Alain Blancy on ecumenism

For my friend Alain Blancy, who united in his own life many religious strands, ecumenism was far more than an academic issue. It allowed him the freedom to bring together in his own life elements which otherwise divided humanity. "Can I, with the inheritance of my Jewish past, the past of my forebears, identify myself as a Christian, without thereby being torn apart, without having to betray either Christ or this inheritance? Am I able to live this unity - this 'ecumenism' - in my own body and life, to test out in myself and on myself a new unity, to reconcile that which in the world is divided and opposed? I cannot avoid this conflict ... For me there is no other ecumenism than that which dares to hold together and to practise this repentance and struggle."
Much of Alain's writing and work on ecumenism was published not under his name but as contributed to joint works of reflection by the Groupe des Dombes and other ecumenical groups.