Reunion Between Orthodox and Uniates in Ukraine

Unrest and new movement in Ukraine.

(Kiev) Orthodoxy does not rest in Ukraine. At the same time there is a new movement in the country, which forms a transitional zone between the Latin and Greek churches. The Metropolitan of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Grand Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, unified with Rome, are said to have discussed the possibility of unification. Under what sign?

Historically, Ukraine belongs to the catchment area of ​​the Eastern Church and was originally under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Because of the territorial principle of Orthodoxy, this fact is still relevant today in the field of jurisdiction.

The Ukrainians united with Rome

But the west of the country  was influenced by Poland and Lithuania for a long time and was therefore influenced by the Catholic Church. On the basis of the reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches at the Council of Florence in 1439, part of Ukrainian Orthodoxy established unity with Rome in the sixteenth century. The reason was the unauthorized elevation of Moscow as a "Third Rome" to patriarchy, after Constantinople had been conquered by the Muslims with its historic patriarchal seat.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church united with Rome is the strongest religious community in the three westernmost regions of Ukraine, Lviv, Tarnopol and Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislau), which belonged until 1918, as part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, to Austria. They also celebrate like the Orthodox in the Byzantine rite.

The vast majority of today's Ukraine is Orthodox, but is divided into several, divided churches. The fault lines run along the question of statehood and the relationship with Moscow.

When the capital of the Byzantine Empire was overrun by the Ottomans in 1453, Moscow replaced Constantinople in the Russian area, which led to a split in Ukraine and gave rise to the Union of Ukrainian Orthodox in Poland-Lithuania with Rome.

About 10% of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church today. They live mainly in the extreme southwest of the country. The number of Roman Catholics is very low at less than one percent. All Catholics together make up about 10.5 percent of Ukrainians, as of April 2018.

Ukrainian independence movement and Orthodoxy

In the course of the first independence of Ukraine in 1919 and the second independence in 1991, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate were created autocephalous, that is to say, Orthodox churches independent of Moscow, but yet not recognized by the Moscow Patriarchate.

After long conflicts, the two autocephalous churches of Ukraine in 2018 joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (Ukrainian Orthodox Church), which was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on January 6, 2019 as a canonical national church. For the recognition by Constantinople was waived on the Kiev Patriarch already established in 1991.

Religion in Ukraine (by region). In the Carpathian Mountains the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the largest religious community.

On 15 December 2018 Bishop Epiphanius was elected Metropolitan in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral to the first head of the new, autocephalous national church.

The Moscow-faithful part of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is affiliated to the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The three Orthodox churches that existed from 1991 to 2018 competed for recognition as a legitimate national church. It was mainly about the ownership of the church buildings. The Ukrainian government supported the formation of an autocephalous national church in order to strengthen state independence and reduce Moscow's political and religious influence. With the 2018 merger of the two independent, Ukrainian Orthodox churches, this goal was realized against the protest of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Two-thirds of Ukrainians profess to be orthodox Christians. However, the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev means that some of the Orthodox do not want to attribute themselves to one or the other of the two churches. The different numbers of church affiliation of Orthodox Ukrainians can therefore vary considerably. The latest figures come from the Razumkov Center in cooperation with the All-Ukrainian Church Council of April 2018. Today, 47 percent of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox National Church, which is particularly strong in Northwest and Central Ukraine. About 14 percent of the Ukrainians, who concentrate mainly in the east of the country and in the Crimea, profess the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Filaret dissatisfied with his role

Since its canonical recognition by Constantinople, the autocephalous national church has been headed by a metropolitan, although the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate from 1991-2018 was headed by a patriarch. Most of the time, from 1995-2018, Filaret was its head.

Filaret, now 90 years old, is Honorary Patriarch of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For several weeks, however, he has been in conflict with his successor and former secretary, Metropolitan Epiphanius. Filaret recently even threatened to annul Epiphanius's allegiance and establish an independent patriarchy. The elderly patriarch is considered to be the central figure of ecclesiastical independence of Ukraine. Recently, he was honored as the "Hero of Ukraine" with the highest honor in the country.

Patriarch Filaret (his successor Epiphanius to his right)

In 1990, Filaret was considered a potential candidate for the Moscow Patriarchate. But this did not happen. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, he sided with the Ukrainian independence movement and separated from the Moscow Patriarchate. With this step, he laid the foundation for Ukrainian autocephaly.

The main reason for the rupture now is that Epiphanius, according to Filaret, does not sufficiently seek to be close. The honorary patriarch is worried about the future of Ukrainian autocephaly since in the presidential elections on April 21 the previous "protector of the church", Petro Poroshenko, was voted out. As the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Selenskyj will be sworn in within a few days, and so far he has not distinguished himself either by his closeness to the National Church or his proximity to religion.

