To Representatives of other Christian Confessions (17 November 1980)

On 17 November 1980, the Holy Father addressed representatives of other Christian Confessions, in Mainz, speaking of the human faults which led to the division of Christians, calling for interior conversion and advising against a too hasty reform. 

Venerable brothers in Christ,

“How good and sweet it is for brothers to live together!” (Ps 133,1). Can't we all experience the truth of this word of the psalm in this hour? We found ourselves together as brothers in the Lord. Fraternity is not for us an empty word or a fleeting dream; it is a happy reality, today and everywhere Christians obey their Lord and follow him. God's grace unites us with him and with each other. With Vatican II we can be confident that "this fraternal bond between all Christians" "finally leads us according to God's gracious will to full and perfect unity" ( Unitatis Redintegratio, 5). We are all destined to live together in the one "family of God"; we are called "to serve for the salvation and renewal of every creature, so that everything may be summed up in Christ and men may find in him one family and one people of God" (Ad Gentes, 1 ) .

All the joy for our meeting, for our vocation and mission must not make us forget how little we have corresponded and continue to correspond to God's grace. Despite our profound union, in many respects we are, in fact, divided.

Our being together in your German homeland confronts us with the event of the Reformation.

We have to think about what preceded it and what has happened since then. If we do not neglect the facts, we realize that the faults of men have led us to the unfortunate division of Christians and our fault once again prevents the possible and necessary steps towards unity. I forcefully make my own what my predecessor Adrian VI said in 1523 at the Diet of Nuremberg: "Certainly the hand of the Lord has not shortened so much that it cannot save us, but sin separates us from him... All of us, prelates and priests, we have gone astray and there is not even one who does good (Ps 14:3). Therefore we must all honor God and humble ourselves before him. Each of us must consider why he fell and judge himself rather than be judged by God in the day of wrath." With the latest German or Dutch Pope, I say: “The disease is deeply rooted and developed; one must therefore proceed step by step and first of all face the most serious and dangerous ailments with appropriate medicines, so as not to entangle everything further with a hasty reform". Today, as then, the first and most important step towards unity is the renewal of the Christian life. "There is no authentic ecumenism without interior conversion" (Unitatis Redintegratio , 7).

In the effort for renewal and unity, what has already been done in your country from an ecumenical point of view can help us a lot. In this regard, we recall the coming together of disunited brothers in the years of common calamity and tribulation suffered, the martyrdom of those who sacrificed their lives for unity in Christ, the common daily scientific efforts made together for the unity of Christians, the mutual and regular official contacts, the ecumenical translation of the Sacred Scriptures elaborated together, the ever new initiatives undertaken to respond together to the challenges of our time, the reflection, animated by an ecumenical spirit, on the intent and testimony of the "confessio augustana" and the celebration of its 450th anniversary,

Heartfelt thanks to God for all this! May he grant everyone strength and courage not to slow down the numerous efforts for full union. He makes sure that the good seed sprouts and bears abundant fruit.

Certainly everything depends decisively on uniting more and more "for a common witness and service". The unity of the Church belongs to her inalienable essence. It is not an end in itself. The Lord bestows it "so that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21). We leave no stone unturned in witnessing to one another what we have been given in Jesus Christ. He is "the only mediator between God and men" (1Tm 2,5). "There is no salvation in anyone else" (Acts 4:12). All the steps towards the mediator oblige and encourage us at the same time to dare the necessary steps towards all our sisters and brothers. Like the love of the Lord, true service in following him knows no barriers. It concerns all dimensions of human existence and all environments of our time. (Unitatis Redintegratio , 12).

Recalling this requirement of the ecumenical movement, I would like to immediately recall the last words.

Conscious that the "reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ surpasses human strength and capacity", the Council placed "all its hope in Christ's prayer for the Church, in the love of the Father for us and in the power of the Holy Spirit. "And hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5)" ( Unitatis Redintegratio , 24 ) .

Let us pray: Lord, give us the strength of hope, the fire of love, the light of faith. Let us pray together as the Lord has taught us:

"Our father...".

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