VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2000 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. today Pope John Paul participated in an ecumenical encounter at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He told the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops present that "it is a source of great joy to know that the heads of Christian communities in the Holy City of Jerusalem meet frequently to deal with matters of common interest to the faithful."
"Need I say," he asked, "that I am greatly encouraged by this evening's meeting? It confirms that we have set out on the path to knowing one another better, with the desire to overcome the mistrust and rivalry inherited from the past. Here in Jerusalem, ... (Christ's) words ring out with special resonance, particularly the words He spoke on the night before He died: 'that they may all be one;... so that the world may believe that you have sent me'."
The Holy Father, recalling the meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, said that "in the intervening years we have learned that the road to unity is a difficult one. This should not discourage us. We must be patient and persevering, and continue to move ahead without wavering."
Turning to the presence of the different Churches and Communities in Jerusalem, John Paul II observed that "the variety and beauty of your liturgical rites, and of your spiritual, theological and canonical traditions and institutions, testifies to the richness of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church, as it has developed down the centuries in the East and in the West. There exists a legitimate diversity which in no way is opposed to the unity of the Body of Christ, but rather enhances the splendor of the Church. ... None of this wealth must be lost in the fuller unity to which we aspire."
"Fraternal cooperation among the Christians of this Holy City is no mere option," affirmed the Holy Father. "Only in a spirit of mutual respect and support can the Christian presence flourish here in a community alive with its traditions and confident in facing the social, cultural and political challenges of an evolving situation. Only by being reconciled among themselves can Christians play their full part in making Jerusalem the City of Peace for all peoples. In the Holy Land, where Christians live side by side with the followers of Judaism and Islam, where there are almost daily tensions and conflicts, it is essential to overcome the scandalous impression given by our disagreements and arguments. In this City it should be eminently possible for Christians, Jews and Muslims to live together in brotherhood and freedom, in dignity, justice and peace."
He closed by recalling that it has been his intention "to give a clearly ecumenical dimension to the Catholic Church's celebration of the Jubilee Year 2000. ... This is a providential time for us to turn to the Lord in order to ask forgiveness for the wounds which the members of our Churches have inflicted upon one another down the years" and "to engage in an ever more fruitful theological dialogue."
Vatican Information Service