Universal Church

Papal Primacy. Russia Heads the Resistance Against Rome

Jacob already linked to this here. I return to it because I find the idea of Catholic and Orthodox reuniting to be a fascinating subject.

Since then, the discussion on controversial points has advanced at an accelerated pace. And it has started to examine, above all, how the Churches of East and West interpreted the role of the bishop of Rome during the first millennium, when they were still united.

I wonder if the great thinkers who apart of the dialogue have already informally teased out among themselves an ideal relationship between Catholic and Orthodox. How will it work? What will the relationships be? Will the laypeople on either side know a difference when it does happen?

Kicking the Can and the Great and Holy Council

Magister on the Catholic Orthodox talks in Vienna:

As a result, the Russian delegation asked and obtained that the text from Crete [historical examples of the Bishop of Rome exercising his office in the first millennium] not be included among the official documents of the commission, not bear the signature of any of its members, and be used simply as working material for a new rewriting of the working outline. A rewriting more attentive to the theological dimensions of the question.

In effect, at the end of the talks in Vienna, the participants agreed to set up "a sub-commission to begin consideration of the theological and ecclesiological aspects of primacy in its relation to synodality."

Next year the sub-commission will present the new text to the coordinating committee of the commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. So that the following year, 2012, the commission will be able to revisit and continue – on the basis of the new outline – the discussion begun in Cyprus and Vienna.
[...]

But as can be seen, the question is certainly a thorny one, with no solution in sight.

So yeah. Actually, I found the first paragraph after the lead to be the most interesting.

While the Eastern Churches are slowly approaching the convocation of the pan-Orthodox "Great and Holy Council" that should finally unite them in a single assembly after centuries of incomplete "synodality," the other journey of reconciliation, which sees the East in dialogue with the Church of Rome, is also taking small steps forward.

Like I said, interesting. First link at Google for "Great and Holy Council" is this: Reaction of the Orthodox-Roman Catholic Dialogue to the Agenda of the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church - U.S. Theological Consultation, 1977. The title is confusing, but it is an agenda formulated in 1976 by the Pre-Synodal Pan-Orthodox Conference.

A second link goes to a thread discussing possible dates. The first post of the thread suggests 2013. Another suggests 2011.

Off to the Holy Land

Sandro Magister has a new column out on the Pope's trip. In it, Magister determines that the biggest obstacle will be the local Christian population. By appearing evenhanded and not favoring Israel, the Pope has been attempting to earn their trust. Magister also claims that in recasting the conflict as a political one, the Pope hopes to return the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians back to its political origins...

Right.

This is one instance where I would say the Pope is flying blind. The Arab-Israeli conflict has many causes and origins. I would point out though that as my professor always reminded my class, politics and religion for the Muslims of the Middle East are one and the same given the fact that the Shariah handed down to Muhammad from God is their Law and the political Ummah (Muslim Community) was the religious and soclal Ummah. If the Christian West and the Pope want to delude themselves into thinking that politics and religion can be separated out, I hope they find their disillusionment sooner rather than later so that we can get on with it.

Let's face it. We've been reading about the alleged Palestinian majority that is tired of war and wants only peace for fifteen years and more, but it has yet to rise up to do anything against Hamas in Gaza. (The West Bank under Fatah has been flying under the radar lately.)

The US Declaration of Independence:

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

The average, moderate Palestinian is supposedly long past the point Jefferson set out, but Hamas is still in charge and lobbing rockets as Israel.

Islam (what else is there?)

A few articles and thoughts on each...

Reuters: Muslims more numerous than Catholics: Vatican

This article is kind of misleading. While Catholics have in the past made up the largest single Christian group in the world and the largest single group of any religion, this headline compares /all/ Muslims to just Catholics. I'd like to see the breakdown between Catholics versus Sunnis or Shi'ites or whatever. Comparing an entire religion to just us Catholics is nice for us Catholics, but the downbeat headline is not representative of a real, valid comparison.

Pakistan Christian Post: Saudi Arabia: No churches unless prophet Mohammed recognised, says expert (from Rorate Caeli)

Yeah, yeah, some expert toots his horn and spouts off his hard line rhetoric... Big deal.

Magister's latest essay on the general situation.

