Pope Francis in ecumenical prayer of the Synod: May the Cross of Christ guide us to unity

Pope Francis expressed his desire that the Cross of Christ guide the path to Christian unity, in his meditation for ecumenical prayer with delegates from other churches and participants in the Synod of Synodality.

At the beginning of the event, Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, explained that in the Plaza of the Protomartyrs in the Vatican, where the prayer was made with the cross of San Damiano, “according to a unmemorable tradition, the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter occurred.”

The cardinal also said that “we are happy to walk and pray together on this symbolic day of October 11, which commemorates the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council,” the 60th anniversary of the dogmatic constitution on the Church. Light of the Gentiles and the decree Reintegration of the uniton Christian unity, texts from which some extracts were read.

Pope Francis’ reflection

In the text given to the participants and which Pope Francis did not read, but was replaced by a moment of silence, the Holy Father affirms that “the world needs a common witness, the world needs us to be faithful to our common mission.” “Dear brothers and sisters, before the Crucifix Saint Francis of Assisi (the cross of San Damiano) received the call to restore the Church,” he added.

The Pope expresses his desire that “the Cross of Christ also guides us, every day, on our path towards full unity, in harmony with each other and with all creation.” He also remembers that “the ecumenical movement was born from the desire to bear witness together, with others and not apart from each other, or worse still, against each other.”

“In this place the protomartyrs remind us that today, in many parts of the world, Christians of different traditions give their lives together for faith in Jesus Christ, living the ecumenism of the blood,” he said, adding that “their testimony is stronger than any word, because unity comes from the Cross of the Lord.”

After recalling the penitential liturgy that took place before the beginning of the Synod, which will conclude on October 27, Pope Francis highlighted that “today we also express our shame for the scandal of the division of Christians, for the scandal of not giving, united , testimony of the Lord Jesus.”

After highlighting the importance of Pope Saint John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and whose feast day is celebrated today, Francis commented that the relationship between Christian unity and synodality allows us to understand that “unity is a grace, an unpredictable gift. The real protagonist is the Holy Spirit, not us; It is He who leads us towards a greater communion.”

“As we do not know in advance what the outcome of the Synod will be, we also do not know exactly what the unity to which we are called will be,” he continued.

“It is a gift whose processes and ways we cannot predict; we must receive it ‘without obstacles being placed in the paths of Providence and without prejudice against the impulses that may come from the Holy Spirit,'” the Pope said, citing numeral 24 of Reintegration of the unit.

“Along this path, let us never allow ourselves to be paralyzed by difficulties! Let us have confidence in the Holy Spirit who drives us towards unity in a harmony of multicolored diversity,” Pope Francis encouraged.