfilling the Church’s universal mission with regard to ecumenical questions is that of seeking sincerely, perseveringly, humbly and also courageously the ways of drawing closer and of union. Pope Paul VI gave us his personal example for this. We must therefore seek unity without being discouraged at the difficulties that can appear or accumulate along that road; otherwise we would be unfaithful to the word of Christ, we would fail to accomplish his testament" (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Redemptor Hominis, 6). The experience of the past six years since my election has confirmed even more in my heart the evangelical obligation "of seeking sincerely, perseveringly, humbly and also courageously the ways of drawing closer and of union".
5. We cannot turn back on this difficult but vital task, for it is essentially linked with our mission of proclaiming to all humanity the message of salvation. The restoration of the complete unity of Christians, for which we so greatly yearn and pray, is of crucial importance for the evangelization of the world. Millions of our contemporaries still do not know Christ, and millions more who have heard of Christ are hindered from accepting the Christian faith because of our tragic division. Indeed, the reason Jesus prayed that we might be one was precisely "so that the world might believe" (Io. 17, 21). The proclamation of the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ is greatly obstructed by doctrinal division among the followers of the Saviour. On the other hand, the work of evangelization bears fruit when Christians of different communions, though not yet fully one, collaborate as brothers and sisters in Christ, to the degree possible and with respect for their particular traditions.
As the third millennium of Christianity approaches, we are faced with a rapidly expanding technology which raises numerous opportunities as well as obstacles to evangelization. While it engenders a number of beneficial effects for humanity, it has also ushered in a technological mentality which challenges Gospel value. The temptation exists of pursuing technological development for its own sake, as if it were an autonomous force with built-in imperatives for expansion, instead of seeing it as a resource to be placed at the service of the human family. A second temptation exists which would tie technological development to the logic of profit and constant economic expansion without due regard for the rights of workers or the needs of the poor and helpless. A third temptation is to link technological development to the pursuit or maintenance of power instead of using it as an instrument for freedom.
To avoid these dangers, all such developments need to be examined in terms of the objective demands of the moral order and in the light of the Gospel message. United in the name of Christ, we need to ask critical questions and assert basic moral principles which have a bearing on technological development. For instance, the needs of the poor must take priority over the desires of the rich; the rights of workers over the maximization of profits; the preservation of the environment over uncontrolled industrial expansion; production to meet social needs over production for military purposes. These challenges present us with important areas of ecumenical collaboration and form a vital part of our mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. And before all of this we lift up our hearts to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I know that major efforts of ecumenical collaboration have been taking place in Canada for a number of years; in more recent years there have been an increasing intensity and a growing longing for complete union in Christ. The various theological dialogues between the Churches have been very significant, and several inter-church coalitions for social justice and human rights have proven to be particularly important in view of the special problems of our technological age. I deeply admire the Christian spirit which has produced these generous efforts. And I urge you to continue, despite incomplete results, and despite the unfair criticisms which you may at times encounter on the part of those who do not understand the importance of ecumenical activity. I willingly reiterate the position of the Catholic Church that all worthy efforts for promoting unity among Christians are a response to the will of God and the prayer of Christ. They are an essential part of our mission to live the truth in charity and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.
6. La collaboration œcuménique, comme nous l’avons constaté, peut prendre bien des formes: travailler ensemble dans des programmes d’entraide, entreprendre le dialogue théologique et essayer en commun de comprendre notre passé tourmenté, coopérer dans l’action pour la justice et pour l’humanisation de la société technologique, et bien d’autres actions encore. Toutes ont une grande valeur et il faut les poursuivre avec ardeur, en particulier celles qui font avancer la vérité et nous aident à croître en charité fraternelle. En même temps, il faut que nous nous rappelions la primauté des activités spirituelles que le second Concile du Vatican considérait comme l’âme même du mouvement œcuménique (Unitatis Redintegratio, 8). Je pense à la pratique fidèle de la prière publique et privée pour la réconciliation et l’unité, et à la recherche de la conversion personnelle et de la sainteté de vie. Sans cela, tous les autres efforts manquent de profondeur et n’ont pas la vitalité de la foi. Nous aurions vite oublié aussi que saint Paul nous dit clairement: “Tout vient de Dieu, qui nous a réconciliés avec lui par le Christ et nous a confié le ministère de la réconciliation” (2 Cor. 5, 18).
