Receiving the participants at an ecumenical conference of bishops friends of the Focolare Movement, Francis reaffirms the need to "respond to the globalization of indifference with a globalization of solidarity and fraternity." The Eucharist as a mystery of communion the "high road" in the search for unity.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Lack of religious freedom, the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, terrorism, the plight of refugees, fundamentalism and exaggerated secularism are issues that "challenge our conscience as Christians and pastors" and "an appeal to seek with renewed commitment, perseverance and patience paths that lead to unity".

In a meeting this morning with participants in the Ecumenical Meeting of Bishops Friends of the Focolare Movement on the theme "The Eucharist, a mystery of communion," Pope Francis reaffirmed the need to "respond to the globalization of indifference with a globalization of solidarity and fraternity".

The Pope began his reflection starting from "acute awareness of the value in our troubled world, of  a clear witness of unity among Christians and of an explicit declaration of esteem, respect and, more precisely, of brotherhood among us. This fellowship is a bright and attractive sign of our faith in the Risen Christ. If we seek, as Christians, to respond in a meaningful way to the many problems and dramas of our time, we must speak and act like brothers, so that everyone can easily recognize us. This is also a path - perhaps the first for us - to respond to the globalization of indifference with a globalization of solidarity and fraternity, which should  shine even more brightly among the baptized".

"The fact that [people in] many countries lack the freedom to express religion publicly and to live openly according to the requirements of Christian ethics; the persecution of Christians and other minorities; the sad phenomenon of terrorism; the plight of refugees caused by war and other reasons; the challenges of fundamentalism and on the other extreme, exaggerated secularism; all these really challenge our conscience of Christians and pastors. These challenges are a call to look with renewed commitment, perseverance and patience to paths that lead to unity, 'so that the world may believe' (Jn 17:21), and so we ourselves can we be filled with confidence and courage. And among these paths is one that is a highway and it is precisely the Eucharist as a mystery of communion. Since the First Letter to the Corinthians - in which the theme of the divisions is a priority - the Apostle Paul makes it clear the Lord's Supper as the central moment in the life of the community, 'the moment of truth ': there our encounter with the grace of Christ and our responsibility fins its maximum expression; there, in the Eucharist, we feel clearly that unity is a gift, and at the same time it is a responsibility, a grave responsibility (cf. 1 Cor 11.17 to 33)".

 

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