Today’s general audience held in Paul VI hall in front of 9 hundred faithful has started with a fraternal greeting to Aram I, catholikòs of Cilicia and of the Armenians. The Pope expressed his "gratitude" for the catholikòs’ "personal commitment" in the field of ecumenism "in particular in the theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Churches." Then he thanked the Armenian Church for its "witness" of "fidelity and courage" and expressed the wish "the unity we all desire could be fully achieved." For his part, Aram I focussed on the "Apostolic origin" of both Churches. In a time when "moral values are decaying" and "religious values rejected," the Armenian and Catholic Churches are called to "transform the Apostolic origin of our churches into apostolic vocation" through the "re-evangelization of our families and communities" as top "priority".
