Pope Francis affirms the ecumenical value of the new "Sunday of the Word of God"

Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Motu proprio Aperuit illis, published on 30 September, establishes that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God”. In the text the Holy Father affirms that “This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity”. The Holy Father further reflects that the introduction of the day dedicated to the Word of God on the third Sunday in Ordinary Time is more than a temporal coincidence, as “the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity" (3).