This essay by Magister is rather interesting in that he reveals his thoughts on the idea that the true focus of relations lately has shifted to the king of Saudi Arabia. An example:

This is to say: precisely while the accusations were erupting against Benedict XVI over Allam's baptism, the Saudi king not only ignored the accusations, but he expressed himself in diametrically opposite tones.

There's more. Check it all out.

Magdi Cristiano Allam

Magister has up an essay on the reception of Magdi Cristiano Allam into the Catholic Church this past Easter Vigil. He has up various letters written by Allam and from Islamic scholars and from the Vatican in reply to the event and in reply to the replies. It's a pretty comprehensive summary of all that's flying around out there.

One passage caught my eye that Magister wrote himself:

But nothing intimidates Benedict XVI. At the Easter vigil, on Saturday, March 22, the pope baptized at the basilica of Saint Peter, together with six other men and women from four continents, a convert from Islam, Magdi Allam, 56, an Egyptian by birth, a famous writer and journalist and the vice director of the leading Italian daily, "Corriere della Sera," and the author of important books, the latest one entitled "Viva Israele [Long Live Israel]."

Bolding is my own. What I think people are starting to realize when it comes to His Holiness is that he is not only old school, he is /old school/ in that he is not afraid because he believes. Sure, everyone assumes that the pope is probably going to believe in God and all that, but I think that Benedict is willing to seriously engage Islam and risk all the consequences precisely because he believes in two things.

In the end the Church will prevail.
Martyrdom is not only noble and holy, but it is also not obsolete.

Real Dialogue?

Octave of St. Stephen Protomartyr, Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors

Sandro Magister has out a piece on a planned meeting between the Holy Father and 138 prominent Muslims led by a prince of Jordan that follows an exchange of letters last year. I'm not going to quote all of this at all, just one part. Bolding is my own.

The letter from cardinal Bertone, dated November 19 and made public about ten days later, proposes three main topics of discussion: "effective respect of the dignity of every human person"; "objective awareness of the other's religion"; "'a common commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance among the younger generation."

In commenting on Bertone's letter, the Egyptian Jesuit Samir Khalil Samir – who is one of the scholars of Islam most closely heeded by the pope, together with another Jesuit, Christian W. Troll, of Germany – emphasized that the letter of the 138 is not clear on the first of these topics, and that instead some of its signatories say that they are not at all interested in talking about freedom of conscience, about equality between men and women and between believers and nonbelievers, about the distinction between religious and political power – in short, about the achievements of the Enlightenment that the Catholic Church has made its own, but that Islam is still far from accepting.

For its part, the letter from the prince of Jordan to cardinal Bertone, dated December 12 and likewise made public about ten days later, insists that the Catholic-Muslim dialogue be primarily "theological" and "spiritual," and that it have as its object – more than aspects defined as "extrinsic," like the commandments of the natural law, religious liberty, and equality between men and women – the "Common Word between Us and You" which is at the center of the letter of the 138, or the unicity of God and the twofold commandment of love of God and neighbor.

Benedict XVI wants to talk about the Enlightenment perhaps, but as I read this, I see he wants to talk about concrete steps that will help real people, women, non-Muslims living in Muslim lands, etc. The prince of Jordan has in mind theological discussion along the lines of, as I read it, 'You're okay, we're okay, we believe in the same God with two different traditions, have a nice day'. Something that validates the idea that there is just one big Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.

Benedict XVI has definite ideas about religious dialogue and something like that isn't on his agenda, period. I look forward to seeing how they solve this and come up with meaningful points to discuss this spring.

Also of interest:
Spengler's thoughts on post-Muslims
Spengler's thoughts on "presentable" Islamists

A pope speaks out

CAIRO (Reuters) - Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox church, criticised Pope Benedict on Saturday over a Vatican document asserting Catholic primacy, saying his pride in Catholicism was making him enemies.

"The man (Pope Benedict) makes enemies every time. In his first statements a few months back, he lost all the Muslims. And now this time, he lost a lot of the Christian denominations because he has begun to err against Christians themselves," Shenouda told the state-run daily Al-Ahram.

Article link

Pride in Catholicism... I bet almost every martyr who has ever lived and has ever died for the Faith has had Pride in Catholicism. But you know, that kind of Pride just isn't appropriate when directed towards others, even if it has been Catholic teaching for how many centuries?

