The best sort of Christian witness requires a “light touch”, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said during a live Facebook chat with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Cardinal Nichols and Archbishop Justin Welby collaborated last Friday for a live video chat on the social media network, to discuss “prayer, unity and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ”. The discussion lasted 9 minutes and 20 seconds, has been viewed 200,000 times and attracted 5,000 “likes”. Introducing the session, Archbishop Welby said: “Cardinal Vincent and I spend quite a lot of time meeting and we do so quite regularly. It seemed a good idea to open it up and share some of our conversation about things that have happened recently and also have the chance to answer any questions that come in.” One viewer asked: ‘‘How can we work together as members of the Body of Christ, putting aside differences to be credible witness to an increasingly secularised society?’’ Cardinal Nichols responded: “There are 10,000 ways. First of all by just trying to live with a sense to do what is right, what is generous and just what God wants. Therefore you can do it with a greater depth and a greater confidence and, frankly, with a greater joy, and therefore with a light touch.” He continued: “We don’t need heavy, over-stressed Christian witness. We want something which says life is a gift of God and it’s great and just – if you want to enjoy life to the full even in the most difficult circumstances, here is the way to go.” During the discussion, which covered Christian unity, witness and the feast of Pentecost, Cardinal Nichols said we must not forget persecuted Christians. When asked, “How can we reach out to persecuted Christians around the world?”, the cardinal said: “The first thing to do is not to forget them. I think for a person who is in isolation, the isolation of imprisonment and suffering is terrible, but if they know they are in someone’s mind and heart and therefore in their prayers, they know that’s a huge comfort, I imagine.” The two leaders also discussed a prayer that they both prayed for Christian unity, composed by the Chemin Neuf Community. The two leaders have previously appeared together at the Royal Albert Hall, in a joint interview chaired by Nicky Gumbel. At the time, they spoke of what Archbishop Welby called their “implicit trust in each other”. The Anglican leader said: “It is not something that is heavy, that we work at because it’s an uphill struggle, but it’s much more like a breeze coming from behind us that catches our sails and helps us to go forward.” Cardinal Nichols added that reconciliation is “not something we negotiate and construct, but something we receive in two places: on our knees and in the service of the poor”. Archbishop Welby has often spoken of his admiration for Pope Francis and his sympathy for Catholicism. His spiritual director is a Catholic monk, Fr Nicolas Buttet. Last month the Archbishop of Canterbury launched a live Bible study on his Facebook page. The video has been viewed nearly 900,000 times.