piusv:
Your not 100% accurate. At the Council of Basel-Florence [1431-1445], which all the Orthodox were present for most of it, the opening address states the entire “Universal Church is gathered” so while the Orthodox were in schism from Rome, the term heretic was not applied. Clearly the Catholics and Orthodox gathered together and prayed at that Council. This is well before Vatican 2 obviously.
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum17.htm
In addition to the meetings I noted above, here also recently met with the leader of the Armenian Orthodox Church which is one of those groups that did not accept the Council of Ephesus in 431. If memory serves me correctly, Pope John Paul II found terminology and agreement so that these Churches are no longer Nestorian. The next step would be to get them to find a theological term to solve the Council of Chalcedon, which will probably not be much of problem given the Nestorian issue is resolved.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-lauds-armenian-church-leaders-commitment-to-unity/
http://www.armenianorthodoxchurch.org/en/archives/7896
So again, this Pope seems to be willing to meet and talk with lots of Christians from non Catholic Traditions. We see 4 in the last month 1)Armenian orthodox Church, 2) Anglican church, 3) American prosperity evangelical/Pentecostals, and 4) Greek Eastern Orthodox Church delegates from the Patriarch of Constantinopile.
Despite all these meetings, the Pope has not rejected the Nicene or Apostles Creed, nor changed 7 sacraments to 6 or added an 8th, he has not rejected the Primacy of the Pope, nor any other Catholic Doctrine. He has just met with people. Are some of those meetings a waste of time. Maybe? For example, I doubt the meeting in the “Vatican Garden” with the Jewish leader and Palestinian-muslim will amount to anything. I also doubt the meeting with the American prosperity evangelical-Pentecostals will amount to anything. I also doubt the meeting the Primate Welby of the Anglican communion will amount to anything approaching full communion, although working together to stop human trafficking and slavery is a good ecumenical project to work together on.
The meeting with the Armenian orthodox Leader, however, I think might lead to a restoration of full-communion with Rome, which would be a good thing. And of course, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church needs to keep working for re-union as a fully united Rome and Orthodox would make for a great Christian witness of Christ’s love for the Church and humanity.
That is my take on it, and that is all it is, my take. Nothing more nothing less. You are free to have your take
I have no idea what precipitated this post to me. I never said that the Orthodox were heretics. They are schismatics.