Catholic - Orthodox document on the nature of the Church

Vatican City, Nov. 15, 2007 (CINS/VIS) - Made public today was the final document of the plenary assembly of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The meeting was held in the Italian city of Ravenna from October 8 to 14 under the presidency of Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and His Excellency Ioannis, metropolitan of Pergamo.

  The title of the final document is: "Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority."

  Commenting on the 46-paragraph-long text in an interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Kasper affirmed that "the document speaks of the tension between authority and conciliarity (or synodality) at the local (i.e., diocesan), regional and universal levels. The important development is that for the first time the Orthodox Churches have said yes, this universal level of the Church exists and also at the universal level there is conciliarity, synodality and authority; this means that there is also a Primate; according to the practice of the ancient Church, the first bishop is the bishop of Rome."

  "However," the cardinal continued, "we did not talk of the privileges of the bishop of Rome, we merely indicated the praxis for future debate. This document is a modest first step and as such it gives rise to hope, but we must not exaggerate its importance.

  "The next time," added the president of the pontifical council, "we will have to return to the role of the bishop of Rome in the universal Church during the first millennium. Then we must also talk of the second millennium, of Vatican Councils I and II, and this will not be easy; the road is very long and difficult."

  The cardinal also commented on the fact that the delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church had abandoned the plenary assembly, explaining that "there was an inter-Orthodox problem over the recognition of the autonomous Church of Estonia" about which Moscow and Constantinople take different views.

  "This is an inter-orthodox question," he reiterated, "and we cannot interfere; yet we are extremely sad and concerned because it is important to us that the Russian Orthodox Church should also participate in our future dialogue. Hence we cannot interfere but we wish to ask Moscow and Constantinople to do their best to find a solution, a compromise.

  "If they wish," the cardinal concluded, "we can also facilitate this solution, either at the bilateral level between Moscow and Constantinople, or at the pan-Orthodox level, but there is not doubt that we want the Russian Orthodox Church to anticipate. It is a very important Church, we do not want to dialogue without the Russians and we wish to work to achieve this aim."

Today in Church History

1550 Pope Julius III proclaims new seat on Council of Trente

1675 Pope Clemens X declares Gorcumse martyrs divine 

Card. Javier Lozano: Church has a duty to propose its truth on ethical issues

Vatican City, Nov.14,2007 (CINS/SIR) - “One just has to see the press or TV to learn that, about health, the one of the Church is not the only voice; indeed, there are many voices that strongly oppose it. But the Church has a duty to propose its truth on ethical issues”. It was said by card. Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Papal Council for the Pastoral of Health, as he answered the journalists’ questions at the press conference for the presentation of the XXIII International Conference on “The pastoral in the treatment of elderly patients” which is going to open tomorrow until 17th November in the Vatican on the initiative of the aforesaid Ministry of the Holy See.

To a question about “cooperation between the Church and the State” in respect of health and the “feeling that the Church is welcome when it provides social services but not so much when it raises ethical questions on health or sickness”, the cardinal answered: “This is true. There are countries with gaps that no one fills and where under the subsidiarity principle the Church takes action and is very welcome, and countries where there is no health system at all, and there the Church takes on everything”. As to the “ethical issues”, according to Barragan, the Church has a duty to “propose its truth, say what the life paths are and what the death paths are. Then, if someone wants to follow the latter, that’s his problem”.

Communists in India on a warpath against the Church

Kerala, India, Nov.14,2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) – In a statement released on Monday, the secretary of the Kerala branch of the Communist Party of India Veliyam Bhargavan said there are mysterious forces working behind the scenes trying to whip up anti-Communist sentiments among the people of Kerala. For him this is not acceptable since the Communist Party has welcomed believers in its ranks and has defended them from nationalist attacks. He accused Catholics of carrying out a baseless and ungrateful anti-Communist campaign.

In the press release, the political leader said that Communists had helped non Hindu believers under constant attack by Hindu fundamentalists. He said that Communists respected religious freedom and believers’ personal choices, recognising that there are Communists who are believers and that they are accepted. He did however stress that his party was against religion interfering in politics and vice versa.

His message appears to be a response to the 30,000-strong rally that took place in Thiruvambady, in the southern state of Kerala, on October 17 in which the Communists were asked to officially apologise to Mgr Mar Paul Chittilappilly for remarks made against him.

The protest was sparked by Pinarayi Vijayan, secretary of the Kerala branch of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who called the bishop a “wretched creature” who lies, adding later that a “lie is a lie, and just because it is uttered by a bishop it does not become a holy lie.”

At a pro-minority rights rally last September, Monsignor Chittilappilly delivered a speech in which he said that the late Mathai Chacko, a Kerala Communist MLA, had supposedly called for priest to receive the last rites as he lay dying. The prelate also said that Mr Chacko was married in church.

These remarks sparked the reaction against the Church’s “lies.”

“Ever since John Paul II received a Kerala Communist leader, the party’s image has changed. We were under the impression that it had abandoned atheism and materialism,” Fr Paul Thelakat, spokesman for the Syro-Malabar Synod, told AsiaNews. “But we cannot forget Centesimus Annus which bans any compromise between Christianity and Marxism.”

Notwithstanding their professed support for religious freedom, the reference made to the late Chacko’s extreme unction aroused bitter controversy among Communists. “The message of openness and coexistence that they [the Communists] want to promote appears contradictory. They may accept believers among their rank and file, but seemingly cannot admit that one of their leaders believed as well. This means that the ideology of atheism is still alive and well” in the party.

In India, “we have three types of Communism,” Father Thelakat said. “We have the Naxalbaris, who claim to be the true Communists because they never abandoned Marx’s ideology nor revised their politics. Then there are the Marxists who have not yet made it clear whether they have given up on armed struggle or not. Finally, we have Kerala Communists who have become a kind of Socialist Party and are less concerned about ideology. Still they can slip on issues like this one.”

In light of these facts, “the Church and the Communists must undoubtedly seek a dialogue and talk to one another if they want to improve the situation of the poor and the oppressed,” he said. “However, we cannot forget the Pope’s words about compromise which is only possible when ideology is fully rejected in favour of democracy.”

In conclusion, we must understand, the clergyman said, that the “the Communist Party in our state is going through an identity crisis like that of the Chinese Communist Party. The Church should not take a belligerent attitude but should instead help them [the Communists] out of the ideological fundamentalism that oppresses them. The path to follow is that of Gaudium et Spes, i.e. through a sincere and prudent dialogue.”

Today in Church History

866 Pope Nicholas I answers the envoys of Boris (Ad consulta vestra)

1565 Pope Pius IV publishes degree Professi fidei

1964 Pope Paul VI gives tiara to poor 

 Home   |  14  |  15  |  16  |  17  |  18  |  19  |  20  |  21  |  22  |  23  |  Next