VATICAN CITY, FEB 25, 2000 (VIS) - This afternoon, the Pope travelled from the apostolic nunciature in Cairo to the New Coptic-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt, which was inaugurated last Christmas. There, an ecumenical meeting took place in the presence of 2,000 people, among them heads of the country's non-Catholic Churches and ecclesial communities with members of their respective faithful.
The Holy Father repeated the words he wrote in the Encyclical 'Ut unum sint': "Whatever relates to the unity of all Christian communities clearly forms part of the concerns of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome." With regard to his ministry as Bishop of Rome he asked the Holy Spirit, "to shine His light upon us, enlightening all the pastors and theologians of our Churches, that we may seek together the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned. Dear brothers, there is no time to lose in this regard!"
John Paul II went on to highlight: "Our communion in the one Lord Jesus Christ, in the one Holy Spirit and in the one baptism, ... is all the more important at the beginning of a new century and a new millennium." A condition for this common witness is the avoidance of anything that may lead "to distrust and discord. We have agreed to avoid any form of proselytism, or methods and attitudes opposed to the exigencies of Christian love and what should characterize the relationship between Churches."
"We do not know each other sufficiently. Let us therefore find ways to meet! Let us seek viable forms of spiritual communion such as joint prayer and fasting, or mutual exchanges and hospitality between monasteries. Let us find forms of practical cooperation."
"Today," he continued, "we give thanks to God that we are ever more aware of our common heritage, in faith and in the richness of sacramental life. ... For faithfully guarding and preaching this heritage, the Church in Egypt has undergone heavy sacrifices and continues to do so. How many martyrs appear in the venerable Martyrology of the Coptic Church, which dates back to the terrible persecutions of the years 283-284! They gave glory to God in Egypt, through their unfaltering witness unto death."
After recalling that in "the fifth century, theological and non-theological factors, combined with a lack of fraternal love and understanding, led to painful divisions in the one Church of Christ," John Paul II said: "Now, in the course of the twentieth century, the Holy Spirit brought the Christian Churches and communities closer together in a movement of reconciliation." On this subject he referred to the Common Christological Declaration, signed by Paul VI and His Holiness Pope Shenouda III in 1973.
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