Cardinal Koch: Geneva visit a sign of Pope’s emphasis on ecumenism

March 2, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 1 Print

Vatican City, Mar 2, 2018 / 02:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, the Vatican's point-man on interreligious dialogue said Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Geneva, which will have a largely ecumenical theme, is a prime example of just how important the topic is for the current pontificate.

Speaking to journalists about the trip March 2, Cardinal Kurt Koch said “the pope has a very ecumenical heart. Ecumenism, the unity of Christians, is very much in the Holy Father's heart.”

Noting how ecumenism was also a major priority coming out of the Second Vatican Council, Koch said the trip was “an adequate way” to unite the desire of the Council and that of Pope Francis.

For Francis, ecumenism “is not just an ecumenical dialogue,” but, as the pontiff has often said, it means working together, praying together and collaborating in joint initiatives.

Christians, the cardinal said, must do “everything that we can” to work for this unity.

Cardinal Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, presented the theme, relevant background and expected schedule to journalists following the official March 2 announcement of the trip by the Vatican.

Pope Francis is making the trip, which is set to take place June 21, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches.

Founded in 1948, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is a global fellowship of churches seeking to foster unity among different Christian confessions throughout the globe. It has some 348 members in 110 countries worldwide.

These members represent more than 500 million Christians, including Orthodox, Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist churches, as well as many Reformed, United and Independent churches.

The Holy See is not a member of the WCC, but it is an observer and routinely sends representatives to the organization's meetings.

By visiting the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Pope Francis will follow in the steps of his two predecessors: Bl. Paul VI, who traveled to the WCC in June 1969, and St. John Paul II, who followed suit in June 1984.

John Paul II was the most recent pope to visit Switzerland, having traveled there for a six-day visit in 2004 as one of his last international trips.

The theme for Pope Francis' visit is “Walking – Praying – Working Together.” In his presentation, Cardinal Koch said this theme reflects what the pope has defined as the “ecumenism of walking together.”

“On several occasions, the Holy Father encouraged the churches to journey together in witnessing to their faith and in facing our contemporary challenges,” he said, adding that walking together in this way helps Christians to better appreciate their common heritage and the things they already have in common.

It also allows Christians to understand the differences that still exist, particularly on doctrinal or moral issues, he said. However, while overcoming points of theological divergence is an important part of achieving unity, there is more to the process.

“It also must include collaboration for those who are in need, and for the many victims of wars, injustice, and natural disasters,” Koch said, and stressed the need to pray both for and with one another.

Though the Pope's official schedule has yet to be released, the cardinal said the day trip would likely begin with a courtesy visit to Swiss President Alain Berset, after which Francis will head to the WCC headquarters for a moment of ecumenical prayer in the center's chapel.

He will also attend a special session of the WCC's Central Committee dedicated to the anniversary celebration. Afterward, the Pope is expected to celebrate Mass for the Catholic community in Switzerland before heading back to Rome.

While the majority of the founding members came from Europe and North America, currently the bulk of the WCC membership is in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific.

This change reflects wider shifts in the presence of Christians throughout the world, Koch said, and “can be an encouragement for Europeans to rediscover Christianity.”

Also present at the March 2 presentation of the trip was Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, secretary general of the WCC. Speaking to journalists, he said the Pope's trip is “a landmark visit” and “a sign of hope not just for us, but for all who long and work for unity in the world.”

“We see it as a sign of how we as Christian churches can affirm our common calling and our mission of [serving] Christ together,” he said, adding that visits such as this are steps that help build hope for future generations.

“Hope is a critical dimension of our lives that is essential to be able to handle suffering” and the many challenges the world faced, he said, and prayed that the Pope's visit would be a concrete sign of this hope.

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Pope Francis conveys ‘message of hope’ to Chinese Catholics, desire to visit China

August 9, 2024 Catholic News Agency 1
Chinese pilgrims attend the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 12, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 9, 2024 / 15:07 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis conveyed a “message of hope” to Chinese Catholics and expressed his desire to one day visit the Basilica of Holy Mary, the Help of Christians, in Shanghai, China, during an interview released on Friday.

In an interview at the Vatican with Father Pedro Chia, the director of the press office of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus, the pontiff said he would “really want to” conduct an apostolic visit to China to visit the shrine and meet with bishops and Catholics in the country. 

“[The Chinese people] are indeed a faithful people who have gone through so much and remained faithful,” Francis said.

The pope added that the Chinese people are descendants of a “great people” and encouraged them not to “waste this heritage” but instead “pass it on with patience.” He further expressed a “message of hope” to the faithful in China.

“It seems tautological to send a message of hope to people who are masters of waiting,” Francis said. “The Chinese are masters of patience, masters of waiting. … It’s a very beautiful thing.”

The pope, who is a Jesuit, also provided advice to Jesuit clergy in China. 

“Show the way to God through the spiritual exercises and discernment,” Francis said in his message to Chinese Jesuits. “… Walk with the poor [and with] those whose dignity has been violated in a mission of reconciliation and justice and … accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future and … take care of our common home.”

At the end of the interview, Francis bestowed a blessing on the Chinese people and prayed for the intercession of Our Lady of Sheshan. 

The interview was conducted on May 24, the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, but not released until Aug. 9. 

No pope has ever visited China, but Francis was the first pope to visit Mongolia, which borders China, in September 2023. 

In 2018, the Vatican signed a confidential agreement with the CCP that would require the regime to consult with the Holy See about the appointment of bishops. That deal was renewed in 2020 and again in 2022.

According to a recent Pew study, the number of Christians in China has leveled after increasing in the 1980s and 1990s, which some observers attribute to a “crackdown” by the communist regime.

Nina Shea, senior fellow and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, told CNA that the declining numbers of China’s Christians are “no surprise.”

“They correlate with Xi’s [Jiping’s] crackdown on Christianity, his so-called ‘Sinicization’ campaign,” she said. For the past five years, “the state has strictly banned all children from any exposure to religion, churches have been blanketed with facial-recognition surveillance and linked to social credit scores.”

During that time, Bibles have been restricted and censored, Beijing has detained Christian bishops and pastors, and their sermons have been censored to “be on Xi’s ‘thought,’” Shea said.

On critics and the future of the Church

During the interview with Chia, Francis also commented on criticism he has faced during his papacy.

“Critics are always helpful,” the pope said. “Even if they are not constructive, they are always helpful because they make one reflect on one’s actions.”

“Well, many times you know that you have to wait, to endure and often correct oneself because behind some resistances there can be good criticism,” Francis continued. “And sometimes also with pain, because the resistances, as they happen at these moments, are not only against me personally, they are against the Church.”

The pontiff also referenced difficulties faced by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuits. 

“The difficulties and resistances that St. Ignatius faced at the beginning were conflicts with people who looked inward and lost their missionary spirit,” he said.

The pope also urged Catholics to avoid worldliness and clericalism when reflecting on the future of the Church. He noted that 20th-century Jesuit theologian Father Henri de Lubac warned that worldliness was “the worst evil that can befall the Church” and “even worse than the time of the concubinary popes.”

“Some say it will be a smaller, more reduced Church,” the pontiff said. “I think the Church must be careful not to fall into the plague of clericalism and the plague of spiritual worldliness.”

When asked whether he had any words of advice for the person who succeeds him as pope, Francis gave a simple response: “Pray … because the Lord speaks in the prayer.”

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