Selenskyj met with Metropolitan Epiphanius after his election victory, without making concrete promises to the head of the National Church. Epiphanius nevertheless announced the support of the future head of state.

Filaret also demands, as a patriarch, to be mentioned in all liturgies, which is the case in only part of the churches, while Epiphanius is mentioned everywhere. Filaret's letterhead continues to bear the inscription "Patriarchate of Kiev". He is convinced that the legal status persists as a patriarch. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had forced him to retreat in 2018 in return for the recognition of autocephaly, otherwise he would be church leader today and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would have patriarchal status. Moscow is the only patriarchate of Oorthodoxy that could elbow between the historic patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch. Filaret wants to extend this claim to Kiev, because today's capital of Ukraine was originally the "mother of all Rus".

Association of Orthodox and Uniate?

Epiphanius has not yet commented on the criticism of Filaret. For other statements of the Metropolitan provide for discussion. In a statement for Espresso.TV he spoke of the "permissibility" of a possible union with the united with Rome Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which is led by Major Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk. There is very good agreement between Metropolitan Epiphanius and Grand Archbishop Svyatoslav.

Metropolitan Epiphanius (left) with Archbishop Svyatoslav of the Greek-Catholic Uniate.

The Metropolitan told Espresso.TV, "We are implementing many important projects with the Greek Catholics and are participating in numerous events". The two church leaders are said to have already talked about a possible union of the two churches. Epiphanius said:

"At a meeting with his Beatitude Svyatoslav, we talked about deepening our cooperation. In it we unfold a dialogue and do not know where it will take us. Theoretically, it is possible to get to the Union.”

Epiphanius is convinced that all Orthodox Ukrainians are destined to unite, meaning both the Orthodox Ukrainians of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Greek Catholic Ukrainians.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Picture: AsiaNews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Russian Orthodoxy Sees Progress in the Dialogue with Catholics

Moscow Metropolitan Hilarion in newspaper interview: A lot has happened in the past ten years - progress also in the political relationship between Russia and the Holy See

Rome (kath.net/KAP) Russia's Orthodox Church sees a "significant step" in dialogue with the Catholic Church. In the last ten years, much has been done in relation to each other. As well as between Russia and the Holy See, said the Foreign Minister of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolit Hilarion, the Italian daily "Il sole 24 ore" (Thursday). There is consensus on current problems such as the loss of spiritual values ​​and Christian persecution. "This is a problem which disturb both the Orthodox Church and the Holy See in all of our soul, and drives us to unite our forces to find a common solution," the Metropolitan said.

Hilarion spoke on the occasion of the upcoming Moscow visit by Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin from Sunday to Thursday. His main themes he identified as the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine; Also a peace solution for Syria would surely be an issue. Parolin's visit could help to approach different perspectives and find common solutions to different problems, says Hilarion, who will also meet with Parolin himself. "I will discuss with him the full range of bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Catholic Church, and hope that we can set new perspectives for further development."

With regard to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he said that this was still "the most delicate issue in the relations of the two churches." At the same time, the foreign official of the Moscow Patriarchate in the interview appreciates the admission of full diplomatic relations between Russia and the Vatican in 2009 as well as the historic first meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kiril I in Havana, Cuba in 2016, resulting in strengthening the collaboration of both churches.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG 

The Vatican and Orthodox Churches Work Together to Rebuild Damaged Churches in Syria

(Rome) The Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church will jointly rebuild the churches destroyed in Syrian war.

A joint working group of the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have travelled to Syria and Lebanon to gain an impression of the extent of the devastation. Consultations were also held on site. This was recently announced by the Moscow Patriarchate with a press release.

The reconstruction is primarily concerned with the sanctuaries and monasteries which were destroyed by Islamic jihadists and in the course of fighting. Soon will they will start generating an accurate list of Christian shrines. Using this list, we'll establish priorities together, so Moscow.

The Catholic-Orthodox delegation that traveled to the Middle East includes the Catholic Archbishop of Moscow, Msgr. Paolo Pezzi, and the Orthodox priest and theologian Stephan Igumnov, the Secretary for Interfaith Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The two church officials were accompanied by representatives of the Pontifical relief organization Church in Need.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Picture: Youtube (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Voice of America: "Meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kyril Part of the Message of Fatima"

(Rome) The Spanish-language newscast "El Mundo al Dia" Voice of America (VOA) reported on Wednesday yesterday on the of 5 PM (Washington time) broadcast of the general audience of Pope Francis in the late morning. "El Mundo al Dia" reported at time stamp 20'28'' of a prayer request by the Pope for good progress in the first meeting in Cuba with the Moscow Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Voice of America is the official state foreign broadcast of the US government. It broadcasts daily world news in English and 43 other languages from radio and television stations.