Il ne peut y avoir parmi nous de progrès vers l’unité s’il n’y a pas d’approfondissement de la sainteté de la vie. Dans les Béatitudes, Jésus montre le chemin de la sainteté: “Heureux les pauvres de cœur . . . Heureux les doux . . . Heureux ceux qui pleurent . . . Heureux ceux qui ont faim et soif de la justice . . .” (Matth. 5, 3 ss.). Si nous cherchons à nous trouver parmi ceux qui sont déclarés “heureux”, nous grandirons nous-mêmes en sainteté; mais en même temps nous apporterons notre contribution à l’unité de tous les disciples du Christ, et ainsi nous participerons à la réconciliation du monde. La vraie sainteté de la vie, qui nous rapproche du cœur du Sauveur, fortifiera nos liens de charité avec tous, et spécialement les autres chrétiens.
Let us, then, strive to be counted among these "blessed ones" of the beatitudes, "hungering and thirsting for righteousness" in a technological age, praying for unity with one another and with all who believe in Christ, yearning in hope for the day when "there will be only one flock and one shepherd" (Io. 10, 16).
Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Related Q and A
On Friday, 14 September 1984, the Holy Father addressed the Polish Community of Canada, in the Varsity Stadium, Toronto. The Pope spoke of their Polish roots which “maintained the awareness of their belonging to the faith, culture, tradition of their fathers, and at the same time remained in the great community of the Universal Church.”
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear Brothers and Sisters — my compatriots on Canadian soil!
1. Allow me , as one of you, to welcome our guests the Cardinals present here , first of all the Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Emmett Carter, and of course our American compatriot Cardinal John Król of Philadelphia, Archbishop Edmund Szoka of Detroit, and all the friendly guests the Bishops who are among us today .
I come to today's meeting with joy and deep emotion . I carry deeply imprinted in my memory the hospitable and warm welcome I experienced in Polish parish and Polish communities fifteen years ago in 1969 , when I visited Canada for the first time as a delegate of the Primate and the Episcopate of Poland , invited by the Episcopate of Canada and by the Congress of Canadian Polish Community on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.
Our meeting today is, in a way, an extension and fulfilment of that visit. In the words of Saint Paul , "I thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in my prayers, mindful before our God and Father of your work of faith, your labour of love and your steadfast hope in our Lord Jesus Christ"[ 1 ].
2. I wish to extend a warm welcome and greetings to all of you and to each of you individually . In you and through you, I greet and greet all my compatriots who live on Canadian soil from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific, and who for various reasons cannot be present here today . I address a word of greeting and welcome to all Polish parish communities, to Catholic, social, youth organizations , educational and welfare centers , to all Polish families in Canada. I extend a special warm welcome and greeting to priests with Bishop Szczepan Wesoły , religious families, people who work physically and mentally , people exhausted by life and burdened with the cross of suffering ; as well as young people , children – everyone. I embrace you all with my heart and offer you all the brotherly and papal kiss of peace .
My thoughts, together with you, also go out to those compatriots who once paved the way for the local Polonia and who now sleep the sleep of peace , called by the Father of Light .
3. Beloved Brothers and Sisters!
Divine Providence has made it so that you , who come from Poland, are to fulfill your human and at the same time Christian calling here in Canada . As Poles , for whom — for various reasons — Canada has become a second homeland , you are an integral part of the Church in this country and here, in a way, you are writing further chapters of this history of salvation , the earlier chapters of which were written in the Church on Polish soil.
Following the teaching of the last Council, your spiritual position could be described as a " specific gift" of the Church in Poland to Canada, to the Church and to the Canadian nation .
