Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
This Friday, January 18 begins a week of prayer for the unity of Christians. It is a very significant ecumenical initiative that is very much needed. The worst wound in the life of the Church is the separation of Christians because it is in direct contradiction with the wishes of Christ for his Church, that we be one, as He and the Father are one.
There is no question that the sacrament of Baptism constitutes a real bond of communion. Its importance must never be underestimated. Unfortunately, for many reasons that would be too long to enumerate in this column, throughout the history of the Church there have been real divisions in the body of Christ. They have broken the communion among Christians and cannot be overlooked. They are a call to conversion so that full and visible communion may be restored among all Christians.
Pope St. John Paul II published a very important document on the commitment of the Catholic Church to ecumenism.
