Be united in Christ
Nuncio urges Christians
Nuncio urges Christians
By Damian Avevor and Steve Kakrabah-Quarshie
The Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Jean Marie Speich, has called on Christians to avoid divisions and rather be united in Christ, who cannot be divided.
He said “amid divisiveness, St. Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in agreement, so that divisions will not reign among them but rather a perfect union of mind and purpose.”
Speaking on Has Christ been divided at the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral at High Street, Accra, last Sunday January 31, Archbishop Speich said perfect union among brothers and sisters could only come from looking to the mind and heart of Christ.
The Nuncio was at the Cathedral to join the Clergy and the faithful for their Solemn Evensong (Vespers) at the invitation of Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto, Anglican Bishop of Accra.
The invitation was in the spirit of Ecumenism and to further strengthen its relation between the Catholic and the Anglican Churches in Accra.
The Nuncio was accompanied by his Secretary, Rev. Msgr. Renalto Kucic and some Reverend Sisters at the Nunciature.
Archbishop Speich asked the Clergy and the faithful in the fully packed Cathedral to pray to “the Lord Jesus who has made us living members of His body to keep us deeply united to Him, help us overcome our conflicts, our divisions and our self-seeking.”
Reminding them that unity was better than conflict, the Nuncio said that God helped Christians to be united to one another by one force, by the power of love which the Holy Spirit had poured into their hearts.
He declared: “Let us pray that God will help us on this path of unity and love, as we advance towards unity. Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end.”
The Nuncio noted that unity comes about in journeying with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, calling for Christians to pray, walk and collaborate with one another.
He stressed that Christ who could not be divided, want to draw Christians to Himself, to the sentiments of His heart and to completely and confidently surrender into the hands of the Father, adding that “Our divisions wound Christ’s body, they impair the witness which we are called to give him before the world.”
Making reference to the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, Archbishop Speich said “Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communities present themselves to people as the true inheritance of Jesus Christ, all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but they differ in outlook and go their different ways, as if Christ were divided.”
He continued that the Vatican Document stated that “Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world and damages the sacred course of preaching the Gospel to every creature.”
He lamented that all Christians have been damaged by these divisions, saying that it had not been the wish of Christians to become a cause of scandal.
“We are all journeying together fraternally on the road towards unity, bringing about unity even as we walk, that unity comes from the holy Spirit and brings us something unique which only the Holy Spirit can do by reconciling our differences,” he added.
The Archbishop noted that since Christ could not be divided, this conviction must sustain and encourage Christians to persevere with humility and trust on the way of restoration of full visible unity among believers of Christ.
He said in the course of the lives of Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II, realised the urgency of the cause of unity and once elected Bishops of Rome, they guided the entire Catholic flock decisively on the paths of Ecumenism.
The Nuncio said Pope John blazed the new trails which earlier would have been almost unthinkable while Pope John Paul held ecumenical dialogue as an ordinary and indispensable aspect of the life of each particular Church.
He recalled the encounter between Pope Paul V, a great promoter of dialogue and Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974, the Senior Bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Church.
Baron Ramsey, the Nuncio said, was active in the ecumenical movement and while Archbishop of Canterbury in 1966, exactly 50 years ago, he met Pope Paul VI in Rome, where the Pope presented him with his Episcopal (Bishop’s) Ring he had worn as Archbishop of Milan.
Archbishop Speich said the work of the Popes and most of the Heads of the worldwide Anglican Communion and many local Anglican Bishops and Theologians, made ecumenical dialogue to become an essential dimension of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome.
The journey of Ecumenism has allowed us to come to a deeper understanding of the Ministry of the Successor of Peter and we must be confident that it will continue to do so in future,” he added.
Bishop Torto was grateful to the Nuncio, whom he described as a father, for joining the Anglican Communion to pray together as one Church, recalling his relationship with him as the Bishop of Accra.
Through the support of the Nuncio, Bishop Torto led a ten-man Anglican delegation to the Vatican in November last year during which they had audience with Pope Francis.
In the Spirit of Ecumenism, the Pope presented a Papal Batch (Medallion) of Honour to Bishop Torto, who also presented an Anglican Bible to the Holy Father.
The visit to the Vatican coincided with the Third Anniversary of Bishop Torto’s ascension to the Episcopal Throne as the Anglican Bishop of Accra.
