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Catholic World News News Feature

Georgian Orthodox Leader Cool on Ecumenism November 17, 1999

VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II, reflecting on the recent trip to his country by Pope John Paul II, told an Italian newspaper that relations between Catholics and Orthodox are "very good," but they would be better "if Catholics did not sometimes fall into the temptation to proselytism."

Patriarch Ilia told the Italian daily Avvenire said that the Pope's trip to Georgia "filled us with joy, because this is the first time in 2000 years that the Pope of Rome has come to our country." He added, "From a religious point of view, I think it is fair to say it had enormous importance." Back in his conversation with Avvenire he said that the papal visit "represented the meeting between the two oldest churches in the world: the Roman Catholic Church founded by St. Peter, and the Georgian Church founded by St. Andrew." The Orthodox leader said that his followers had greeted the Roman Pontiff warmly, although he acknowledged that the Georgian Orthodox Church had refused to pray together with the Catholic leader, explaining that common prayer 'is not possible at the present time." In fact, he said-- in an indirect criticism of Romanian Orthodox leaders who had joined the Pope in public prayer-- no single Orthodox church could make the decision to join with the Pope, but that such a decision must be made "together, by all the Orthodox churches."

Patriarch Ilia II said that he did not seek to play any special role in relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, which is by far the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches. "Between them, there have already been plenty of contacts and exchanges of delegations," he said. But he argued that ecumenical progress on that front was stilled barred by serious problems, "such as the 'Uniates' in the western Ukraine." (The Orthodox use the term "Uniate" to apply to Eastern-rite churches which have returned to communion with the Holy See.)

Asked for his personal impressions of the Holy Father, Patriarch Ilia said that he thought the Pope "has become stronger than he was at first." He explained that he was not speaking simply about interior strength. "His courage, bearing up under the fatigue he was suffering, struck me to the core," he said.