Someone's got it backwards

From swissinfo.org:

The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches said in a statement that Rome's position threatened past ecumenical progress. It added that it was concerned that the Catholics would "no longer be in universal communion with other churches."

Shouldn't that be universal communion with the Catholic Church? I assume this quote is in referring to protestant groups: I didn't realize we were in universal anything with them...

It can't be broken if it never existed in the first place. But thanks for playing.

Orthodox news

From Interfax Religion:

Ukrainian Uniats urge to join NATO now - daily

Moscow, February 14, Interfax - Ukrainian political processes are being intertwined with the nation’s church life deeper and deeper.

Some Greek Catholics urge to join the NATO as soon as possible even from the preaching pulpit, the Trud daily said on Wednesday.

The February meeting of Volhynian Regional Interior Department Board held earlier this week started with a supplication service. From now on all important police events in Western Ukraine will start with a church service, the daily added.

It was also decided to make the staff of Interior Department’s regional boards and district offices regularly participate in the cervices. ‘Only those may fight the crime who have God in their hearts,’ the Volhynian Interior Department Board head Ivan Proshkovsky.

Meanwhile police officers from Khmelnitsky Region had their personal guns blessed. The like spiritual empowerment in Galichina’ police has its specific feature: the officers are led to churches marching in formations.

The above story is really bizarre in the way it goes from NATO to church-police relations with absolutely no transition. It's like two different stories put together to give the article some length. But hey, whatever floats their boat at Interfax.

Vatican’s representative in Russia urges Catholics to respect Orthodox traditions

Moscow, February 14, Interfax - Representative of the Holy See in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, has pointed out that it is important for the Catholics to respect the Orthodox church tradition for a success of the ecumenical dialogue.

‘We will seek to show more gestures of sympathy and respect for the Russian Orthodox Church, putting distrust and prejudice away, as we work only for the sake of Jesus. We must try to understand with love, and understanding takes learning’, Archbishop Mennini writes in an address to the readers of Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism which have been republished in Russian.

[A whole lot of talk on the book]

The Catholic clergy are strongly recommended ‘to pay attention to the norms existing in Eastern Churches for their faithful and to avoid any, even seeming proselytism’ and ‘to show sincere respect for the liturgical tradition of other Churches and church communities, which are asked, in their turn, to show reciprocal respect for the Catholic tradition’.
[...]

Good ideas all around.

Finally, back to Ukraine: Ukrainian Orthodox demand air time for the canonical Church radio and TV

Moscow, February 13, Interfax - Ukrainian Orthodox believers fear Roman Catholic proselytism and urge authorities to give them some air time for broadcasting.

‘We demand that the canonical Orthodox Church, which has formed spirituality, morals, and civilization image of our nation for centuries, be suitably represented at Ukrainian state TV and radio in accordance with its authority and number of believers,’ the Fraternity of St. Alexander Nevsky’s appeal to the Ukrainian government, the text of which Interfax received on Tuesday, said.

The appeal of the representatives of Ukraine’s Orthodox community was an answer to the association agreement between the president of Ukraine’s national broadcasting Viktor Nabrusko and the director of programming at Vatican Radio Federico Lombardi.

The Catholics would have seven casts a week at the state radio, ‘while the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in fact has no air time at the national radio,’ the Fraternity’s representatives noted.

That is really weird. They have /no/ air time at all? Huh.

Anyway, the news round-up out of Ukraine and Russia is complete for another day.

The Oriental Orthodox

Zenit:

The fourth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Rome from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, 2007, under the co-chairmanship of His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette, secretary-general of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
[...]

Addressing the group, Pope Benedict said, "Your meeting concerning the constitution and mission of the Church is of great importance for our common journey toward the restoration of full communion. The Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches share an ecclesial patrimony stemming from apostolic times and the first centuries of Christianity. This 'heritage of experience' should shape our future 'guiding our common path toward the re-establishment of full communion' (cf. "Ut Unum Sint," 56)." The Pope also expressed his concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East, calling upon them to be "courageous and steadfast in the power of the Spirit of Christ."

