Vatican City, Jan 18, 2010 / 18:39 pm
After praying the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year, the eight days of meditation take on the theme of "kergyma" or proclamation of the Gospel.
The Holy Father promoted the week, which runs from Jan. 18 - 25, saying that it annually renews the opportunity for us "to revive the ecumenical spirit, to come together, to get to know each other, pray and reflect together."
The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches jointly prepared and published a brochure outlining that the 2010 theme of the prayer for unity would be "kergyma,"or "preaching" in Greek, and that Chapter 24 of the Gospel of St. Luke is the biblical text for meditation.
In this text, Jesus is found to be missing from the tomb, appears to the disciples and calls for them to preach repentance in his name, for the forgiveness of sins, to all nations.