In an unusually informal video made on a smartphone held by a Pentecostal pastor, Pope Francis called on all Christians to set aside their differences, explaining his “longing” for Christian unity.
The seven-minute video, which was posted on YouTube, was made during a Jan. 14 meeting with Anthony Palmer, a bishop and international ecumenical officer with the independent Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.
The video is unusual in part because it was made and released in such an informal manner. Most information released about the pontiff comes from the Vatican press office or some other official church agency. The Vatican went so far as to warn pope watchers in January that information about the pope found on other sources was probably untrue — though in this case the veracity of the video is guaranteed by seeing the pope himself on camera.
