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Pope praises pioneers of Edinburgh conference

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict spoke of the centenary of the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in 1910.

The Pope closed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January) with Vespers on Monday evening. In his homily he emphasized that everyone is called to seek "full communion between all of the Disciples of Christ."

The ecumenical movement marks a milestone this year, celebrating a century since the World Missionary Conference took place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The goal of the gathering between representatives from mostly Protestant churches was to work towards unity and to define a shared approach to spreading the Good News.

Pope Benedict said "a century later, the intuition of those brave pioneers is still relevant, in a world marked by religious indifference, and even by a growing aversion to the Christian faith."

He said that differences between the Christian churches remain but he added that "hopefully they can be overcome through prayer and dialogue."

Looking forward to the centenary celebrations of the Edinburgh Conference in June in Scotland, the Pope concluded by calling for "a new, intense, work of evangelization, not only among people who have never known the Gospel, but also among people for whom Christianity is part of their history. "

Edinburgh 2010 is a coalition of world Christian churches and mission organisations inspired by the memory of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. A five-day international, multi-denominational summit will take place from 2-6 June in Edinburgh, where it is hoped new perspectives for Christian mission in the 21st century will emerge.

Ends.

Note to News Desks

For further information please contact Jasmin Adam on 0131 225 5722 or email jadam@cofscotland.org.uk

More information about Edinburgh 2010 is on the website at www.edinburgh2010.org

Thursday, 28 January 2009

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