Pope commits to ‘fraternal dialogue’ for unity with Orthodox

‘I am open to any suggestions that you may offer, always in consultation with my brother bishops who share with me the responsibility for the complete and visible unity of the Church.’ 

Pope Leo sent a strong message of unity and reconciliation with the Orthodox world as he affirmed his aim to restore full communion between the Churches.

Marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on Saturday, Pope Leo welcomed a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon.

During the audience – the first for Pope Leo in this format – he reaffirmed the tradition of exchanging visits on the patronal feats of Rome and Constantinople as a sign “that profound communion already existing between us, and a reflection of the fraternal bond that united the Apostles Peter and Andrew”.

The Pope committed “to persevere in the effort to restore full visible communion between our Churches” and said he was interested in promoting dialogue and willing to consider concrete steps.

“I am open to any suggestions that you may offer in this regard, always in consultation with my brother bishops of the Catholic Church who … share with me the responsibility for the complete and visible unity of the Church,” Pope Leo has said. 

The Pope said unity will be fully achieved “with God’s help, through a continued commitment to respectful listening and fraternal dialogue”.

He referenced the progress in dialogue and mutual understanding since the “courageous and farsighted steps of Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras”, recalling their historic 1964 meeting.

On Saturday, the Pope spoke to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic pilgrims and bishops who gathered at St Peter’s for their Church’s Jubilee pilgrimage. 

He described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “senseless war”, expressing his sorrow for the prisoners and victims of the war. The Pope appealed to trust in God during difficulty because “He will have the final word, and that life will triumph over death”.

“I wish to express my closeness to the martyred Ukraine – to the children, the youth, the elderly, and especially to the families who mourn their loved ones,” he said.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, observed that no other church or nation has undertaken this pilgrimage as part of the Jubilee year, reflecting Pope Leo’s sympathy for the challenges Ukraine faces.

Earlier in the week, Pope Leo addressed Roaco, the organisation of aid agencies for the 23 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches, praising their work in “sowing seeds of hope in the lands of the Christian East”.

“For many people, poor in means but rich in faith, you are a light that shines amid the dark shadows of hatred,” he said, reflecting on Eastern Christians’ “sense of the sacred, their deep faith confirmed by suffering, and their spirituality, redolent of the divine mysteries”.

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