Catholic World News News Feature

Joint statement affirms ecumenism, Europe's Christian roots November 30, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Bartholomew I affirmed their mutual "commitment to move toward full communion" in a joint statement signed on November 30 after they joined in celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

While it broke no new ground in ecumenical relations, the joint statement issued by the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch strongly underlined their dedication to further ecumenical work, expressing high hopes for the work of a joint Catholic-Orthodox theological study commission, and pledging joint efforts to revive the Christian culture of Europe.

[The full text of the joint statement is available on the Vatican Radio web site.]

The joint statement exhorted Catholic and Orthodox believers to join in the ecumenical effort. The Pope and the Patriarch recalled the first major ecumenical outreach by their predecessors: the meeting of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, and the joint statement of 1964 "which retains all its value." They also mentioned the "solemn ecclesial act effacing the memory of the ancient anathemas" that Rome and Constantinople had invoked upon each other. "We have not yet drawn from this act all the positive consequences," the two prelates declared.

The statement notes with concern the "increase of secularization, relativism, even nihilism, especially in the Western world." The Pope and the Patriarch agree that this trend calls for a united effort by Christians "for a renewed and powerful proclamation of the Gospel, adapted to the cultures of our time."

In a passage that could be applied to the controversial question of Turkey's application for membership in the European Union, the joint statement observes that both the Holy See and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have "viewed positively the process that has led to the formation of the European Union." The prelates go on to stress, significantly, that "this great project should not fail to take into consideration all aspects affecting the inalienable rights of the human person, especially religious freedom, a witness and guarantor of respect for all other freedoms."

The joint statement expresses the concerns of the world's two most prominent Christian leaders for the world's poor, the cause of human rights, and the quest for peace in the world, particularly in the Middle East.