Posted on 12/01/2014 7:20:44 PM PST by marshmallow
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Sometimes what a pope doesn’t say can be just as important as what he does, and such was the case in Turkey on Sunday as Pope Francis laid out his vision for unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christianity.
Francis offered several motives for pursuing closer ties, yet conspicuously absent was the imperative most often cited by more conservative Catholics and Orthodox: Making a common stand against secularism, especially permissive sexual morality.
In effect, the pope’s case rested not on the wars of culture, but on the social gospel.
The official reason for the pontiff’s Nov. 28-30 trip to Turkey was to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, who’s considered the “first among equals” of Orthodox leaders.
On Sunday, the pontiff took part in an Orthodox liturgy at the Church of St. George in the Phanar, the headquarters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which provided him with a platform to lay out his ecumenical vision.
Francis voiced clear support for “full communion,” meaning that Orthodox and Catholics would recognize a common set of teachings and sacraments and a common governance structure. In essence, they would see one another as members of a single Church.
Knowing that concerns about papal power have long been a stumbling block, Francis insisted that full communion “does not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation.”
He then ticked off three reasons why Orthodox and Catholics should come together: to defend the poor, to end war and heal conflicts, and to help young people to see past materialism and to embrace a “true humanism.”
“There are too many women and men who suffer from severe malnutrition, growing unemployment, the rising numbers of unemployed youth, and from increasing social exclusion,” Francis said.
“We cannot remain indifferent before the cries of.....
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnow.com ...
On that occasion, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, argued that Orthodox believers and Catholics must stand should-to-shoulder against the secular tide.
Among the challenges, he said, are “the disintegration of families, abortion, the legalization of same-sex unions, and the spread of technologies unacceptable from a Christian point of view such as ‘surrogate motherhood’.”
IOW, the "culture wars". +Francis not big on "culture warriors" (see Burke, Card. R.)
The Orthodox churches are very conservative theologically. There’s essentially no chance they’ll agree to full communion with the Catholics unless the Catholic Church gets serious about shutting down the “social justice” crusaders in its camp.
Quite so. This kind of stuff exacerbates the schism rather than heals it.
Francis is revealing himself as just another useful idiot, just another leftist tool.
While a big disappointment, it jibes with evangelical eschatology.
He’s not attracting anybody with this warmed over leftwing 1970s drivel. The Pope is trapped in a 1970s time bubble, and for him, the Beatles are all still out there singing Give Peace a Chance. Somebody wake him up.
I have seen a couple of writers suggest - because of his incoherent and inconclusive statements - that the Pope might be suffering from the first signs of early-onset age related dementia. This is my most charitable. Interpretation of his words.
I always wondered how the end times would play out, but wasn’t anticipating a front row seat.
It is written that the end times would come upon the world suddenly, after all.
” shutting down the “social justice” crusaders”
and the lavender mafia
and the liturgical innovations
and...oh, never mind.
Your right Doug. It isn’t going to happen.
> I always wondered how the end times would play out, but
> wasn’t anticipating a front row seat.
Hold on tight ...
What is wrong is allowing it to trump morals. Now I know some of you live in areas where the Liberation Theology is more popular. I have not lived in an area where it trumped moral issued, for instance, pro-life.
The problem here is that everyone is trying to simplify a vast deposit of faith, cultures, history, persons and boil it all down to a simple little set of boxes to check off.
It just does not work that way, it never has and it never will. read the history of the freaking world. Jesus Christ himself stood in front of men who refused to believe a word he said. Think about it!
So in your view, Pope=Jesus.
Yes that is EXACTLY, what I think. /s. Thank you so much for proving my point.! I swear ignorance abounds.
So what is your point except that people should “Leave the Pope alone!”? Cue the pic of the creepy kid defending Brittany. I couldn’t have ‘proved your point”, you never made one. All you have done is cry about people expressing a desire to see a Catholic Pope, not the one that occupies the seat now.
And I guarantee you homosexuals at the highest levels are not actively trying to destroy the Orthodox Church. They will not tolerate such garbage. Until Francis starts telling the truth about homosexuality and it’s devastating effects on society and the state of someone’s eternal soul the Orthodox will never take him serious. When I heard him refer to a sodomite as “gay” I felt like throwing up. A Catholic pope referring to a sodomite by the PC-term “gay”. I knew then and there the Catholic Church was in for some rough times with this liberal bishop from Argentina.
The desire for a Catholic Pope, how rich! What would that be exactly? More importantly, could you live up to your own lofty standards that you demand a man you have never met live up to?
Was Benedict Catholic enough for you? How about John Paul II, if so, how would you like to be comapred to two of the brightest minds of the Catholic Church?
The Catholic church publishes its teachings. Anyone can read them. If the laity see the leadership act contrary to those teachings, what are they to do? Lay back and say “Well those guys are so much smarter than I am they must be following the teaching even though I can read and understand that their actions and words say otherwise.” IOW who is one to believe, papal syncophants or their own lying eyes?
Some do, as,
It follows that the Church is essentially an unequal society, that is, a society comprising two categories of per sons, the Pastors and the flock...the one duty of the multitude is to allow themselves to be led, and, like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors. - VEHEMENTER NOS, an Encyclical of Pope Pius X promulgated on February 11, 1906.
Others do what most of both groups criticize evangelicals for doing: interpreting the teachings of their supreme authority. For the former it is past official historical teachings of their church, while for the latter it is wholly inspired and unchanging Scripture, which is abundantly evidenced as being the transcendent supreme standard for obedience and testing and establishing truth claims for the Israel of God.
....”The Catholic church publishes its teachings. Anyone can read them”....
That’s really nonsense...especially for those without familiarity with catholic jargon, which muddles the message, and further overloads the message with volumes of otherwise unnecessary information....in order to cloak what might be objected to.
So yes many catholics and non will just simply accept the easy way out and let someone else sort out and tweak what’s written....few do...so it’s simply “there”.
And yet they are there. Decrypting them is another matter. Some of the Catholics aboard manage it. Some parrot the company line, some wouldn’t dream of questioning the line even in the face of massive contradictions, which is interesting in a viewpoint established on works.
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