Pope Francis Makes Another Impassioned Plea for Christian Unity

This Pope is dedicated to doing everything possible to heal the divisions in the broken Body of Christ.

Dear friends, let us therefore proceed towards full unity! History has separated us, but we are on the path towards reconciliation and communion! And this is true! And we must defend it! We are all on the path toward communion. And when the goal seems too distant, almost unreachable, and we feel gripped by despair, let us be comforted by the idea that God cannot close His ears to the voice of his Son Jesus or fail to grant his and our prayer: that all Christians truly be one.- Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - On Thursday, June 27, 2014, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, I published an extraordinary account of a meeting at the Vatican between Pope Francis and Evangelical Christian leaders, which included my friend, James Robison.

The report was entitled James Robison: Witnessing the Miracle Jesus Prayed For.

This Pope is dedicated  to doing everything possible to heal the divisions in the broken Body of Christ. He is encouraging courageous efforts at Christian cooperation. He has raised the water level in this priority for the whole Catholic Church by bringing his lived experience in Argentina, along with his unique palate of gifts, to the office of Successor of Peter at a prophetic moment in history.

In a teaching on the Church as the Body of Christ which was given during his Wednesday audience of June 19, 2013, Pope Francis made an extemporaneous comment which revealed what his life work has revealed for many years. Throughout his service as Priest, Father, Bishop and Cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, this simple and holy man of God, has heard the passionate Prayer of Jesus Christ and made it his own:

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." (John 17:21) 

Here are a few words from that message he gave in June of 2013:

"Divisions among us, but also divisions among the communities: evangelical Christians, orthodox Christians, Catholic Christians, but why divided? We must try to bring about unity. Let me tell you something, today, before leaving home, I spent 40 minutes more or less, half an hour, with an evangelical pastor. And we prayed together, seeking unity."

"But we Catholics must pray with each other and other Christians. Pray that the Lord gift us unity! Unity among ourselves! How will we ever have unity among Christians if we are not capable of having it among us Catholics, in the family, how many families fight and split up? Seek unity, unity builds the Church and comes from Jesus Christ. He sends us the Holy Spirit to build unity!"

With this kind of clear and courageous commitment to unity, Francis steps right into the trajectory of his two predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

The sincerity of his quest for healing the divisions between Christians is expressed in both word and his deed. The comfortable way in which he shared from his heart that he had prayed with an evangelical Protestant pastor right before giving his Wednesday Instruction demonstrates that his commitment to unity is naturally supernatural, as it should be with everyone of us as we reach out to other Christians with the love of Jesus Christ.

I have spent years praying and working with evangelical protestants and orthodox Christians, co- laboring in the trenches of the culture on the great challenges of our neo-pagan, or better yet, what I prefer to call pre-Christian, age. I am so very happy to have Pope Francis make it clear that this is part of our task, our call and our mission. 

For those who followed the selection of Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope, this will comes as no surprise. One of his evangelical friends from Argentina, protestant evangelist Luis Palau, was straightforward and enthusiastic about his friendship and prayer with Francis.

In an interview with Christianity Today, given the day after the Pope was selected, Lous Palau is clear and specific. It is well worth the read for anyone wondering where this Pope is headed as he steps into this trajectory of his predecessors and responds to the imperative of healing the divisions among Christians.

A wonderful emerging scholar and leader among evangelical Protestants in the United States, Timothy George, the  Dean of Beeson Divinity School, wrote a piece for the same publication which is also a must read. It was entitled, Our Francis, Too: Why we can enthusiastically join arms with the Catholic leader.

George wrote: "Francis succeeds two men of genius in his papal role. John Paul II was the liberator who stared down communism by the force of his courage and prayers. Benedict XVI was the eminent teacher of the Catholic Church in recent history. Francis appears now as the pastor, a shepherd who knows and loves his sheep and wants to lead them in love and humility.

"The new Franciscan moment is the season of the shepherd. Catholics and evangelicals are the two largest faith communities in the body of Christ. Without forgetting the deep differences that divide us, now as never before we are called to stand and work together for the cause of Christ in a broken world."

On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, Pope Francis used his address to the thousands gathered in St Peters square to continue this impassioned and sincere effort to foster healing of the divisions in the wounded Body of Christ and encourage us all to work toward authentic Christian unity. This was not just meant to inspire the crowd, it was meant inspire action.

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Pope Francis Calls for Spiritual Ecumenism, Prayer and Work for Christian unity

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good Morning

In recent catecheses, we have tried to highlight the nature and the beauty of the Church and we have asked ourselves what it means for each of us to belong to this people, to belong to this people, the People of God, which is the Church. We must not forget, however, that there are so many brothers and sisters who share with us the faith in Christ, but who belong to other confessions or to traditions different from ours.

