Bartholomew I / Pope Benedict
Posted on 12/01/2009 6:34:51 AM PST by NYer
.- Pope Benedict XVI reached out to Bartholomew I and the Eastern Church Monday in his annual letter to the Patriarch celebrating the Feast of St. Andrew. The message encouraged continued ecumenical talks towards unification of the churches of the East and West and "openness to the Holy Spirit" to guide them in the process.
The letter was delivered to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Istanbul, Bartholomew I, by way of a Papal delegation led by the President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity Cardinal Walter Kasper. The delegation concelebrated Mass with the Patriarch and gave him the letter in a ceremony afterwards.
The message included words of shared celebration for the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
Citing St. Andrew's martyrdom, the Pope wrote "The memory of the holy martyrs compels all Christians to bear witness to their faith before the world. There is an urgency in this call especially in our own day, in which Christianity is faced with increasingly complex challenges. The witness of Christians will surely be all the more credible if all believers in Christ are 'of one heart and soul.'
"Our Churches have committed themselves sincerely over the last decades to pursuing the path towards the re-establishment of full communion, and although we have not yet reached our goal, many steps have been taken that have enabled us to deepen the bonds between us."
Said the Pontiff of this relationship, it "should not be hindered by those who remain bound to the remembrance of historical differences, which impedes their openness to the Holy Spirit who guides the Church and is able to transform all human failings into opportunities for good."
The Pope referenced the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue, which met for the 11th time in a plenary session in Cyprus in October, as progress towards unity. "The meeting was marked by a spirit of solemn purpose and a warm sentiment of closeness."
Pope Benedict XVI chose to reiterate the words that he had used while in Phanar, Turkey in 2006, to express his the Roman Catholic Church's wish for an “ecclesiology of communion” in recognizing the establishment of the Petrine lineage of the Church of Rome. He wrote, "It is a question of seeking together, inspired by the model of the first millennium, the forms in which the ministry of the Bishop of Rome may accomplish a service of love recognized by one and all."
"Yet even as we make this journey towards full communion," he continued, "we should already offer common witness by working together in the service of humanity, especially in defending the dignity of the human person, in affirming fundamental ethical values, in promoting justice and peace, and in responding to the suffering that continues to afflict our world, particularly hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and the inequitable distribution of resources."
....move along, people....no socialism to be seen here....move along....
I'm confused Alex, are you advocating the inequitable distribution of resources?
Could I open up a tavern where I could smoke cigars and drink beer? would I have to fill out a 15 page "not-a-long-form-census-form"? Would the pope require me to license my dog? would the bishop require a background check and a three day wait before I got to pick up my new long bow?
What we call liberty looks a lot like more serfdom the freedom.
You didn’t answer my question.
I don’t have to mention the 50 million unborn children that would have been much better off under the thumb of a dastardly pope than under the care of our modern theologically enlightened nation. Makes Geneva in the 16th century look downright welcoming.
Really? couldn’t see the direction I was taking? Must be a Calvinist...Give me the dark ages over the modern age any day. Clear enough?
No, he's a Catholic.
He’s surely pushing for a monopolistic control of rights by the See of Rome.
Look behind you, it's a Swiss Guard....BOOO!
I’ll take neither, thanks. I don’t believe I posed the question as an either/or. The context of the question was the 12th-16th century the hayday of equitible distrubution of rights. I realize Romanists have a difficult time dealing with the context in reading so I hope my clarification helps.
Have you seen the first three words of his tagline?
Quite an admission.
That's exctly what I thought when I read the Pope's letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch! Well spotted!
"This is so cunning", I said to myself........."under the guise of a simple fraternal greeting for the Feast of St. Andrew, we have here a subtle yet ingenious attempt to turn the clock back eight centuries!! This letter is really aimed at distribution of rights."
Are we smart, or what?
“This letter is really aimed at distribution of rights.”
Correct. Try to stay on topic and not wander off on some other tangent. Here’s the quote we’re dealing with:
“...and the inequitable distribution of resources.”
Well, I guess if your comfortable living with a created religion, I guess you can create your own fantasy time period to live in as well.
I don’t believe I posed the question as an either/or. The context of the question was the 12th-16th century the hayday of equitible distrubution of rights. I realize Romanists have a difficult time dealing with the context in reading so I hope my clarification helps.
You may want to re read both what you wrote and what I wrote. All choices are implicitly either/or at the least, with out options the concept or choice is moot and yes, the "or" can be nothing/no change, which is what was implied in your question. This left poor dumb slobs like me assuming you wanted the context to be a contrast, which is a basis for virtually all choices, between enligntend modernity and the dark, vile, evil, smelly days of the papist monarchey... unless you meant to contrast the 12-16th centuries against the third millennium BC? Was that your context? Clearly I'm out gunned in the smarts department.
You probably spell better than I do too.
You still failed to answer the question but instead went on some tangent about your difficulty of reading in context.
Oh well.
Rule Two: In case of doubt, see Rule One.
All else is irrelevant.
Keep an eye on that one...a real up-and-comer in the world of FR anti-Catholic bigots.
I think were supposed to prefer the global governance models of Calvinists like Woodrow Wilson, America’s first fascist President.
Did you miss this?
Calvinist seem to worship America or at least the ideals of America like some sort of materially present proof of the validity of their odd religion.
"The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof ..."
Is it the will of God for some to live in grinding poverty, filth, and disease, such as those who live in and pick their way through trash dumps in foreign countries or who are homeless and mentally ill on the streets?
We don't need to be liberals and blame it on capitalism or say the government is the answer to agree that God does wish us to resolve these problems.
Careful. You are very close to claiming that the Church errs by supporting the ecclesiastical poll taxes of Europe.
Yeah, like those craaaazzzzyyy members of the Nordic Catholic Church. What a loss to Lutheranism they would be if they Poped. (/sarcasm)
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