Vatican
City, 25 January 2013
(VIS) – Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the members
of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue
between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The
commission was instituted ten years ago as a initiative of the
ecclesial authorities of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches
and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The
commission has dedicated this week to exploring "more fully the
communion and communication which existed between the Churches in the
first five centuries of Christian history", Benedict XVI said,
expressing his hope that "relations between the Catholic Church
and the Oriental Orthodox Churches will continue to develop in a
fraternal spirit of cooperation, particularly through the growth of a
theological dialogue capable of helping all the Lord’s followers to
grow in communion and to bear witness before the world to the saving
truth of the Gospel."
"Many
of you," he concluded, "come from areas where Christians,
as individuals and communities, face painful trials and difficulties
which are a source of deep concern to us all. Through you, I would
like to assure all the faithful of the Middle East of my spiritual
closeness and my prayer that this land, so important in God’s plan
of salvation, may be led, through constructive dialogue and
cooperation, to a future of justice and lasting peace. All
Christians need to work together in mutual acceptance and trust in
serving the cause of peace and justice in fidelity to the Lord’s
will. May the example and intercession of the countless martyrs and
saints, who throughout the ages have borne courageous witness to
Christ in all our Churches, sustain and strengthen all of us in
meeting the challenges of the present with confidence and hope in the
future which the Lord is opening before us."
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