Vatican City, Feb 25, 2010 / 09:18 am
On Wednesday, the Holy See's Press Office released the full contents of a letter from the Holy Father to the president of the Brazilian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha, on the occasion of the Campaign for Ecumenical Brotherhood. Pope Benedict praised the initiative and asked participants to "unite their forces to reconcile people with God, helping them and freeing them from the slavery of money."
Under the theme "Economy and Life" the 2010 Campaign for Ecumenical Brotherhood meets this year for the third time. In addition to the Catholic Church, five other Christian denominations are represented, each belonging to the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil.
In his message to the Brazilian archbishop, which was read to inaugurate the Campaign, the Holy Father expressed the Lenten call to "be reconciled with God." He continued by citing the example of St. John Vianney, "who, in his time, knew how to transform the hearts and lives of many people, because he was able to make them feel the merciful love of the Lord."
The Holy Father also said that he hopes the Churches and ecclesial communities of Brazil have the same "success" as the Cure of Ars while they "unite their forces to reconcile the people with God, helping them and freeing them from the slavery of money."