VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2007 (VIS) - As is traditional on November 30, Feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, a delegation from the Holy See, led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, travelled to Istanbul, Turkey, for the liturgical celebrations marking that day. Every year, the ecumenical patriarchate sends a delegation to Rome on June 29, Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Yesterday the Catholic delegation attended a solemn liturgy presided by His Holiness Bartholomew I, ecumenical patriarch, in the Church of St. George in Fanar, then met with the patriarch and with members of the synodal commission for relations with the Catholic Church. At the end of the ceremony, Cardinal Kasper presented the ecumenical patriarch with a signed copy of Benedict XVI's Encyclical "Spe salvi," a reproduction of a mosaic showing the "Mystical Lamb" from the vault of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, and a Message from the Pope.
In his Message, the Holy Father highlights his "vivid recollection" of his own "participation last year in the celebration of this feast at the Ecumenical Patriarchate." He also thanks God for the meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, which was held in Ravenna, Italy, in October, at the same time recognizing that the event "was not without its difficulties."
His English-language Message continues: "I pray earnestly that these may soon be clarified and resolved, so that there may be full participation in the Eleventh Plenary Session and in subsequent initiatives aimed at continuing the theological dialogue in mutual charity and understanding.
"Indeed," he adds, "our work towards unity is according to the will of Christ our Lord. In these early years of the third millennium, our efforts are all the more urgent because of the many challenges facing all Christians, to which we need to respond with a united voice and with conviction.
"I therefore wish to assure you once more of the Catholic Church's commitment to nurture fraternal ecclesial relations and to persevere in our theological dialogue, in order to draw closer to full communion, as stated in our Common Declaration issued last year at the conclusion of my visit to Your Holiness."
MESS/ST. ANDREW/KASPER:BARTHOLOMEW VIS 20071203 (390)
Yesterday the Catholic delegation attended a solemn liturgy presided by His Holiness Bartholomew I, ecumenical patriarch, in the Church of St. George in Fanar, then met with the patriarch and with members of the synodal commission for relations with the Catholic Church. At the end of the ceremony, Cardinal Kasper presented the ecumenical patriarch with a signed copy of Benedict XVI's Encyclical "Spe salvi," a reproduction of a mosaic showing the "Mystical Lamb" from the vault of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, and a Message from the Pope.
In his Message, the Holy Father highlights his "vivid recollection" of his own "participation last year in the celebration of this feast at the Ecumenical Patriarchate." He also thanks God for the meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, which was held in Ravenna, Italy, in October, at the same time recognizing that the event "was not without its difficulties."
His English-language Message continues: "I pray earnestly that these may soon be clarified and resolved, so that there may be full participation in the Eleventh Plenary Session and in subsequent initiatives aimed at continuing the theological dialogue in mutual charity and understanding.
"Indeed," he adds, "our work towards unity is according to the will of Christ our Lord. In these early years of the third millennium, our efforts are all the more urgent because of the many challenges facing all Christians, to which we need to respond with a united voice and with conviction.
"I therefore wish to assure you once more of the Catholic Church's commitment to nurture fraternal ecclesial relations and to persevere in our theological dialogue, in order to draw closer to full communion, as stated in our Common Declaration issued last year at the conclusion of my visit to Your Holiness."
MESS/ST. ANDREW/KASPER:BARTHOLOMEW VIS 20071203 (390)
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