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‘Let’s give each other a spiritual hug and let God complete the work that he’s begun. This is a miracle; the miracle of unity… He will complete this miracle.’
Not perhaps the sort of words that you’d expect from the Pope.
But then again, who would have predicted that the Pontiff would film an informal video message on a friend’s iPhone for broadcast to the attendees of an American Pentecostal leaders’ conference?
‘We have to encounter one another as brothers,’ Pope Francis also said in the short film.
Referring to the Old Testament reunion of Joseph with his brothers, he continued: ‘We have to cry together as Joseph did. These tears will unite us. The tears of love.’
The film was shown in February 2014 at a gathering of leaders brought together by Kenneth Copeland, who has been criticised for his prosperity theology.
Pope Francis made the film with his Anglican friend, Bishop Anthony Palmer, who formerly worked alongside Copeland, but since 2003 has worked among Catholics in Italy.
After watching the Pope on screen, the entire conference prayed for him in tongues, and Copeland filmed a live message of blessing [on Palmer’s iPhone again] to send back to the Holy Father.
You can watch the entire stereotype-smashing event on YouTube.
‘I couldn’t believe it… Talk about breaking taboo,’ said Kristina Cooper, editor of the UK’s Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) magazine Good News, of the event.
Michelle Moran, chair of CCR England and Wales, explains that the Pope wasn’t necessarily aligning himself with Copeland’s theological or doctrinal stances, however. Continue reading.
Source: Christianity Magazine
Image: YouTube
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