Bishops in Benin Appeal for “concrete actions, behaviors” to Foster Christian Unity

Cotonou, 23 January, 2024 / 8:45 PM

Catholic Bishops in Benin have appealed to the people of God in the West African nation to settle for lifestyles that contribute to the fostering of Christian unity in the country. 

In a collective statement, members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB), who concluded their second Ordinary Session for the pastoral year 2023-2024 on January 19 weigh in on the January 18-25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU).

“We invite all the sons and daughters of the Church, whatever their state in life, to continue to work in favour of unity through behaviours, initiatives, and concrete actions that promote this common ideal,” CEB members say.

They call on members of other Christian denominations to “renew their closeness and fraternity in Jesus Christ.”

CEB members appeal for the “effective realization of this most important wish of our Lord Jesus Christ for his disciples”, upon which the annual WPCU, marked from January 18-25, is founded: the prayer of Jesus for his followers that “they may be one so that the world may believe”, as narrated in the Gospel of John 17:21.

Organized under the theme, “You shall love the Lord your God ... and your neighbour as yourself” in Luke 10:27, the resources for the WPCU 2024 were jointly prepared and published by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The resource document indicates that the materials for the WPCU 2024 were put together by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso, facilitated by the West African nation’s Chemin Neuf Community (CCN).

“Brothers and sisters from the Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Protestant Churches, ecumenical bodies and the CCN in Burkina Faso collaborated generously in drafting the prayers and reflections and experienced their work together as a real path of ecumenical conversion,” the 37-page resource document indicates.

In their statement dated January 19, Catholic Bishops in Benin implore, “May this week of prayer be an opportunity to strengthen our bonds beyond the diversity of our Christian doctrines.”

“In this way, our common witness to faith in Jesus Christ will continue to impact our world for a better spread of the Gospel, as recommended by Saint Paul the apostle: There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28),” CEB members say.