Pope Francis at weekly General Audience: the scandal of division
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis devoted the catechetical portion of his weekly General
Audience on Wednesday to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year is
dedicated to a question taken from the First Letter to the Corinthians: “Has Christ
Been Divided?”. The English-language synthesis, read out after the main reflection
delivered by Pope Francis in Italian, said, “We know that Christ has not been divided;
yet we must sincerely recognize that our communities continue to experience divisions
which are a source of scandal and weaken our witness to the Gospel.”
In
reproaching the Corinthians for their divisions, Paul reminds them to rejoice in the
great spiritual gifts which they have received. His words encourage us to rejoice
in the gifts God has given to other Christians, gifts which we can receive from them
for our enrichment. To be able to do this calls for humility, discernment and constant
conversion.
Pope Francis asked all Christian faithful to pray that, as
we reflect on Paul’s teaching during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we may
be confirmed, together with all Christ’s followers, in our pursuit of holiness and
fidelity to the Lord’s will. Listen: