ISTANBUL (TURKEY) (ITALPRESS) – “My visit is of course the opportunity to celebrate the Nicene Creed. It is from this common apostolic faith that we must draw on to recover the unity that existed in the first centuries between the Church of Rome and the ancient Eastern Churches. We must also draw inspiration from the experience of the nascent Church to restore full communion, a communion that does not imply absorption or domination, but rather an exchange of gifts that our Churches have received from the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father and the edification of the body of Christ. I hope that the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches will soon resume its fruitful work, looking for a model of full communion ‘together, of course’, as Pope John Paul II hoped in his Encyclical Ut unum sint’. Thus Pope Leo XIV during his prayer visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of Istanbul, addressing the Armenian Patriarch Sahak II.
“In thanking you for your cordial welcome, I assure you of my full dedication to the holy cause of Christian unity. That we can accept this gift from above with an open heart, to be ever more convincing witnesses of the truth of the Gospel and to be better able to serve the mission of the one Church of Christ”, the Holy Father added.
“MOLTI MALINTESI E CONFLITTI TRA CRISTIANI, UNITÀ VADA AVANTI”
“There have been many misunderstandings and even conflicts between Christians of different Churches in the past, and there are still obstacles that prevent us from being in full communion, but we must not go back in commitment to unity and we cannot stop considering ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ and loving ourselves as such.” Pope Leo XIV said this in his speech at the end of the divine liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul together with Patriarch Bartholomew I. “Many steps have been taken at the ecclesiological and canonical level and today we are asked to commit ourselves more towards the restoration of full communion,” he added. The Holy Father then expressed “the gratitude of the entire Catholic Church and profound personal thanks for the continued support of His Holiness and Ecumenical Patriarchate to the work of the International Joint Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.”.
“I ask you to continue to make every effort to ensure that all the autocephalous Orthodox Churches return to actively participate in this commitment. For my part, I wish to confirm that, in continuity with what taught by the Second Vatican Council and my predecessors, pursuing full communion among all those who are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in respect of legitimate differences, is one of the priorities of the Catholic Church and in particular of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, whose specific role at the level of the universal Church consists in being at the service of all to build and preserve communion. For the Pope “in this time of bloody conflicts and violence in nearby and distant places, Catholics and Orthodox are called to be builders of peace”.
“Another challenge our Churches face is the threatening ecological crisis. Catholics and Orthodox are called to collaborate to promote a new mentality in which everyone feels guardians of the creation that God has entrusted to us. A third challenge I would like to mention is the use of new technologies, especially in the field of communication. Knowing the enormous benefits that they can offer to humanity, Catholics and Orthodox must work together to promote responsible use in the service of integral development of people, and universal accessibility, so that such benefits are not only reserved for a small number of people and interests of few privileged. In responding to these challenges, I am confident that all Christians, members of other religious traditions and many women and men of good will can cooperate in harmony and work for the common good,” he concluded.
-Photo: Ipa Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
