(January 25, 2010) As the Church concludes its Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
which ends Monday, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that communion with each other comes
through Christ. The Pope stated this Sunday in the public address before praying
the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. He referred
to the Sunday’s liturgy, which featured St. Paul's writings about the Body of Christ.
"The Church is understood as a body," the Pontiff said, "which forms with Christ,
who is the head, one single whole." The Apostle "wishes to communicate" the "unity
in the multiplicity of charisms, which are the gifts of the Holy Spirit," the Holy
Father noted. He continued, "Thanks to these gifts the Church presents itself as
a rich and not a uniform, living organism, the fruit of the one Spirit who leads all
into a profound unity, assuming the differences without abolishing them and realizing
a harmonious ensemble." The Pope then pointed out that "it is precisely in Christ
and in the Spirit that the Church is one and holy that is, an intimate communion that
transcends and sustains human capacities." The Holy Father affirmed that, as is tradition,
he will close the Christian unity week Monday, the Feast of the Conversion of St.
Paul, with the celebration of Vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Representatives from other churches and ecclesial communities in Rome will participate
in this event, and will "ask God for the gift of the complete unity of all the disciples
of Christ," the Pontiff said. "In particular," he continued, "according to this year's
theme, we will renew the commitment to being together witnesses of the crucified and
risen Lord." "The communion of Christians," The Holy Father affirmed, "makes the proclamation
of the Gospel more credible and efficacious." He concluded, "May the Virgin Mary,
Mother of the Church, obtain for us always to make progress in communion, to transmit
the beauty of being one in the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."