Vatican City, Jan 18, 2006 / 22:00 pm
As the Church continues its celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict today met with an ecumenical Christian delegation from Finland, to whom he stressed the importance of appreciating what already unites Christians, despite deep differences.
The visit came on the occasion of today's Feast of St. Henry, patron saint of Finland.
The Pope began his address by recalling how his predecessor, John Paul II, regularly welcomed members of the delegation during their annual pilgrimage to Rome.
He said that, "These visits are an occasion for further productive work, as well as for a deepening of the 'spiritual ecumenism' which prompts divided Christians to appreciate how much already unites them."