Pope Leo happens One week before his first trip abroad, on November 27, to TürkiyeWhere he will pay tribute to the historic council.
The Supreme Pontiff says: “In the unity of faith proclaimed since the foundation of the Church, Christians are called to walk in harmony, guarding and transmitting Jesus Christ with love and joy.”
Leo
His journey “will be a renewed impetus in the recognition of faith, whose truth, which over centuries has constituted the common heritage among Christians, deserves to be recognized and deepened in an always new and modern way.”
The Pope asks for an examination of conscience regarding the incident Nicene Creed Which “begins with faith in Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth.”
Pope Prevost sends the document to the International Theological Commission “to deepen the cultural and social significance of the Council of Nicaea.”
Leo
The Pope mentions that his predecessor Leo XIII, “going back in time,” explained that the Council of Nicaea witnessed the dawn during “The greatest crisis in the history of the church of the first millennium”.
Remembering in today’s world the strong connection between the liturgy, the Christian life and the “Creed of Nicaea and Constantinople,” he asked “what is in the internal acceptance of the Creed today” and suggested that Christians bear part of this situation, because they have not witnessed to the true faith and have hidden the true face of Christ with lifestyles and actions far from the Gospel.
It happened that “wars broke out and people were killed, persecuted and discriminated against in the name of God, instead of proclaiming a merciful God, and there was talk of a vengeful God who spreads terror and punishes.”
Instead, the Pontiff explains, the center of the Creed is the profession of faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and God. “One should seek to follow God as teacher, companion, brother, and friend,” keeping in mind his path is not “long and comfortable,” but one that is “difficult and even painful.”
The Pope concludes: “In the face of disasters, wars and misery, we can witness God’s mercy to people who doubt Him, if they experience His mercy through us.”
About The Author
