Pope meets WCC delegation

March 07, 2014 - Divisions among Christian Churches and communities are a heavy obstacle to witnessing to the Gospel in the world. Hence resigning ourselves to the situation simply as an inevitable part of the historical experience of the Church, cannot be accepted. The Pope made the point on Friday to a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) led by its General Secretary, Olav Fykse Tveit. "If Christians ignore the call of the Lord to unity,” the Pope warned, “they risk ignoring the Lord Himself and the salvation He offers through his Body, the Church.” The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of 345 member churches including Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant Churches in more than 110 countries. The Catholic Church, the largest among the Christian denominations, is not a member of WCC, but cooperates with it in several ways. The Pope commended the WCC for its great contribution to sensitizing Christians in the cause of unity among the followers of Christ. He observed that growing relations between the Catholic Church and WCC following the Second Vatican Council have shown that they can overcome mutual misunderstandings and engage in sincere ecumenical collaboration and a growing ‘exchange of gifts” among the various communities.