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On the the Pope's greeting  to the German pilgrims Voice of America reported:

"A few hours before the start of his historic pilgrimage to Mexico, Pope Francis made reference to a meeting  which after 1,000 years is almost unknown today. With a gesture of reconciliation, the Catholic Church will meet  with the Russian Orthodox Church, separated because of the Eastern schism since 1054 [Actually, Moscow didn't break with Rome till much later as a result of the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople], between

both their highest representatives in Havana on Cuba under the auspices and through the agency of  President Raul Castro. According to some historians, the approach is part of the conversion process of the Russian people, which began under the pontificate of John Paul II., and is part of the message that was revealed by the Virgin of Fatima when she appeared in the beginning of the 20th century to three shepherd children."

What did the German spokesman say at the general audience on behalf of Pope Francis?

"Dear friends, in the coming days I will visit Mexico. I ask you to accompany my Apostolic Journey and the meeting with Patriarch Kirill in Cuba with your prayers. Thank you so much! I wish you a good start of Lent. "

Voice of America reported that Havana was chosen as a meeting place, because, among other things Cuban President Raul Castro mediated the meeting.[How heartwarming.]

The US Government station sees connection between meetings in Cuba and apparition of Fatima

In addition, the official foreign transmitter of the US government provided a link between the meetings and the Message of Fatima on the conversion of the Russian people. At the time when Mary appeared to the shepherd children in Fatima,  Russia was in the midst of the revolution. With the February Revolution, the [legitimate] czarist regime had been overthrown. With the October Revolution, shortly after the apparition, the Bolsheviks violently seized domination and established the totalitarian Soviet Union, which officially existed until 1991. Our Lady had requested the consecration of Russia  to her Immaculate Heart at Fatima, then Russia will be converted, otherwise it would "spread her errors throughout the world, which will give rise to wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated, but at the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph."  "The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me which will be converted, and in the world is a time of peace to be given."  From  the so-called Second Secret of Fatima.

It is astonishing that the official foreign transmitter of the US government establishes a link between the meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill and the Fatima message of 1917.  It is a relationship which has not been picked up on by any official Catholic media, certainly not the media of the Vatican.

Voice of America was founded in 1940 under the leadership of Nelson Rockefeller as an instrument of propaganda during World War II. Its present name was given to the transmitter in 1942. The Spanish-speaking section of Voice of America is the oldest non-English department that aired programs to counteract Nazi influence on Latin America.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Bild VOA (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Pope Francis to Meet With Moscow Patriarch in Communist Cuba

MOSCOW — Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba for the first time next Friday as part of an effort to heal a schism that has divided Christianity between East and West for nearly 1,000 years.

The meeting, the first ever between a sitting pope and Russian patriarch, will take place at José Martí International Airport, where the two will sign a joint declaration. Pope Francis will fly to Cuba before traveling on to Mexico for a six-day tour of the country.

“This meeting of the Primates of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after a long preparation, will be the first in history and will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches,” said a joint press release.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-and-russian-orthodox-leader-to-hold-historic-encounter-in-cuba/2016/02/05/1bba6e78-cbfe-11e5-a7b2-5a2f824b02c9_story.html

Moscow Patriarchate Denies Reports of Francis-Kirill Meeting

The Russian Orthodox Church rules out any get-together when the two leaders travel to Cuba and Mexico in February. A report about a possible meeting in a third country recently appeared in Italian media.

Moscow (AsiaNews) – The Moscow Patriarchate has denied recent reports in Italian media of a possible meeting next month in Latin America between the pope and the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"The Patriarch and the Pope's Latin American visit programs do not intersect," said Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), Russian Orthodox Church's spokesman for inter-Christian relations.

"The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and the head of the Roman Catholic one will be visiting completely different countries, albeit on the same continent," he added.

http://m.asianews.it/news-en/Moscow-Patriarchate-denies-reports-about-a-Kirill-Francis-meeting-in-Latin-America-36509.html

Pope Francis to Visit Lutheran Church In Rome

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rome

(Rome) Pope Francis will visit the Lutheran church in Rome this coming November 15th.

On Sunday, 15 November, the Catholic Church leader will   the Christ Church in Rome  on November 15th to pay the Lutheran parish of the city to visit. This was published on the official website of the Vatican in the Italian calendar of "events with the Holy Father".

For almost 200 years, Evangelical services have been held in Rome. The initiative goes back to the Prussian Embassy built in 1747 in the Papal States. In 1817 the first Lutheran service was held in the city of the popes in the chapel of the embassy. The occasion was the 300-year anniversary of the Reformation. Since 1819, it was then  commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia, with a permanent Protestant minister in Rome. With the defeat of the Papal States the forming, Germanic Evangelical-Lutheran congregation departed the Prussian embassy out into the public.

1910 saw the construction of the Romanesque Revival Christ Church, which was only completed, because of World War I in 1922. The architect was Franz Schwechten, who also created the plans for the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.

