Has Christ been divided?

  We started writing about Jesus almost three months ago and generally got encouraging words from many people. However, we were also shocked by the rabid and bigoted comments from readers of our blog from other Christian communities in the US and Europe.

   Should there be so much rancour and malevolence towards Roman Catholic Church? No. It’s very unfortunate.

   Nearly a month ago, the Holy See (Vatican) said the divisions that exist among Christians are a source of pain and scandal, and damage the credibility and work of spreading the Gospel.

 A community does not belong to the preacher, but to Christ.

 Last week, Pope Francis said that since the times described by St Paul, Christians were divided according to whoever was leading their community. But St Paul explains that this way of thinking is wrong: "everything belongs to you Christ! Not to Paul, Apollos or Cephas; the world, life, death, the present and the future, everything is yours! For you belong to Christ, and Christ to God!"

 All Christian communities are born from this belonging: dioceses, parishes, associations, movements. And even although there may be differences through baptism we all have the same dignity, we are children of God. Our dignity is in Jesus Christ. And those who have received the ministry to guide, to preach, to administer the Sacraments, must not feel that they own special powers, that they are masters, Pope said. 

 "They must put themselves in the service of the community, helping it in its journey of holiness with joy".

  There are reportedly 41,000 Christian denominations outside Catholic Church, many of which cannot be verified to be significant. Denominations, theologians and comparative religionists show disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian. The reason for this disagreement is doctrinal differences between groups.

  "Christ's name creates communion and unity, not division. He came to create communion among us, not to divide us," the Pope said during his general audience address in St. Peter's Square on January 22. "Christ has certainly not been divided. But we have to recognize with sincerity and with sorrow that our communities continue to live divisions that are a scandal," he said.

  "Divisions among Christians are a scandal. There is no other word for it. A scandal!," he had said. Christians have two important elements in common: baptism and the cross. However, divisions among Christian communities "weaken the credibility and the effectiveness of our efforts to evangelize, and they risk empting the cross of its power" and meaning, Vatican said.

St. Paul reminds Christians to rejoice in the gifts God has given to other Christians, "gifts which we can receive from them for our enrichment," Pope Francis said.

 We will pray along with Pope Emeritus Benedict-16 to the Lord: “Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn, help us to be servants of unity." Yes, for a new ecumenism.