4. That is why , fifteen years ago , when I visited Polish centres and Churches in Canada in 1969, I left relics of Polish saints in them . I wanted them to be a visible sign and expression of the spiritual community between the Church in Poland and Canada , and also to show all compatriots the spiritual connection of the Church on the plane of the mystery of the Communion of Saints . This is an integral part of our faith, and for us Poles also an integral part of the entire spiritual heritage[ 2] .
To these roots, Christian roots , from which both you and I grow, we must continually return, we must, as it were, grow anew from them. In these roots there is the power and the life -giving juices necessary for your spiritual growth as well as mine.
Your ancestors knew this well, those who initiated the wave of emigration. As Sienkiewicz writes in the novella "Za chlebem": "They felt that although the wind carried them there, like miserable leaves , their family tree was not the side they were going to , but the one they had left."
Putting down roots in the new land, your ancestors maintained a deep connection with their homeland, maintained the awareness of their belonging to the faith, culture, tradition of their fathers, and at the same time remained in the great community of the Universal Church . They built Catholic churches - how can we not mention here the first Polish church , built in honour of Our Lady of Częstochowa in the last century by Polish settlers and still existing in the town of Wilno, and what is more interesting - Wilno in Kashubia; and in turn this church under the invocation of St. Maximilian Kolbe, which you recently built in the Archdiocese of Toronto. The emigrants also built Catholic schools , created Polish and youth organizations , such as the Polish National Union , the Canadian Polish Congress, the Polish Scouting Association , established Polish research centers , libraries, museums, published books , newspapers and magazines. These centers and institutions were established at different times and had different tasks to fulfill , but all of them grew out of a sense of spiritual bond and community with the Polish Nation and the Church .
5. In preserving this spiritual bond with the nation, in preserving the faith of the fathers, Polish tradition and culture, a great role was and still is played by the family, the Catholic family, supported by the parish and the school . The Polish family in exile deserves words of recognition for not losing the spirit of marital and parental life in the new environment , for preserving its identity and for being able to bring up entire generations in the spirit of Christian ideals and virtues .
In today's materialistic world , the family encounters many difficulties . The situation in which it finds itself often creates confusion in the understanding of the authority of parents and the position of children, as well as in the transmission of essential human and Christian values .
Dear Compatriots, may the family remain the object of your special care, the family growing out of the sacrament, out of the sacramental union of a man and a woman who have discovered in themselves a common vocation to the life of marriage and parenthood. Preserving the family from the dangers of the contemporary world is a great task of the entire Church , a great task of the pastoral care of the Polish diaspora, a great task of the entire Polonia and of each compatriot.
What the family is like , such will be the face of the entire Canadian Polonia, such will be the person growing from the "Polish tree" in Canada .
6. During today's meeting, I am thinking in a special way about the young people , about that generation of my compatriots in Canada who in a few years will take responsibility for the life of religious and Polish communities.
My dear friends, I turn to you with a deep need of my heart.
A dozen or so years ago, at the end of my visit to this country, I addressed a special letter to those who then constituted Polish youth in Canada . I believe that the fundamental ideas of that letter have not lost their relevance . Accept them anew today as the thoughts of the Pope . They focus on the question : who are you ?
To be yourself ! How important this is for man, for contemporary man , especially for contemporary youth , who sometimes with great difficulty seek how to authentically express and confirm themselves . I therefore wish you , today 's youth , that you may remain above all yourselves , in that you too may be able to discover and express that special heritage of belonging to the nation which your parents have passed on to you. I also wish you to seek God ardently , to commune with Him in prayer , discovering the true beauty of the world and the ultimate meaning of your humanity . Know how to read the life calling that God has written in your hearts and through this contribute as much as possible to the life of the country that so hospitably welcomed your parents or grandparents. Try not to impoverish this heritage that older generations have labored to preserve . May you , young people , not disappoint the hopes placed in you.
You, who have recently arrived in Canada with the intention of staying permanently or temporarily , are entering the life of a community that can impress with its material development, organization of life , scope, wealth, civilization . It is often the case that the newcomer faces all these achievements as " weaker " , dependent on others, poorer . This situation can easily lead to frustration .
