Pope welcomes Baptists for ecumenical talks
Vatican, Dec. 6, 2007 (www.CWNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI (bio – news) met on December 6 with participants in a conference on Scripture, jointly organized by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Baptist World Alliance.
The Holy Father expressed his hope for the success of the ecumenical discussions. He noted that the discussion of Scripture "offers a promising context for the examination of such historically controverted issues as the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, the understanding of Baptism and the Sacraments, the place of Mary in the communion of the Church, and the nature of primacy in the Church's ministerial structure."
The quest to restore Christian unity requires believers to address these questions, acknowledging their disagreements, "in a spirit of openness, mutual respect and fidelity to the liberating truth and saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," the Pontiff said. He added that ecumenism is an obligation for all Christians, because the absence of unity "openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and harms the most holy cause of proclaiming the good news to every creature."
For more on this, from www.Zenit.org, click here. For the Pope's address to the Baptists, entitled "Lack of Unity Between Christians Openly Contradicts the Will of Christ", click here.