An ecumenical delegation from Finland met with Pope Francis during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The meeting was held on the feast of St. Henry of Uppsala, the country's patron saint.
At the beginning of the audience, they expressed their condolences for the death of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, quoting St. Luke's Gospel.
Master, you now are dismissing your servant in peace according to your word
The delegation's message revolved around the Baltic Sea. They used it both as a symbol of God's creation and of the threat of the war they face. Pope Francis appreciated their metaphor.
POPE FRANCIS
I am grateful for your suggestive images of the Baltic Sea—a source of life threatened by man's action, a meeting place that is sorely affected by the climate of confrontation caused by the vicious senselessness of war. War is always a source of defeat. Always.
The Pope also added his own symbolic meaning to the Baltic Sea. He said that, in addition to being part of Creation and a border with its neighbors, it represents the baptism that unites all Christians.
POPE FRANCIS
We are reconcilied children and are therefore called to be more reconciled with each other and to be agents of reconciliation in the world.
At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis invited the group to continue working for unity with concrete gestures.
POPE FRANCIS
In everything, let us recognize how great is the unity that draws us together and how important it is to pray together, work diligently and dialogue intensively to overcome divisions and be one, according to the will of the Lord.
This was the 38th time that the Finnish ecumenical delegation visited the Vatican.
RM
TR: KG
