It was an historic moment for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches when, against a backdrop of the suffering of Christians in Syria and Iraq, Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew recognised the urgent need to speak with one voice Last weekend when the Pope and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew embraced as brothers in Turkey, it was clear both felt that the time had come for millennium-old ­differences to be put aside in response to the crises of violence and persecution now endured by Christians in the Middle East. Francis, bowing to receive a kiss and blessing from the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church on himself and the Church of Rome during a prayer service in Istanbul on Saturday, gave physical expression to the longing for full unity between the ancient Churches that emerged as t