Following the plan for the dialogue that was adopted at the Preparatory Meeting in 2003, the following papers were presented during the course of the meeting:

-- "Mission, Witness, Service and the Problem of Proselytism," by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
-- "The Mission of the Church," by Bishop Paul-Werner Scheele

-- "The Salvation of Nonbelievers in the Patristic Period," by Father Mark Sheridan, O.S.B.
-- "The Church and the Salvation of Non-Christians in the Second Vatican Council and Afterward," by Monsignor Johan Bonny

-- "The Salvation of Nonbelievers," by Metropolitan Bishoy
-- "Marriage Between Catholics and Muslims: A Catholic Perspective," by Archbishop Peter Marayati
-- "Mixed Marriages With Non-Christians," by Metropolitan Bishoy.
[...]

Bolding is mine as well as the link to the encyclical. The full commission is scheduled to meet again in 2008 in Syria. The Eastern Orthodox tend to get all the hoopla, but the Chalcedonian-schism churches and Rome have been making steady progress over the years.

Awards day

From the Kuwait News Agency, we have this story:

VATICAN CITY, Jan 10 (KUNA) -- Pope Benedict XVI awarded Kuwait Ambassador to the state of Vatican Ahmed Abdul-Karim al-Ibrahim a grand badge of honor Wednesday in recognition of his effort to enhance Kuwait-Vatican ties.

The Vatican City assigned three days for the farewell ceremonies of al-Ibrahim who ended his tenure as Kuwait top diplomat to the Vatican.

Vatican Foreign Minister Pope Monsieur Mapriti handed Al-Ibrahim the "Grand Cross of Saint Georgiou, the Great" on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony held here for the occasion.
[...]

He hailed the warm relation between Kuwait and Vatican and praised the effort made by al-Ibrahim to enhance the ties between the two sides and boost dialogue between Islam and Christianity.

For his part, al-Ibrahim conveyed best regards of His Highness Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Muhammad al-Ahmed al-Sabah to Vatican Prime Minister Cardinal Tartchisiu Birtoni.

Kuwait is keen on pushing forward the dialogue and understanding among all religions in the interest of world peace and stability, said al-Ibrahim who represented Kuwait to Vatican since 2000.

Just about everyone gets along with Kuwait. Kuwait is also one of the few Middle-Eastern countries that has granted political freedom for women (voting, standing as candidates, etc.). There is a generation of boys in Kuwait today named 'George Bush' after the country's famed liberator Bush 41 (I recall reading that somewhere, don't quote me on it).

Reciprocity

We'll let you pray in the Cordoba Cathedral when you convince your coreligionists in Turkey to grant certain privileges to our brethren in Turkey.

Ask and ye shall receive

Yesterday I said I should do some research into the background behind Rome-Athens relations since I had forgotten or was not recalling anything I'd read in the past. Zenit provides with an interview with a Monsignor Salachas of the Greek Catholic Exarchy in Athens who explains.

Q: Some years ago, and not that many, a visit by the Orthodox archbishop of Athens to the Pope was quite improbable. What is changing?

Monsignor Salachas: Insofar as I know, Archbishop Christodoulos' intention to visit the Pope already ripened during the last years of John Paul II's pontificate, whose funeral he attended personally.

The starting point of a new era in relations between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church of Greece was precisely John Paul II's Jubilee pilgrimage to Greece in May 2001 "in the footsteps of St. Paul," and the signing of a Joint Declaration in Athens' Areopagus by Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Christodoulos, committing themselves to fraternal collaboration and a common testimony to safeguard the Christian identity of the European continent.

It was followed in March 2002 by the visit to the Holy See of a delegation of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and in February 2003 by the visit of a delegation of the Holy See, headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, to the Church of Greece, and the participation of representatives of the Holy See in several initiatives convoked by the Church of Greece at the international and ecumenical level.

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Constantinople consolidated the decision already made months earlier by the archbishop to visit the Church of Rome and meet with her Bishop to reaffirm the commitment assumed with the declaration in Athens' Areopagus in 2001.

The monsignor's comments on the Eastern Catholic Churches are worth reading:

It is known that the Orthodox Churches' reservation is based on the fact that they don't see a theological foundation that justifies the existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches, while for the Catholic Church the fact of their full communion with the Apostolic See of Rome with the bonds of the profession of the faith, of the sacraments and of the ecclesiastical government, justifies their ecclesiasticism and canonicity.

On several occasions, Orthodox exponents, theologians and ecclesiastics have expressed their point of view for the solution of this problem, considering that Eastern Catholics should opt to return to the Orthodox Church, from which they stem, or incorporate themselves to the Latin Church, inasmuch as they are united to Rome.

