Speranza, incoraggiamento, commozione. Sono queste le parole con le quali i rappresentanti delle Chiese cristiane hanno definito oggi l’incontro con Benedetto XVI. Erano presenti 28 esponenti delle Chiese evangeliche, ortodosse, Chiese libere, Chiese orientali antiche e membri della Commissione ecumenica tedesca. "La visita del Papa alla Sinagoga questa mattina e l’incontro ecumenico di questo pomeriggio […]

"It would have been unthinkable in a city like Cologne where there is the most ancient Jewish community and where during the second world war 11 thousand Jews lost their lives, for the Pope not to pay tribute. By this gesture Pope Benedict XVI underlined all the great steps made in the dialogue of his […]

"During these days our common commitment has been to show a Church which is more and more united in Jesus Christ. You yourself, Holy Father, after your election as successor of Peter, have made important steps along this way towards unity". Cardinal Karl Lehmann, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, addressed the initial greeting during […]

Then, Benedict XVI explained what it means "to reinstate the unity of all Christians". "Such unity – he said – is epitomised, according to our belief, by the Catholic Church, with no chance of being lost. However, it does not mean consistency in all the expressions of theology and spirituality, in all forms of liturgy […]

” “"I am well aware that many Christians in this country, and not only here, expect further positive steps towards reconciliation. I expect them too". This was said this afternoon, which has been full of meetings, by Benedict XVI, as he met about 30 delegates from different Christian confessions of Germany at the archbishop’s palace. […]

A case in point is the story of the Evangelical minister Paul Schneider, killed in the Nazi concentration camps on July 18th 1949, called by the other prisoners "the preacher of Buchenwald". His story was told by Elsa Ulrike Ross from the association bearing the same name in his memory. "Schneider was the first protestant […]

"The history of the martyrs in Europe, who have helped each other when in trouble by overcoming their denominational barriers, shows that being united in the same faith is more important than any tension in history": a concept that has been repeated by many people in the ecumenical meeting organised in Cologne today by the […]

Al termine dell’incontro con i Seminaristi presso la Chiesa di S. Pantaleon, il Papa rientra in arcivescovado dove incontra circa 30 Rappresentanti delle diverse Confessioni cristiane della Germania. Dopo i saluti del Presidente della Conferenza Episcopale Tedesca, Card. Karl Lehmann, e del Vescovo luterano Wolfgang Huber di Berlino, il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI pronuncia il […]

It was a long "serene and courteous" chat. According to the words of Monsignor Franz-Josef Bode, Bishope Delegate of the German Bishops’ Conference for youth pastoral care, is the meaning of today’s lunch of the Pope with 12 young people from the 5 continents, in the archbishop’s palace in Cologne. The menu was: a salad […]

Benedetto XVI ha poi spiegato cosa significa "ristabilire l’unità di tutti i cristiani". "Tale unità – ha detto – sussiste, secondo la nostra convinzione, nella Chiesa cattolica senza possibilità di essere perduta. Essa non significa, tuttavia, uniformità in tutte le espressioni della teologia e della spiritualità, nelle forme liturgiche e nella disciplina. Unità nella molteplicità […]