Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

This Thursday 18th January sees the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  As I wrote in this newsletter last year, Christian Unity is one of my passions.  I enjoy learning from Christians in the other churches, sharing our Catholic faith with them and building a sense of community.  In the past year I have been blessed in a friendship with my near-neighbour, Bishop Jonathan Frost, the Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth. Indeed, you may have seen in these pages that we are planning an youth pilgrimage together to Taizé this summer. We also have plans for exploring what our communities can do together as we, your leaders, grow in friendship. Unity is central to the very nature of the Church. This year I ask you to consider on a personal level whether you have ever thought of “the ecumenical cause” as being a “non-optional dimension” of being a Catholic. So, please join with the other Christians in your community during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity to celebrate what we share together – our love for Jesus and His love for all of us. [Image: www.vatican.va]