Obviously, such a solution cannot find agreement on the part of the Catholic Church, for essentially doctrinal, ecclesiological and pastoral reasons.

I think that "Uniatism" implies fundamentally the more delicate and theologically more difficult question, that is, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff.

In a comment I read someplace yesterday, an Eastern Catholic was lamenting the current status of the Eastern Churches as sort of bastard children that were over time being viewed as unwanted and as obstacles to be overcome in the road to ecumenism. The jurisdictional issues that lie ahead should all the other prerequisites of full communion be fulfilled are quite huge in and of themselves.

N. 214 - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006

I should use that as the official title every time I post info from VIS.

• This morning, the Holy Father received His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of all Greece, who is making an official visit to the Vatican. Prior to his audience with the Pope, the archbishop visited St. Peter's Basilica where he prayed at the tomb of John Paul II.
  [...]
  
  "At the same time," he added, "we must increase collaboration among Christians in all European countries in order to face the new risks that challenge the Christian faith: growing secularization, relativism and nihilism, which open the way to forms of behavior and laws that damage the inalienable dignity of man and threaten such fundamental institutions as marriage. It is vital to undertake joint pastoral activity, as a joint testimony to our contemporaries and an expression of our hope."
  
  
• This morning in the Vatican, following their private meeting and after each had pronounced a public address, the Pope and His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of all Greece, signed a Joint Declaration in the presence of members of the archbishop's Greek delegation and of Catholic representatives.
  
  "We, Benedict XVI, Pope and Bishop of Rome, and Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and of all Greece, in this sacred place of Rome, ... wish to live ever more intensely our mission to bear apostolic witness, to transmit the faith, ... and to announce the Good News of the birth of the Lord. ... It is also our joint responsibility to overcome, in love and truth, the multiple difficulties and painful experiences of the past."
  
  "Our meeting in charity makes us more aware of our joint task: together to follow the arduous path of dialogue in truth in order to re-establish full communion of faith. ... Thus we obey a divine mandate ... and continue our commitment, ... following the example of the Apostles and demonstrating mutual love and a spirit of reconciliation."
  [...]

I need to find some more material in the Greek Church and its own relationship with Rome. Benedict and Christodoulos got on quite well it looks like. But Greece has its own archconservatives who view Rome with distrust, though they report to Constantinople, not Athens.

• The Office of Liturgical Celebration of the Supreme Pontiff published today the calendar of celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside during the Christmas season:
  
  DECEMBER
  
  - Sunday, 24: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. The Pope will celebrate Midnight Mass in the Vatican Basilica.
  
  - Monday, 25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. At noon from the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica, the Pope will deliver his Christmas message to the world and will impart the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.
  
  - Sunday, 31: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father will preside at first Vespers on the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, during which the traditional "Te Deum" hymn of thanksgiving will be sung for the conclusion of the civil year.
  
  JANUARY 2007
  
  - Monday, 1: Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and 40th World Day of Peace which has as its theme: "The Human Person, the Heart of Peace." In the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m., the Holy Father will preside at the celebration of Mass.
  
  - Saturday, 6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Holy Father to preside at Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m.
  
  - Sunday, 7: Baptism of Our Lord. Benedict XVI will preside at Mass in the Sistine Chapel at 10 a.m., during which he will impart the Sacrament of Baptism to a number of children.

Turkey and Regensburg are not to be divorced

Samir Khalil Samir of the Jesuits in Asia News writes on the continuation of what Benedict XVI said at Regensburg through his trip to Turkey. (My bolding.)

[...] But now, most comments are that “finally” Regensburg has been forgotten, wiped out, killed and the Pope changed his “policy” in Turkey [my link], having become even an astute politician who is more careful about opportunity than about truth.

Actually, though, the Pope’s message in Turkey is a continuation of that of Regensburg. The essential message at Regensburg was two-fold. Firstly, with a view toward the West, it was to say that secularization is not a positive thing and does not allow for universal dialogue. Instead, Reason allows for universal dialogue on the condition that it is not detached from religiosity and from moral principles. This was a critique of the West. There was also a critique of the Islamic world, too tempted by violence.

