Benedict has made many gestures of outreach to the Orthodox.
His recent book had a good discussion about icons, even though he did not, in my opinion, totally grasp Orthodox theology.
Still, I give him points for trying.
One of the shortcomings of the West is we have forgotten or not paid attention to the incredible treasure of the Orthodox.
IMHO, the greater value of Pope Benedict’s actions in these instances may be in reminding us, bringing the East back into our minds. Then we start discovering anew and want more and more.
Awareness is the first step for many.
Interesting you should send me a ping on this, I had marked it to read later.
I have no doubt that Benedict is a pious man. On the other hand, I still harbor many personal reservations about Roman dogma. Departure from counciliar judgment to monarchistic decrees being chief among them.
I’ve heard that the monastics went ape doo-doo when the EP gave him a chair in the cathedral a couple years ago.