Pope Benedict Address To Christian Leaders In Australia (Full Text)

As I am typing this is midnight here but well into the afternoon in Australia. The Pope should be starting the Way of the Cross about now with the World's Youth. Whispers in the Loggia has a overview of what has gone on so far here at In a Pope-Mad Country

He also has the Pope Full text of the MEETING WITH ECUMENICAL REPRESENTATIVES CRYPT OF ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY that happened earlier today.

It has been a full day for me but after reviewing it there seems to be nothing "controversial" that perhaps we saw in his remarks in New York. There appears (through these tired eyes) not to be a direct allusion to the Anglican Crisis which of course is a issue in Australia. IT is a beautiful address and I was struck by the parts below. However be sure to read the whole thing.

This year we celebrate the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Saint Paul, a tireless worker for unity in the early Church. In the scripture passage we have just heard, Paul reminds us of the tremendous grace we have received in becoming members of Christ's body through baptism. This sacrament, the entryway to the Church and the "bond of unity" for everyone reborn through it (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, 22), is accordingly the point of departure for the entire ecumenical movement. Yet it is not the final destination. The road of ecumenism ultimately points towards a common celebration of the Eucharist (cf. Ut Unum Sint, 23-24; 45), which Christ entrusted to his Apostles as the sacrament of the Church's unity par excellence.

Although there are still obstacles to be overcome, we can be sure that a common Eucharist one day would only strengthen our resolve to love and serve one another in imitation of our Lord: for Jesus' commandment to "do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19) is intrinsically ordered to his admonition to "wash one another's feet" (Jn 13:14). For this reason, a candid dialogue concerning the place of the Eucharist - stimulated by a renewed and attentive study of scripture, patristic writings, and documents from across the two millennia of Christian history (cf. Ut Unum Sint, 69-70) - will undoubtedly help to advance the ecumenical movement and unify our witness to the world....................


Elsewhere he said

We must guard against any temptation to view doctrine as divisive and hence an impediment to the seemingly more pressing and immediate task of improving the world in which we live. In fact, the history of the Church demonstrates that praxis is not only inseparable from, but actually flows out of didache or teaching