The final aim of this two-fold critique was a positive affirmation: if we want universal peace and global dialogue, these aspirations are threatened in the West and the East by these two main issues. The Pope is thus striving to build a philosophical-theological framework centred on rationality, but a rationality which is open to the transcendental dimension.

In his trip to Turkey, Benedict XVI gave substance to this vision, applying it to a concrete situation, but his thinking remains that of Regensburg. Speaking to the Muslims, he discretely [sic?] recalled the question of violence, but avoided the misunderstanding which occurred with his words at Regensburg. [...]

Father Samir's points are a valid look at the Pope's message from a man who has been intimately involved with Cardinal Ratzinger and then Benedict XVI for some time. He pointed out back on November 1st that "If he refers directly to it, I don’t think it will help because Muslims are not ready to understand it." Father Samir's comments are further comfirmation that Benedict is a pretty bright guy who shouldn't be underestimated when it comes to getting his message across to those who aren't really interested in hearing it.

In conclusion

The Holy Father has flown home after presiding over Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Tomorrow evening is Vespers and the start of Advent, so Benedict won't get much of a break right away.

Vatican watchers, church commentators and everyone else though will have time to sit down and ponder what it all means as far as the trip to Turkey and its effect on Christian-Muslim and Catholic-Orthodox relations.

1. Christians and Muslims
When discussing the brief 'recollection' in the Blue Mosque and the cordial relations between the Pope and the Mufti, it's easy to forget that the Mufti was one of the sigers of the open leader to Benedict addressing the (in)famous lecture. The Mufti is one of the men who took the time to assess what the Pope was driving at and engage him on his own tersm. When looking at their meeting in the Blue Mosque, that kind of respect is something to keep in mind.

It's what they who don't especially like Benedict are going to do next that is important. Will Turkey get the message and allow more freedom of religion? Only time will tell. As Benedict in his writings has noted over and over again, dialogue is only worthwhile if there are concrete results. Otherwise it's just a lot of empty gestures.

2. Catholics and Orthodox
There are a lot more opportunities here for actual progress, but the stakes are also higher. If Christians and Muslims misstep, well... Sad, but not unexpected. On the other hand, the efforts of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches mean so much to the internal unity of the Body of Christ on Earth. Missteps here last for centuries and remain engraved in the collective memory of both churches.

Reading the outline at Patriarchate.org, it's clear that the meetings and discussions have reached the critical point: the primacy of the Pope. Bolding is mine.

1990 -- Work began by the Joint Coordinating Committee on the next common document in Moscow, Russia, “Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church”, but at the request of the Orthodox Church the discussions were stopped in order to address the question of “Uniatism”.

1993 – The Joint Commission issued the common document on “Uniatism: Method of Union of the Past, and Present. Search for Full Communion” (Balamand, Lebanon)

2000 – The Joint Commission met in Baltimore, U.S.A., and discussed a text on “ The Ecclesiological and Canonical Implications of Uniatism”.

2005 - The Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church agree to resume the theological dialogue.

2006 – The Joint Commission met in Belgrade, Serbia and discussed a text entitled: ”The Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Conciliarity and Authority in the Church”, at three levels of the Church’s life: local, regional and universal.

Only time will tell what the next entry to such an outline will look like. Let us pray it is a positive one.

The Divine Liturgy

I will spare you all from massive excerpts. Amy Welborn has them all and links to the associated texts that came out of the Divine Liturgy celebrated today.

Discourses at the Church of St. George

Pope's Discourse at the Patriarchial Church of Saint George
Istanbul, November 29, 2006

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Ps 133:1)
[...]

I conclude by expressing once more my joy to be with you. May this meeting strengthen our mutual affection and renew our common commitment to persevere on the journey leading to reconciliation and the peace of the Churches.
I greet you in the love of Christ. May the Lord be always with you.

Welcome by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

We are deeply grateful to God that Your Holiness has taken similar steps today in the same spirit. We offer thanks to God in doxology and express thanks also to Your Holiness in fraternal love.

Beloved Brother, welcome. "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

"Blessed is the Name of the Lord now and forevermore."

Tuesday's addresses in Turkey

Magister has a summary of Benedict XVI's addresses.