Dear Compatriots, know how to correctly assess what is in you and around you ! Know how to value , distinguish , choose ! Know how to respect also the good that is in yourselves and do not erase the paths that lead to your homeland. Know how to use the rich experience of others. Know how to join in a creative, constructive way in the life of this new society with which your fates have been linked . Above all , preserve the gift of faith and a living bond with the great community of the People of God , which is the Church of Christ throughout the earth : both in Poland and in Canada.
8. When I was here fifteen years ago, I had much more time for the Canadian Polish community. If I remember correctly, there were two weeks or even a little more . We could meet , talk , travel from place to place, meet new Polish community centers . Today we have to reduce all this to one meeting in Toronto. I refer to those meetings fifteen years ago because they gave me a lot. I encountered first of all that — then new — wave of Polish emigration , which came here after World War II , finding , not without difficulty, but effectively, increasingly serious positions in Canadian society .
The Second World War is a great chapter in the history of Europe and humanity . It is a great chapter in the history of our Homeland. We know how many victims this Second World War cost us , how heavily we paid for the independence that Poland regained after the First World War in 1918. Six million victims. This is a great testimony , this is a great contribution : a contribution - at the same time - to the work of some kind of regeneration of the world, of the renewal of the human family.
When World War II was ending , the nations , especially those who had experienced the most cruelty , violence , concentration camps, hatred of man for man , contempt for man , considered their first task to be to adopt a joint Declaration of Human Rights . And that was a great event. Everyone understood that if humanity and nations were to protect themselves in the future from such cataclysms as World War II , they must place the question of man , human dignity , human rights at the center . We talked a lot about this subject fifteen years ago with the hosts of my visit to the Polish community in Canada.
When today, for several days now, I am driving through various cities in this country, I very often come across banners with the inscription "Solidarity " . So I think that , especially after what the President of the Canadian Polish Congress said at the beginning , it is necessary for me to express what these inscriptions, these banners in various cities in Canada, on various routes of the Pope's visits , mean .
My dear Brothers and Sisters, my dear Compatriots, they mean that over the course of 40 years, and especially in the eighties , the Polish nation has tried to add content to that Declaration of Human Rights that is homogeneous with the Declaration of Human Rights . The inscription "Solidarity " is a symbol of precisely such an order in which man is at the center. Human dignity and human rights are the criteria for creating organizations of work and culture, social life , the life of the national community. And that is why we treat with reverence this word , this symbol, this reality . I think that on the historical path that our nation is following, which is not an easy path , especially in recent generations , this word adds some uniform content , constitutes a stage resulting from the same premises , serving the same aspirations that animate our history . For we want to be ourselves and live our own lives .
9. Dear Compatriots, our meeting today falls on the day when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross . In the Cross , which was once a sign of man's shame , it is man who has been "exalted" most of all . Man of all times and generations . Of all nations, languages , cultures and races. Every man . Each one of us .
I therefore pray to God that the Cross may be for you and your future generations a sign of salvation and the elevation of man . The point is that man should not perish , absorbed entirely in the " world " , but have eternal life in God. That is, the Cross . That is why it is a sign of salvation. The eternal love of the Father, expressed in the history of humanity through the Cross , through the Cross Sacrifice of the Son, has come closer to each one of us through Mary , the Mother of Christ, who persevered to the end under the Cross . And that is why she is able to introduce us most fully into the divine and at the same time human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption accomplished by the Cross . For no one has been led into the depths of this mystery by God himself as Mary has .
Today, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord , and at the same time on the eve of Our Lady of Sorrows , our thoughts and hearts, like the poet's words , hasten to the One who defends Bright Częstochowa and the Ostra Brama . Before Her we stand in spirit, before Her we repeat the words that we learned from the great Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński , during the Millennium of the Baptism: Mary, Queen of Poland, I am with you, I remember you , I watch!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Cross is a sign of our faith, our hope, our love . At the foot of the Cross let us place our heartfelt prayers, trusting that they will be heard .
[ 1 ] Cfr. 1 Thess . 1, 2-4.
[ 2 ] Cfr. Letter to priests , September 15, 1969.
© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
