Aid to the Church in Need: Vatican praises charity’s Ecumenism

Vatican praises charity’s Ecumenism

Posted by ACN News on 21/5/2008, 11:24 am
Message modified by board administrator 7/8/2008, 1:30 pm

ACN News, Wednesday, 21st May 2008

Vatican praises charity’s Ecumenism
By John Newton

SENIOR Vatican officials praised charity Aid to the Church in Need for its crucial role building bridges between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told representatives of ACN that the charity was central to promoting closer relations with the Orthodox Church.

The prelates urged ACN to continue the wide range of projects it supports for both Churches in Russia.

During the meetings with ACN, Cardinal Bertone stressed the commitment of the Holy See to proceed along the path of unity with the Orthodox Church.

Cardinal Kasper emphasised the importance of Catholic and Orthodox Christians knowing each other’s faith better.

He went on to highlight areas where the Churches share a mutual faith, including the sacraments, Bishops, and their reverence for many Saints, including Popes from the first millennium.

Delegates from ACN described the charity’s historic cooperation with the Moscow Patriarchate on a documentary about Pope Benedict XVI broadcast on Russian state TV on 16th April this year – the Holy Father’s birthday.

At the end of the documentary the Pontiff addressed his greetings to the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexei II, Catholic Bishops in the country, and all those living in Russia.

There has been widespread praise for the broadcast, in which Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of Church unity.

The ACN delegation was headed by Vice President Pieter van der Velden of the Netherlands, and International Ecclesiastical Assistant, Fr Joaquín Alliende, who has been nominated by the Holy See as the new President of ACN and will take up his duties this October.

The delegation also included the new secretary general of ACN, Pierre Marie Morel, and the charity’s Russia specialist, Mr Peter Humeniuk, who oversaw the production of the documentary about Pope Benedict.

The two cardinals met with the international leadership of the charity on 14th and 15th May.

Editor's Notes

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 145 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 45 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

For more information, contact please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web:www.aidtochurch.org

This message is locked.

(Responses are not allowed)

Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org