Meeting with the President of the Religious Affairs Directorate
Address by the Holy Father, Ankara, Tues. 28 Nov. 2006

Above all, we can offer a credible response to the question which emerges clearly from today’s society, even if it is often brushed aside, the question about the meaning and purpose of life, for each individual and for humanity as a whole. We are called to work together, so as to help society to open itself to the transcendent, giving Almighty God his rightful place. The best way forward is via authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims, based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better, respecting differences and recognizing what we have in common. This will lead to an authentic respect for the responsible choices that each person makes, especially those pertaining to fundamental values and to personal religious convictions.

As an illustration of the fraternal respect with which Christians and Muslims can work together, I would like to quote some words addressed by Pope Gregory VII in 1076 to a Muslim prince in North Africa who had acted with great benevolence towards the Christians under his jurisdiction. Pope Gregory spoke of the particular charity that Christians and Muslims owe to one another “because we believe in one God, albeit in a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every day as the Creator and Ruler of the world.”

Freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed and effectively respected in practice, both for individuals and communities, constitutes for all believers the necessary condition for their loyal contribution to the building up of society, in an attitude of authentic service, especially towards the most vulnerable and the very poor.

Meeting with the Diplomatic Corps to the Republic of Turkey
Address of the Holy Father, Ankara, Tues. 28 Nov. 2006

Turkey has always served as a bridge between East and West, between Asia and Europe, and as a crossroads of cultures and religions. During the last century, she acquired the means to become a great modern State, notably by the choice of a secular regime, with a clear distinction between civil society and religion, each of which was to be autonomous in its proper domain while respecting the sphere of the other. The fact that the majority of the population of this country is Muslim is a significant element in the life of society, which the State cannot fail to take into account, yet the Turkish Constitution recognizes every citizen’s right to freedom of worship and freedom of conscience. The civil authorities of every democratic country are duty bound to guarantee the effective freedom of all believers and to permit them to organize freely the life of their religious communities. Naturally it is my hope that believers, whichever religious community they belong to, will continue to benefit from these rights, since I am certain that religious liberty is a fundamental expression of human liberty and that the active presence of religions in society is a source of progress and enrichment for all. This assumes, of course, that religions do not seek to exercise direct political power, as that is not their province, and it also assumes that they utterly refuse to sanction recourse to violence as a legitimate expression of religion. In this regard, I appreciate the work of the Catholic community in Turkey, small in number but deeply committed to contributing all it can to the country’s development, notably by educating the young, and by building peace and harmony among all citizens.

The editorial of surrender

At www.chiesa, Sandro Magister breaks down the latest editorial from La Civiltà Cattolica, the magazine of the Rome Jesuits that 'by statute should reflect the pope’s thought and argue on its behalf'. Its content is approved by the Secretariat of State before publication. Here is one example of the editorial's content and tone as quoted by Magister [bolding is by me]:

“From this arises the necessity, for fundamentalist Islam, of the ‘armed struggle’ (al-jihad bi-l-saif) against those who attack an Islamic state with the pretext of turning it into a ‘democratic’ state. An Islamic state, according to radical interpretation, is ‘theocratic’ by nature; that is, it is ruled only according to the Qur’an and the Sunna, and thus, according to the extremists, it cannot be ’democratic’, much less ’secular’, nor can it fail to declare Islam the ‘state religion’. The Universal Islamic Declaration, approved in 1980 by the Islamic Council of Europe, says: ‘The subjection of Muslim peoples and the occupation of their lands in some parts of the world is for us a matter of grave concern. The most painful of these is the usurpation and occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem (al-Quds). It is the sacred right of the umma to mobilize all its forces and to fight ceaselessly to free Jerusalem and all the other Muslim lands. The Muslim countries consider aggression against one of them as aggression against the entire Muslim world’.

Spain, Sicily, the Balkans and a whole lot of other places had better watch out.

Magister doesn't take a stab at how this editorial that basically declares any resistance to fundamental Islam as foolhardy and counterproductive was approved. But I am going to take a guess and suggest that perhaps it was approved by the former Secretary, Cardinal Sodano, in a sort of Roman equivalent to the Midnight Judges... That's the only way I can imagine it happening. I have no idea how long before publication pieces are approved by State, but I find it hard to believe that Bertone and company would have let something like that pass, even in the name of frank discussion. If the editorial had been instead a regular article on the basic motivations of fundamentalist Islam and had left out the 'surrender' suggestions, I can see it in that light, but as an editorial...