Pope seeks ‘unity’ in Geneva

Catholic leader warns against consumerism

Pope Francis called Thursday for deeper unity between the Catholic Church and other Christian faiths as he visited Geneva, a center of Protestantism, amid Christianity’s waning influence in Europe.

“I have desired to come here, a pilgrim in quest of unity and peace,” Francis told a prayer gathering at Geneva’s Ecumenical Centre, shortly after arriving in the City of Calvin.

The pontiff, who was met by Swiss President Alain Berset at Geneva airport, said Christians were called to follow a path with “a clear aim, that of unity.”

He came at the invitation of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which was created in 1948 and groups 350 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches from more than 100 countries around the world, with around half a billion believers among them.

At the start of his one-day visit, he took part in an “ecumenical prayer” for the organization’s 70th anniversary, highlighting his commitment to unity between various Christian denominations.

“In the course of history, divisions between Christians have often arisen because at their root, in the life of communities, a worldly mindset has seeped in,” he told the 230 Christians of various denominations gathered before him.

The pope warned that “indifference prevails in the streets of today’s world. Driven by our instincts, we become slaves to unbridled consumerism, and God’s voice is gradually silenced.”

“How hard it is to leave behind centuries-old disagreements and mutual recriminations,” he acknowledged, but insisted that “our differences must not be excuses... We can pray, evangelise and serve together.”

“Our world, torn by all too many divisions that affect the most vulnerable, begs for unity,” he said.

Historically, divisions between the Catholic Church and the Protestant confessions have run deep.

The dissenting movement launched by Martin Luther more than 500 years ago and its strict interpretation engrained in Geneva by John Calvin in the mid-16th century launched centuries of often bloody divisions in Europe.