Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 923

By generously offering their lives in sacrifice for the Lord and for their

brethren, the Apostles proved the credibility of the Good News that they

proclaimed to the ends of the known world. The Feast of the Apostle, which

falls on this day in the liturgical calendars of both East and West, issues a

strong summons to all those who by God's grace and through the gift of

Baptism have accepted that message of salvation to renew their fidelity to

the Apostolic teaching and to become tireless heralds of faith in Christ

through their words and the witness of their lives.

In modern times, this summons is as urgent as ever and it applies to all

Christians. In a world marked by growing interdependence and solidarity, we

are called to proclaim with renewed conviction the truth of the Gospel and to

present the Risen Lord as the answer to the deepest questions and spiritual

aspirations of the men and women of our day.

If we are to succeed in this great task, we need to continue our progress

along the path towards full communion, demonstrating that we have already

united our efforts for a common witness to the Gospel before the people of our

day. For this reason I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Your

Holiness and to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the generous hospitality

offered last October on the island of Rhodes to the Delegates of the Catholic

Episcopal Conferences of Europe who came together with representatives

of the Orthodox Churches in Europe for the Second Catholic-Orthodox

Forum on the theme "Church-State Relations: Theological and Historical

Perspectives".

Your Holiness, I am following attentively your wise efforts for the good of

Orthodoxy and for the promotion of Christian values in many international

contexts. Assuring you of a remembrance in my prayers on this Feast of

Saint Andrew the Apostle, I renew my good wishes for peace, well-being

and abundant spiritual blessings to you and to all the faithful.

With sentiments of esteem and spiritual closeness, I gladly extend to you

a fraternal embrace in the name of our one Lord Jesus Christ.

From the Vatican, 30 November 2010.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI