The Catholic Church in Poland, in union with Catholics around the world, celebrates the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The celebration was preceeded by the Day of Judaism, and will be followed by the Day of Islam.
Joanna Najfeld reports
On Sunday, the Catholic Church in Poland celebrated the annual Day of Judaism, for the 13th time, advancing the dialogue between Christians and Jews, praying together and discussing the common ground of both religions. 'The essence of the Day of Judaism is that Catholics in Poland should keep discovering what Pope Pius XI meant when he said prior to World War Two that as Christians, Catholics, we are of a semitic spirit. What does it mean? It means first of all that we represent religion which is not based on fear,' said Jan Grosfeld, a professor of political anthropology at the Cardinal Wyszynski University in Warsaw.
"You are the witnesses of this" - these words of St. Luke's Gospel are the motto of the the annual Week of Universal Prayer for the Unity of Christians. Launched on Monday, the 18th, it will last until next Monday 25th. The main topic this year is the idea of witnessing to Christ in today's world. The main ecumenical service will be held on Sunday at the Evangelical and Methodist Church in Warsaw.
Like in the previous years, the Week of Prayer for Christian unity will be followed by the Day of Islam, falling this year on the 26th of January.