Your Eminences,

Your Excellencies,

Beloved Brothers in the Lord,

Dear Chiara,

We embrace you warmly and greet you with the apostolic greeting: Grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is with mixed feelings that we address your blessed gathering. We wish that we could stand in your midst and “speak face to face, that our joy would be full” (2 John 1:12). Unfortunately, this opportunity was taken from us suddenly and violently, due to the recent terrorist attacks, which spread death, sorrow and chaos throughout our City. These awful attacks became the unfortunate reason for your not coming here, and for having your meeting in Rome, instead of Constantinople, New Rome, as it was originally scheduled. Our prayer is that peace and order will very soon reign again in this City and throughout the entire globe, and that we will have the pleasure of your presence here in the coming year, 2004.

In our times that can be described by a lack of stability and safety, and in our world that has not yet seen “peace on earth and good will towards men” (Luke 2:14), it is very promising and joyful that there are individuals, organisations or movements, like the beloved Focolari movement, who have realized that their and the world’s unity in Christ is the fundamental element of truth and life. It is even more promising as they have made the realization of this unity the main purpose of their activities in their devoted lives.

It is this unity, the unity in Christ, that our beloved brother His Holiness Pope John Paul II was talking about when, saddened by the incomprehensible persistence of people to separate their hearts, he said, “what humanity needs is bridges, and not walls.” He spoke these words like a true Pontifex.

It is this unity which is the theme of your discussions for this year’s meeting as well; “for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The promise of God to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed came true through the incarnation of our Lord. This blessing was real because in the spiritual life there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free man, man and woman. They are all one, all equal in the eyes of God, equally invited to the sacred banquet of His Kingdom and have equal opportunities for salvation. This new reality, which at that time was a scandal to all, abolishes racism and social and sexual discrimination. It unites us under the same purpose: the prevail of God’s peace and justice on the earth and the salvation of humankind.

However, the unity between individuals and societies is not enough. Couples are easily divorced, friendships change and terminate and conditions are easily retracted. We cannot only attempt to be one with each other as humans but we also must be united with Christ. This is the real meaning of the phrase “in Christ Jesus”. It means to be together with Him, to be one with Him. This is the unity of the spirit that is the strongest bond between humans as well, and brings together people that do not even know one another. This is because in Christ, all differences are resolved.

The way to achieve this spiritual unity is given to us in the Gospels. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Thus, the knowledge of God does not come only through studying about Him, but from the keeping His commandments. If someone knows everything about Christ but does not keep His commandments and does not live according His holy will, then he is far from the Spirit of God, and therefore far from his fellow human beings.

What is required for this type of unity is love. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So it is with love that we keep the commandments of our Lord. This is the message that Christ brought to the world and the apostles spread to all nations. We believe this is the message that the Focolari movement has come together to proclaim to the world. Only if we truly love our Lord God will we keep His commandments and be united to Him and to one another. Only then we will be able to repeat the words of St. Paul, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20), who was united with the world.

Once again we are sorry that we could not be together for these discussions but we pray that our Lord God will bless all of you and all of your deliberations. And although we are not together, we are united through our love for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.