Pope praises pioneers of Christian unity

THE Pope has praised the pioneers of Christian unity whose centenary will be marked in Edinburgh this summer.

A five-day international inter-church summit will take place in the Capital in June to celebrate the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in 1910. The 1910 event is seen as the start of the modern ecumenical movement.

Speaking in Rome at a service marking the end of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict XVI said "a century later, the intuition of those brave pioneers is still relevant, in a world marked by religious indifference, and even by a growing aversion to the Christian faith".

He said differences between the Christian churches remain, but added that "hopefully they can be overcome".