"The Pope is one, it is Francis," Benedict said in an interview with an Italian magazine last week.

"The unity of the Church has always been in danger, for centuries," he continued.

"It has been for all its history. Wars, internal conflicts, centrifugal forces, threats of schisms.

"In the end the awareness that the Church is and must remain united has always prevailed. Its unity has always been stronger than internal struggles and wars."

Italian journalist Massimo Franco says when the history of what the Pope Emeritus has been doing during what he (Franco) describes as "these secret years" is written:

"... it will not be possible to disregard the highly reserved cardinals and bishops who have come to his door looking for reassurances, and expressing their criticisms and their perplexity towards the current pontificate."

Franco suggests Benedict has answered these clergy by emphasising the importance of Church unity, noting "Benedict's obsession with the unity of the Church … is more acute than ever."

Since retiring from the pontificate, Benedict (92) has led a life of prayer, occasionally consulting with and meeting with his successor, Pope Francis.

Last Saturday marked the 68th anniversary of Benedict's ordination to the priesthood.

He plans to spend the summer peacefully with the usual visit of his brother Georg and few private meetings with guests for breakfast or lunch, according to ACI Stampa newspaper.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Eurasia Review
• Image: France24

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa also told an Anglican synod in London that what is needed in relations between churches is a "qualitative leap forward".

Fr Cantalamessa, who has been Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, was preaching at a service at the Church of England's Tenth General Synod, held in Westminster Abbey.

Addressing Queen Elizabeth II and the whole synod, he said the focus today must be on the person of Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen, not on this or that doctrine.

Fr Cantalamessa added: "This does not mean ignoring the great theological and spiritual enrichment that came from the Reformation or desiring to go back to the time before it.

"It means instead allowing all of Christianity to benefit from its achievements, once they are freed from certain distortions due to the heated atmosphere of the time and of later controversies."

Reflecting on the preparations for the fifth centenary of the Protestant Reformation, Fr Cantalamessa said, "it is vital for the whole Church that this opportunity is not wasted by people remaining prisoners of the past, trying to establish each other's rights and wrongs".

He added: "Rather, let us take a qualitative leap forward, like what happens when the sluice gates of a river or a canal enable ships to continue to navigate at a higher water level."

Fr Cantalamessa said that "we need to start again with the person of Jesus, humbly helping our contemporaries to experience a personal encounter with him."

He added: "Christ is the light of the world, the one who gives meaning and hope to every human life - and the majority of people around us live and die as if he had never existed!

"How can we be unconcerned, and each remain ‘in the comfort of our own panelled houses'?

"We should never allow a moral issue like that of sexuality divide us more than love for Jesus Christ unites us."

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Full text of Fr Cantalamessa's address
• Image: Anglican News