Pope: Pray for Reestablishing Communion Between Catholic and Orthodox Church

It is not the Lord's plan that His Body be divided. Pope Benedict is the Pope of Unity

This dialogue is not about what some may view as "obscure" or esoteric theological issues. It is about the Church being restored in her fullness for this new missionary age. "Obedience to the will of the Lord Jesus and consideration for the great challenges facing Christianity today, oblige us to commit ourselves seriously to the cause of re-establishing full communion among the Churches."

P>ROME, Italy (Catholic Online) - At the end of his General Audience on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Pope Benedict asked for prayer for the success of the current meetings being held by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church in Vienna. The Vatican Information Service released the following statement: " (T)he Holy Father invited people to pray for the success of the work of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which is currently meeting in plenary session in the Austrian capital, Vienna. 

"The theme of the current phase", he said, "is the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Universal Church, with particular reference to the first millennium of Christian history. Obedience to the will of the Lord  Jesus and consideration for the great challenges facing Christianity today,  oblige us to commit ourselves seriously to the cause of re-establishing full  communion among the Churches. I exhort everyone to intense prayer for the work of the commission and for the ongoing development and consolidation of peace and harmony among the baptized, that we may show the world an increasingly authentic evangelical witness".

Interfax News Service released a statement from Moscow entitled "Catholic, Orthodox Churches to try to overcome millennium-long disagreement." which said in part, "A joint international commission on dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, which began in Vienna on Tuesday, will discuss the Pope's primacy in the first millennium."This is the most complicated subject in the dialogue between the Orthodox and the Catholics, because the attitude toward the bishop of Rome's ministering is key for the modern Catholic Church," Hegumen Philipp (Ryabykh) representing the Russian Orthodox Church at the session told Interfax...

"A draft document was drawn up for the commission's session last year, and the commission started to consider it but did not finish this process, as the Orthodox had a lot of objections to this text. We expect that the discussion in Vienna on the text of this document will also be quite intensive...Our delegation's goal is to make sure that this document reflects the Orthodox position and rules out any ambiguities, compromises and wrong interpretations of the patristic views on the bishop of Rome's ministering," the priest said.

While it is difficult to reach a consensus on this issue, "this theme should be discussed," because "this is what separates the Catholics and the Orthodox above all," he said. "It needs to be said that the Catholics did not agree to discuss this issue with the Orthodox [Church] for a long time, knowing how radical differences in its interpretation are. The fact that the late Pope John Paul II and then Pope Benedict XVI agreed that this issue be discussed by the commission is quite a benevolent step on the part of the Catholics toward the Orthodox [Church]," he said.

What is going on?  I suggest it is a movement of the Holy Spirit. It is not the Lord's plan that His Body be divided. Pope Benedict is the "Pope of Christian Unity". In his first Papal message he proclaimed, "Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Lk 22: 32). With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty."

He has placed the commitment to the full communion of the Church at the forefront of his Papacy. This is especially evident in his love, respect and repeated overtures toward our Orthodox brethren, whom we recognize as a full Church and whose priesthood and Sacraments we also recognize. I have written extensively of the warming of relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. His request for prayer Wednesday reveals the heart of a shepherd who understands the Divine Heart of the Good Shepherd. It also demonstrates the kind of humility and holiness which will unleash the power of the Holy Spirit. 

There has been a growing collaboration between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in efforts to slow the collapse of Christian influence in European culture. There have been other signs of the Spirit at work in pulling these Churches to a along the path toward reestablishing communion. Preceding Pope Benedict's recent historic pastoral visit to the United Kingdom, Archbishop Hilarion, spoke in London at the  Annual Nicean Club Dinner at Lambeth Palace and warned of "new divisions in Christendom, not only theological but also ethical." He noted that the division in the Church is now between those who adhere to the Tradition and the teaching of the ancient faith those who do not, between what he called "traditional" and "liberal". He used the terms not in any political sense but as an indicator of fidelity in doctrine and practice. 

I wrote on this extraordinary speech in "An Ecumenism of Truth: Orthodox Speak to Anglicans on the Eve of the Pope's Visit  In that article I cited sections of the speech and linked to it in its entirety. This dynamic Orthodox leader called for an uncompromising embrace of the ancient and apostolic faith as the path to the future for the authentic renewal of the Church and the world into which she is sent. He pulled no punches in honestly dealing with the current mess within the Anglican community. Upon his arrival in the United Kingdom, neither did Pope Benedict. Both leaders spoke the truth out of love and fidelity. What is clear is that the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are the defenders of the  ancient faith handed down to us by the Apostles for the Third Christian Millennium. It is that faith, in its fullness of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy, which is desperately needed in this urgent hour.

I have shared my belief that the efforts and prayers of the Venerable John Paul II and Pope Benedict, the Pope of Christian Unity, will result in the "two lungs" of the Church, East and West, breathing together again to animate the One New Man, Christ Jesus. I am convinced there is a way in which the two churches can enter into full communion while maintaining the distinctives and beauty found within each of them for the sake of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This is rooted in my unwavering conviction that the Church is God's plan, the only hope for a world teetering on collapse without the anchor of Jesus Christ. I will go a step further, I also believe it will happen in my lifetime. Finally, I know that prayer helps to move time toward the unfolding plan of the One is the Head of His Church and desires her unity ...so that the world may believe. (John 17)

We invite our readers around the globe to hear the Pope's plea and dedicate themselves to prayer for the success of this important dialogue and the restoration of communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Church. This dialogue is not about "obscure" or esoteric theological issues. It is about the Church being restored in her fullness for this new missionary age. Hear the words of the Successor of Peter:  "Obedience to the will of the Lord  Jesus and consideration for the great challenges facing Christianity today, oblige us to commit ourselves seriously to the cause of re-establishing full  communion among the Churches."

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