Pope John Paul II has already described the pope as the first servant of unity. Much more will need to change in the way that the Vatican and the Catholic Church operate for this conviction to become an evident reality for other Christians. But John Paul II saw this responsibility as a necessary consequence of the bishop of Rome. If the pope has an authority over the worldwide church directly concerned with its unity, and it this authority is understood first as a service, then the pope has the responsibility to be the first servant of unity.
Source: Fr. Peter Hocken - Pentecost and Parousia, Peter Hocken - p. 99
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