Care for migrants
at heart of 2020 Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity
The
annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place from 18 to 25 January. It
sees representatives of all Christian denominations gather in the Vatican to
pray and reflect on the theme chosen for 2020.
By Linda Bordoni
Leaders
of Christian communities throughout the world gather each year in the Vatican
for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Pope
Francis traditionally concludes the initiative presiding over Vespers
at the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls.
The
theme for 2020, chosen and prepared by a group of representatives from the
Christian Churches in Malta, is from the Acts of the Apostles: “They Showed Us
Unusual Kindness”.
The
working texts were finalized during a meeting of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, the International Committee of the Faith and the
Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.
Archbishop Ian Ernest, director of the Anglican
Center in Rome and personal representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to
the Holy See, spoke to Vatican Radio about the poignant relevance of the chosen
theme.
Listen
to the interview with Archbishop Ian Ernest
“It is
indeed relevant to pray that we Christians may act – as the themes says - with
"unusual kindness", when it comes to those, who because of the realities
and the harshness of life where they are, arrive on our shores,” he said.
Prayer and action
The
Archbishop expressed his belief that it is very important that Christians, “not
only pray together, but act together so that we can set the example before the
world of a loving community that welcomes foreigners, cares for them and that
gives them the dignity to which they are entitled as human beings.”
He goes
on to reflect on the need for concrete ecumenical action in order to help
change a perspective and narrative which sees migrants and refugees as
strangers rather than as our brothers and sisters in need.
Archbishop
Ernest recalls that before his death, Jesus prayed that we all One, “because
the Father and He are one, and this is a mandate He gave us, that we be
together, to witness together to His love.
Therefore,
it is particularly important, he said, that “in times of hardship, in times of
persecution, in times where people have no place to go, that we welcome them.”
“We
have a God who has come down to us to welcome us where we are, and it is
important - and I am glad – that today Christians are able to see each other,
to pray with each other. And it is not only to pray with each other that is
important, but what do we do from there?” he asked.
Ernest
expressed his appreciation for the fact that we have Church leaders, like Pope
Francis, who “are truly at the forefront of that struggle of going to the
other, taking the hand of the other...”
So, he
said, this theme is really appropriate because there should be a new way of
life, a transformational way that we can bring about in the world in which we
live.
Noting
that he is new on the job (he has been in Rome only for 3 months), Archbishop
Ernest said that while this year he will be participating in various events and
initiatives, he is hopeful and confident that next year the Anglican Center in
Rome will be able to open its own doors for some significant events.
Archbishop
Ernest concluded with an appeal to all those who profess to be Christians to
act with ‘unusual kindness’ as it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, noting
that “if there is ‘unusual kindness’, there will be great hope for a change of
mindset in the world in which we live.
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