Paul VI on Christian Unity

"The difficulties in establishing a genuine union between the different Christian denominations are so great as to paralyze any human hope that it can be historically achieved. The breaks that have occurred have ossified, solidified and become institutionalized to such an extent as to make it utopian to attempt to reconstruct a body dependent on Christ as head, and which is, in St Paul's words, well structured. ... The problem of Christian unity seems insoluble, especially because it is a real unity that is sought. One cannot accept any and every illegitimate pluralistic interpretation of the sacred word 'unity.' This need for a genuine unity, when faced with the concrete historical conditions of the various Christian denominations, seems to disappoint any ecumenical hopes: history never goes backward." From a speech given in January 1978