ROME, JUNE 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Year of St. Paul has ecumenical significance, according to the prior of the Benedictine abbey at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
The Year of St. Paul will be proclaimed by Benedict XVI on June 28, on the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, during an ecumenical celebration at the church housing the apostle's tomb.
ZENIT spoke with Benedictine Father Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz about the significance of this year.
"St. Paul," he said, "has perhaps been somewhat forgotten as a person, even if we hear his words in one of the readings at almost every Mass."
The Benedictine prior said that Catholics associate St. Peter with the Pope, but that "no Christian confession claims to have the right of succession to the holy Apostle to the gentiles. St. Paul is for all. Just look at how Christians of all confessions venerate his tomb."
Speaking of Benedict XVI's ecumenical effort, Father Abrahamowicz explained: "It is a new effort, not in the sense of a repetition, as if to say, 'Come on, let's give it another try,' but rather it is an effort with a new style, in which he seems to be recalling a particular aspect proper to the work of St. Paul.
"With great success that athlete of God traveled more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) to evangelize Asia Minor, but this Pope has not forgotten that those Churches, new at that time, are in present day Turkey."
"Who would have seen them on TV if Benedict XVI had not gone there personally?" Father Abrahamowicz said.
The prior added: "Salt, Christianity, and even ecumenism have the characteristic of being in the minority. Apparently the Holy Father is casting a tiny grain of sand into the world, but behind this small gesture is a great confidence in the Almighty."
