The Orthodox make this sentiment known routinely.
Other Christians routinely state that Catholics aren't even Christians - a far harsher claim than the Pope is making here.
Me, I expect such arrogance from your church and am quite used to it.
It's not a matter of arrogance - why would someone belong to a Church unless they believed that their Church was the one Christ founded?
Why is it so hard to understand that Christ founded a Church and that Catholics believe their Church to be that one which He founded?
You don't understand the difference between:
1. We are Christ's church (excluding all others)
and
2. We are part of Christ's one true church and Christ alone is the head of His church and He alone will determine who is granted eternal life.
???
So the pope says Catholicism is the way to go while we Orthodox say we are the "home team" for Christianity. What else is new since the split? By the way, apology accepted for the sack of Constantinople. A few years late, but hey--better than never! Boy were there quite a number of Catholic discussion boards agonizing over that--sheesh!
Perhaps the pope should sit down and chat with the number of former Catholics who have converted to Orthodoxy. My church membership has increased to such an extent that we had to expand our parking lot twice in the last 15 years. Many other Orthodox churches are reporting similar increases in church membership. Perhaps they really love attending those crazy Greekfests where the ouzo flows freely! Or perhaps after their first visit to an Orthodox service, they were so overcome with emotion they believed they truly came home to Christ! I'll bet the latter (though don't discount those Greekfests!).
As far as the Catholic churches in my area are concerned, I'm convinced if it weren't for the huge influx of Hispanics (both legal and illegal) many of those churches would have had to close their doors due to declining attendance. No wonder the Catholic church is so supportive of illegals here in the US, gotta boost those attendance numbers somehow! Don't know about the Orthodox position, but if they support illegals, there will be Hell to pay!