The delegation visited historical sites at the Vatican including the St. Peter’s Square where over 60,000 people were gathered and Sistern Chapel.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Rev. Jean Marie Speich, has called on Christians to avoid divisions and rather be united in Christ, who cannot be divided.
He said “amid divisiveness, St. Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in agreement, so that divisions will not reign among them but rather a perfect union of mind and purpose.”
Speaking on Has Christ been divided at the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral at High Street, Accra, last Sunday January 31, Archbishop Speich said perfect union among brothers and sisters could only come from looking to the mind and heart of Christ.
The Nuncio was at the Cathedral to join the Clergy and the faithful for their Solemn Evensong (Vespers) at the invitation of Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto, Anglican Bishop of Accra.
The invitation was in the spirit of Ecumenism and to further strengthen its relation between the Catholic and the Anglican Churches in Accra.
The Nuncio was accompanied by his Secretary, Rev. Msgr. Renalto Kucic and some Reverend Sisters at the Nunciature.
Archbishop Speich asked the Clergy and the faithful in the fully packed Cathedral to pray to “the Lord Jesus who has made us living members of His body to keep us deeply united to Him, help us overcome our conflicts, our divisions and our self-seeking.”
Reminding them that unity was better than conflict, the Nuncio said that God helped Christians to be united to one another by one force, by the power of love which the Holy Spirit had poured into their hearts.
He declared: “Let us pray that God will help us on this path of unity and love, as we advance towards unity. Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end.”
The Nuncio noted that unity comes about in journeying with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, calling for Christians to pray, walk and collaborate with one another.
He stressed that Christ who could not be divided, want to draw Christians to Himself, to the sentiments of His heart and to completely and confidently surrender into the hands of the Father, adding that “Our divisions wound Christ’s body, they impair the witness which we are called to give him before the world.”
Making reference to the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, Archbishop Speich said “Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communities present themselves to people as the true inheritance of Jesus Christ, all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but they differ in outlook and go their different ways, as if Christ were divided.”
He continued that the Vatican Document stated that “Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world and damages the sacred course of preaching the Gospel to every creature.”
He lamented that all Christians have been damaged by these divisions, saying that it had not been the wish of Christians to become a cause of scandal.
“We are all journeying together fraternally on the road towards unity, bringing about unity even as we walk, that unity comes from the holy Spirit and brings us something unique which only the Holy Spirit can do by reconciling our differences,” he added.
The Archbishop noted that since Christ could not be divided, this conviction must sustain and encourage Christians to persevere with humility and trust on the way of restoration of full visible unity among believers of Christ.
He said in the course of the lives of Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II, realised the urgency of the cause of unity and once elected Bishops of Rome, they guided the entire Catholic flock decisively on the paths of Ecumenism.
The Nuncio said Pope John blazed the new trails which earlier would have been almost unthinkable while Pope John Paul held ecumenical dialogue as an ordinary and indispensable aspect of the life of each particular Church.
He recalled the encounter between Pope Paul V, a great promoter of dialogue and Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974, the Senior Bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Church.
Baron Ramsey, the Nuncio said, was active in the ecumenical movement and while Archbishop of Canterbury in 1966, exactly 50 years ago, he met Pope Paul VI in Rome, where the Pope presented him with his Episcopal (Bishop’s) Ring he had worn as Archbishop of Milan.
Archbishop Speich said the work of the Popes and most of the Heads of the worldwide Anglican Communion and many local Anglican Bishops and Theologians, made ecumenical dialogue to become an essential dimension of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome.
The journey of Ecumenism has allowed us to come to a deeper understanding of the Ministry of the Successor of Peter and we must be confident that it will continue to do so in future,” he added.
Bishop Torto was grateful to the Nuncio, whom he described as a father, for joining the Anglican Communion to pray together as one Church, recalling his relationship with him as the Bishop of Accra.
Through the support of the Nuncio, Bishop Torto led a ten-man Anglican delegation to the Vatican in November last year during which they had audience with Pope Francis.
In the Spirit of Ecumenism, the Pope presented a Papal Batch (Medallion) of Honour to Bishop Torto, who also presented an Anglican Bible to the Holy Father.
The visit to the Vatican coincided with the Third Anniversary of Bishop Torto’s ascension to the Episcopal Throne as the Anglican Bishop of Accra.
The delegation visited historical sites at the Vatican including the St. Peter’s Square where over 60,000 people were gathered and Sistern Chapel.