Many have resigned themselves to this division - even within our Catholic Church many are resigned -- which in the course of history, has often been the cause of conflict and suffering, also of war and this is a disgrace! Today too, relations are not always characterized by respect and courtesy . But, I wonder: we, how do we feel about all this? Are we too, resigned, if not actually indifferent, to this division? Or do we firmly believe that one can and must walk in the direction of reconciliation and of full communion? Full communion, that is, for everyone to be able to partake together in the Body and Blood of Christ.

Divisions among Christians, while they wound the Church, wound Christ; and divided, we cause a wound to Christ: the Church is indeed the body of which Christ is the Head. We know well how much Jesus had at heart that His disciples should remain united in his love. It suffices to consider his words, written in the 17th Chapter of the Gospel according to John, in the prayer to His Father when his passion was imminent: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:11).

This unity was already threatened while Jesus was still among them: in the Gospel, in fact, it is recorded that the Apostles argued among themselves about who was the greatest, the most important (cf. Luke 9:46). The Lord, however, emphatically insisted on unity in the name of the Father, allowing us to understand how much more credible our proclamation and our witness will be if we are first able to live in communion and to love each other.

That is what his Apostles, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, would then deeply understand and take to heart, so much so that Saint Paul would reach the point of imploring the community of Corinth with these words: "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).

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During her journey in history, the Church has been tempted by the Evil One, who seeks to divide her, and unfortunately it has been marked by deep and painful schisms. They are divisions that at times have been long and drawn out in time, up to today, which is why it is now difficult to reconstruct all the motivations and especially to find possible solutions.

The reasons that have led to the fractures and schisms may be the most diverse: from disagreement on dogmatic and moral principles and on theological concepts and pastoral differences, to political motives of convenience, to disputes caused by dislikes and personal ambitions.. What is certain is that, in one way or another, arrogance and selfishness have always been behind theses lacerations, rendering us intolerant, incapable of listening and accepting one with a vision or a position different from ours.

Now, faced with all of this, is there something that each one of us, as members of the Holy Mother Church, can and must do? Certainly, there must never be a shortage of prayer, in continuity and in communion with that of Jesus (in Jn 17:11), prayer for the unity of Christians. And together with prayer, the Lord asks us for renewed openness: He asks us not to be closed to dialogue and to encounter, but to welcome all that is valid and positive that is offered even by someone who thinks differently from us or who takes a different stand.

He asks us not to fix our gaze on what divides us, but rather on what unites us, seeking to know and love Jesus better and to share the richness of his love. And this means a concrete adherence to the Truth, together with the capacity for reciprocal forgiveness, to feel a part of the same Christian family, consider oneself a gift to the other and together to do good things, and many works of charity.

It is grievous, but there are divisions, there are many divided Christians, we have split amongst ourselves. But we all have something in common: we all believe in Jesus Christ, the Lord. We all believe in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, and we all walk together, we are on the journey. Let us help one another! You think this way, you think that way....

In all communities there are good theologians: let them debate, let them seek theological truth because it is a duty, but let us walk together, praying for one another and doing works of charity. And like this, we are in communion on the journey. This is called spiritual ecumenism: to journey on the path of life, everyone together in our faith, in Jesus Christ the Lord. They say that one should not talk about personal things, but I cannot resist the temptation. We are speaking about communion... communion among us.

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And today, I am so thankful to the Lord because 70 years ago today, I made my First Communion. To make our First Communion we must know what it means to enter into communion with others, in communion with the brothers and sisters of our Church, but also in communion with those who belong to different communities but who believe in Jesus. Let us thank the Lord for our Baptism, let us thank the Lord for our communion, in order that this communion become joint communion with everyone, together.

Dear friends, let us therefore proceed towards full unity! History has separated us, but we are on the path towards reconciliation and communion! And this is true! And we must defend it! We are all on the path toward communion. And when the goal seems too distant, almost unreachable, and we feel gripped by despair, let us be comforted by the idea that God cannot close His ears to the voice of his Son Jesus or fail to grant his and our prayer: that all Christians truly be one.

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Deacon Keith Fournier is Founder and Chairman of Common Good Foundation and Common Good Alliance. A married Roman Catholic Deacon of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, he and his wife Laurine have five grown children and six grandchildren, He serves as the Director of Adult Faith Formation at St. Stephen, Martyr Parish in Chesapeake, VA. He is also a human rights lawyer and public policy advocate.

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