The presidents of CCEE, the Committee of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, and CEC, the Conference of European Churches, have released a joint message for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity stressing that Europe needs hope and that a “European plan focusing on accumulation of wealth, incapable of solidarity or hospitality, paradoxically creates new poverty.”
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of CCEE and the Right Reverend Christopher Hill, President of CEC, call on Christians to persevere in hope and witness to the Gospel and state that “a better future is possible only if we follow God and our hearts and do justice, as individuals and as communities.”
The presidents also point to the need to respect and unhold the human dignity of all people created in the image and likeness of God:
“Today there are many threats and new forms of slavery which profoundly damage the dignity of the human person created in the image of God. We think of the mass exodus of people who are forced by conflict and poverty to abandon their families or homes. A better future is possible only if we follow God and our hearts and do justice, as individuals and as communities.”
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity runs from 18 – 25 January.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power…” (Ex 15:6a) is the theme chosen for this year’s celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It reminds us that it is the Lord who rules the world and history, and who has a plan (Eph 1:3-10) of hope for humanity.
To bear witness to Christian hope in a secular society
Today, Europe needs hope! It is the underlying cry which shines through the faces of many citizens in our countries. It is the sense of emptiness reached by a God-less life. Economic well-being alone is not capable of satisfying the human heart. A European plan focusing on accumulation of wealth, incapable of solidarity or hospitality, paradoxically creates new poverty. Everyone who is open to the Gospel discovers the other, the suffering, the elderly, the unemployed, and feels united with them in generating hope.
We Christians want to give witness to our hope which is rooted in a life with Christ. We have certainty that in Christ is it possible to live with peace of mind in these present times and to build a better future with eyes open to eternity.
Care for every person and for the whole world
Today there are many threats and new forms of slavery which profoundly damage the dignity of the human person created in the image of God. We think of the mass exodus of people who are forced by conflict and poverty to abandon their families or homes. A better future is possible only if we follow God and our hearts and do justice, as individuals and as communities.
The Christian Churches in Europe want to testify Christ’s love for every person, created in the image God. The yearning for visible unity of our Churches finds its expression today in the charity of so many Christian communities. So unity is strengthened through:
– solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters living in conditions of poverty, of loneliness and marginalisation;
– solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters and others who are persecuted for their faith, especially in the Middle East, in Africa and in Asia;
– solidarity with our neighbours who come to the gates of Europe;
– concern for a Europe which takes care of the spiritual and material needs of its citizens.
Perseverance on the ecumenical journey
The urgency of these challenges confirms the importance that Christians be united. Therefore we call on our faithful to persevere in hope and witness to the Gospel. This requires that we support each other through mutual understanding in order to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco
Committee of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE)
Rt Rev. Christopher Hill KCVO, DD
President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC)
catholicnews.org.uk/week-christian-unity-2018
Prayers, reflections and resources from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
ccee.eu/ccee
Committee of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE)
ceceurope.org
The Conference of European Churches (CEC)
