The Pope's Uk Visit

The Pope visits the UK. Today, representatives of the churches and religious communities of the UK, including our Community of Aidan and Hilda, pray with him in a service at Westminster Abbey. In UK CA&H is an Associate Body of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. One of our representatives, Penny Warren, asks us to join in prayer with her, and emails:

On Friday morning the Pope meets with 'Religious Leaders and People of Faith'. There was a warm appreciation of the Pope and the cathlolic church as a whole by Chief Rabbi Jonathon Sacks this morning. Forgiveness was sought many years ago by Pope John Paul XXI from the Jews; there has been an on-going growth in the relationship since then. In our call to work for unity in our Way of Life, we seek to honour and support that; not least with our understanding and our prayers. We pray too for the meeting with leaders of other faiths. As we meet in Westminster Abbey - a gathering of 'Christian leaders including Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and leaders of the Free Church and other Christian traditions ..and organisations' - it will be a time of prayer ' in which Christians across our naion will also take part that demonstrates the journey that the Christian churches have taken from being strangers to one another, to becoming true friends and pilgrims' AMEN!

There is an awareness of the growth of new monastisism in this century and I believe that there is an honouring of that from what I see written about the occasion.

Let us not be sidetracked by much mud-slinging encouraged by the media, but come in sorrow and pain over our failings and in joy that there is within us a deep longing for unity that is a part of our soul cry to God.

Another of our members adds that we must also hold one another to take decisive actions of repentance for the terrible abuses committed by public representatives of the church - which affect every part of Christ's universal Body.