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Pope Francis to Lutherans: ‘Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism’Pope Francis this morning received a delegation from the Lutheran World Federation at the Vatican and stressed that “Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism.”In his talk given during the audience held in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, the Holy Father called this encounter “an important gesture of ecumenical fraternity.”The pontiff recalled the visit of this delegation to Rome three years ago, an occasion in which they reflected on the upcoming 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in 2025 as an ecumenical event.In this context, he noted...

Pope Francis approves new document elevating ecumenism and synodality above papal primacyThe new ‘study document’ from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity emphasizes an intimate link between papal primacy and synodality, advocating for decentralization, granting more authority at regional levels while enhancing ecumenism.This article was originally published by PerMariam: Mater Dolorosa.VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The Vatican has unveiled a pivotal document on the papacy, which contains numerous calls to fundamentally alter the understanding of the practice of papal primacy and authority in order to aid ecumenism and synodality.Titled “The Bishop of Rome. Primacy and Synodality in the...

The importance of holistic ecology, the role of religions in the care of the environment and the fundamental value of dialogue were three of the key themes considered by Pope Francis in this morning’s address to participants in a symposium organised by the Organisation of American States and the Buenos Aires Institute for Interreligious Dialogue, held in the Augustinianum Institute, Rome and entitled “America in dialogue: our common home”. The event focused on the study of the encyclical Laudato Si’ , dedicated to the importance of loving, respecting and protecting our common home, and the Pope commented on the relevance...

Pope Francis has chosen Marcelo Figueroa, a Protestant theologian and a personal friend, to edit an Argentine edition of L'Osservatore Romano. Beginning in September, Figueroa will edit an Argentine publication that combines material from the weekly Spanish-language edition of L'Osservatore Romano with local content. He told the Crux news site that he plans to rely on Catholic and non-Catholic sources, to give the newspaper ecumencial appeal. Figueroa told Crux: "We want to spread Francis' universal, pastoral work, in a way that reaches every Argentine."