Ecumenical Address at St Joseph Church, New York City, USA:

In the late afternoon of Friday, 18 April, [2008,] the Holy Father was driven from New York's Park East Syna­gogue to St Joseph's Church for an Ecumenical Prayer Service and Meet­ing. The present church was built in 1895 due to the expansion by a grow­ing congregation.
Auxiliary Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York and in charge of ecu­menism, greeted the Pope, who prayed with and then spoke to 250 Representatives of about 10 different Christian denominations.
In the evening, the Holy Father dined with the U.S. Cardinals, the heads of the USCCB and his en­tourage at the residence of the U.N. Permanent Observer of the Holy See.
Here is the Address the Pope deliv­ered at the Ecumenical Meeting.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My heart abounds with gratitude to Almighty God—"the Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:6)—for this blessed opportunity to gather with you this evening in prayer. I thank Bishop Dennis Sullivan for his cordial welcome, and I warmly greet all those in attendance represent­ing Christian communities throughout the United States. May the peace of our Lord and Savior be with you all!
Through you, I express my sincere appreciation for the invaluable work of all those engaged in ecumenism: the Na­tional Council of Churches, Christian Churches Together, the Catholic Bish­ops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and In­terreligious Affairs and many others.
The contribution of Christians in the United States to the ecumenical move­ment is felt throughout the world. I en­courage all of you to persevere, always relying on the grace of the Risen Christ whom we strive to serve by bringing about "the obedience of faith for the sake of his name" (Rom 1:5).
We have just listened to the scriptural passage in which Paul, a "prisoner for the Lord", delivers his ardent appeal to the members of the Christian communi­ty at Ephesus. "I beg you", he writes, "to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called... eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:1-3).
Then, after his impassioned litany of unity, Paul reminds his hearers that Je­sus, having ascended into Heaven, has bestowed upon men and women all the gifts necessary for building up the Body of Christ (cf. Eph 4:11-13).
Paul's exhortation resounds with no less vigor today. His words instill in us the confidence that the Lord will never abandon us in our quest for unity.
They also call us to live in a way that bears witness to the "one heart and mind" (Acts 4:32), which has always been the distinguishing trait of Christian koinonia (cf. Acts 2:42), and the force drawing others to join the community of believers so that they too might come to share in the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph 3:8; cf. Acts 2:47; 5:14).
Globalization has humanity poised be­tween two poles.
On the one hand, there is a growing sense of interconnectedness and interde­pendency between peoples even when—geographically and culturally speak­ing—they are far apart. This new situ­ation offers the potential for enhancing a sense of global solidarity and shared responsibility for the well-being of mankind.
On the other hand, we cannot deny that the rapid changes occurring in our world also present some disturbing signs of fragmentation and a retreat into indi­vidualism. The expanding use of elec­tronic communications has in some cas­es paradoxically resulted in greater iso­lation. Many people, including the young, are seeking therefore more au­thentic forms of community.
Also of grave concern is the spread of a secularist ideology that undermines or even rejects transcendent truth. The very possibility of divine revelation, and therefore of Christian faith, is often placed into question by cultural trends widely present in academia, the mass media and public debate.
For these reasons, a faithful witness to the Gospel is as urgent as ever. Chris­tians are challenged to give a clear ac­count of the hope that they hold (cf. I Pt 3:15). To read more