Vatican City, Jan 18, 2010 / 19:10 pm
The Holy Father began the Week of prayer for Christian unity as he welcomed an ecumenical delegation from the Lutheran Church of Finland in audience. Their visit was celebrated by the Pope, who expressed his hope that the groups efforts would make headway in restoring "our lost unity."
Pope Benedict welcomed the group's 25th annual visit from Finland to celebrate the feast of St. Henrik with gratitude, calling to mind the significant contribution the continuing pilgrimages have made "to strengthening the relations among the Christians" in the Nordic nation.
The Holy Father cited the positive influence of the Second Vatican Council in making such an encounter possible, because through its edicts the Catholic Church is committed "irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture, thus heeding the Spirit of the Lord who teaches us to interpret carefully the ‘signs of the times’"
"This is the path that the Catholic Church has wholeheartedly embraced since that time."