Francis' visit will be the third visit of a Pope in the Church of Christ. The first Pope who visited a Lutheran church since the Protestant schism of 1517 was in 1983 by John Paul II. Who was then preaching from the pulpit. On 14 March 2010 Benedict XVI paid the Protestant church a visit.

Pope appointments for November

From September 19 to 28  Pope Francis is to visit Cuba and then the United States of America.

On October 3, the pontiff will attend a prayer vigil from 7pm on St. Peter's Square for the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the family.

On October 4, the celebration of the Holy Mass begins at 10am for the opening of the Synod of Bishops.

On October 18,  beginning at 10:15am on St. Peter's Square, the Holy Mass for the canonization of new saints Vincenzo Grossi, Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Ludovico Martin and Maria Azelia Guerin.

On 25 October, at 10 clock, the Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica for the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops held.

On November 1, the feast of All Saints, Pope Francis is how to celebrate the Holy Mass in the previous years, at the Roman cemetery of Verano.

On November 2, All Souls' Day, follows in the Vatican Grottoes at 6pm a moment of prayer  for deceased Popes.

On November 5, the Pope celebrates at 11:30am   on the Vatican Basilica Altar, a requiem for the deceased Cardinals and Bishops in the past year.

On November 15, there will be a 4pm  visit to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rome.

From November 25 to 30, the Catholic Church leader is to  travel to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Pope Wants Common Celebration of the Eucharist With the Orthodox

Meeting in Rome for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul with Constantinople Delegation - Thanks to Metropolitan Zizioulas, because he had come together with other church representatives for the presentation of the Eco-Encyclical "Laudato si"

Vatican City (kath.net/KAP) Pope Francis has recently has emphasized that a common celebration of the Eucharist is a common goal of ecumenical dialogue at a meeting with an official delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, headed by the retired Titular Metropoliten of Pergamon, Ioannis Zizioulas. This goal is one of his main concerns, Francis stressed at the meeting with the delegation from Constantinople that - as it happens on every year for the last 47 years, come to the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on 29 June, the Patron Saint of the Church of Rome, to the Tiber.

Pope Francis said that the meetings with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Andreas Festival last November has provided the opportunity to "work together to praise God and to pray that soon the day will come when the full visible unity between Orthodox and Catholics will be restored." He expressly thanked Metropolitan Zizioulas that he had come to Rome on behalf of Patriarch Bartholomew to be present together with other Church representatives at the public presentation of the encyclical "Laudato si". It was the first time that a papal encyclical was also presented by an orthodox bishop.

The opportunities to meet, exchange and experience cooperation between Catholics and Orthodox should multiply, such is the view expressed in the Pope's expectations. Through mutual understanding and respect many prejudices and misunderstandings could be overcome. At the same time the remaining difficulties should, "in truth, but in a spirit of fraternity", be overcome.

In this context, Francis praised the "valuable work of the International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Church." The "Drafting Committee" of this Commission had met on Thursday in Rome. The problems that come up on the train of theological dialogue, should not lead to discouragement and resignation, the Pope said. He specifically stressed that a "careful study" on the principle of synodality and on the "service of the principals in love" will deliver a "significant contribution to the advancement of relations" between the two Churches.

The Pope prays for Pan-Orthodox Synod

Pope Francis promised his intense prayer and of all Catholics for the success of the scheduled 2016 Pan-Orthodox Synod in Constantinople. At the same time the Pope asked his Orthodox guests for prayers for the upcoming October Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Synod of Bishops, which will be devoted to family.

Metropolitan Zizioulas gave the pope when a message of the Ecumenical Patriarch, in which Bartholomew I stressed the significance of theological dialogue and the work of the International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue. Three Catholic and Orthodox members consisting of a "Drafting Committee" of the International Commission for Theological Dialogue, are editing a document on Thursday in Rome foreseen to be completed for September, "Towards the Understanding of Synodality and Primacy in the Church of the First Millenium." Orthodox representatives had expressed reservations about the draft in Amman. The "Drafting Committee" now had the task of taking into account the objections of the Orthodox side. The revised draft is to be submitted in September the "Coordinating Committee" of the International Commission for Theological Dialogue, which then decides on further procedure. Among the participants of the meeting of the "Drafting Commitee" in the preceding week alongside Zizioulas, was also the head of the Foreign Ministry of Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. He met the same day with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, which involved a longer conversation. The meeting was also attended by the Russian ambassador in Rome, Sergei Razov, in part.

Metropolitan Hilarion stressed that he was representing the Russian Orthodox Church toward making "good and constructive" relations with Italy, a "country with deep Christian roots", a priority. President Mattarella paid tribute to the Moscow Patriarchate in the ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. He was convinced that the Orthodox Church could also make a significant contribution for a "peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine." Copyright 2015 Catholic press agency Kathpress, