Elusive Unity

A NOTE FROM OUR PUBLISHER

(photo: EWTN)
“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21, emphasis added).

Jesus’ words to his disciples, uttered at the Last Supper, ring with solemnity through the ages. Since that time, the Church that Christ founded has witnessed its share of disunity, beginning most notably with the East-West Schism of 1054 and further separated by the Reformation, the 500th anniversary of which we soberly mark amid our prayers of petition and penitence.

The Reformation is a cause for reflection, certainly not celebration. Our coverage examines the sad events surrounding the sundering of brothers and sisters from the Church and the enormous disarray those events unleashed. As our culture continues to unravel at an alarming rate, Christians should be coming together through what unites us. And just as God gave the Church the great saints of the Reformation — Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, Philip Neri, Robert Bellarmine, John of the Cross and others — we can be confident that God is now raising up men and women to lead the way to Christ. Please join me in praying for Christian unity. As the men and women in the hundreds of Protestant denominations seek the truth, I pray that they are led to the ultimate Truth.

God bless you!

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis