Pope Benedict XVI Appreciates Inter-Christian Symposium in Thessaloniki

Sept. 02, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI appreciated the 12^th Inter-Christian Symposium held in Thessaloniki from 30 August to 2 September. In a letter addressed to the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, the Pope said that the symposium, on "The testimony of the Church in the Modern World", has been a commendable initiative. It is promoted by 'Franciscan Institute of Spirituality at the Pontifical University Antonianum and the Department of Theology at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki.

Pope Benedict XVI said that the theme ‘The testimony of the Church in the Modern World’ is very timely and is central to his concerns and prayers. Over the centuries the Church has never ceased to proclaim the saving mystery of death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it needs a renewed vigor now in many regions that it first received the light, and experience the effects of secularization that can deplete the man in his deepest dimension.

In reality we are witnessing, in the contemporary world, contradictory phenomena: on the one hand there is a common distraction or even insensitivity of transcendence, on the other hand, there are many signs which attest to the persistence, in the heart of many, a deep longing of God, which manifests itself in different ways and raises many men and women in an attitude of sincere research, the Pope said.

Recalling the words of Pope Paul VI, he said "As evangelists, we must offer Christ's faithful not the image of people divided and separated by disputes that does not build at all, but of people are mature in faith and capable of being together beyond the real tensions, thanks to a shared, sincere and disinterested search for truth. Yes, the destiny of evangelization is certainly bound to the witness of unity given by the Church. This is a source of responsibility and also of comfort ", the Pope added.