"Unity comes from prayer, above all, and the more the prayer is choral, the more it is appreciated by the Lord": thus yesterday morning the Pope, before introducing the Angelus prayer, invited the believers to take part in the celebration of the Vespers, which are going to be presided over by himself at the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, next 25 January, the liturgical feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, on the occasion of the conclusion of the Prayer’s week for the unity of the Christians. After recalling the subject of the Week for 2007, "Let the deaf hear and let the dumb speak!", Benedict XVI explained that "this year, the initial project for the ‘Week’ (later on adapted by the International Joint Committee), was prepared by the believers of Umlazi, South Africa, a very poor town, where HIV is spreading on a pandemic level, and where human hopes are really few". However, added the Holy Father, "resurrected Christ is a hope for everybody, especially for the Christians. Though heirs of disagreements happened in past epochs, this time they wanted to make an appeal: Christ can do everything", and is capable of "inspiring the Christians with the burning desire to listen to the neighbour, to communicate with the neighbour, and to talk the common language of mutual love" (to be continued).
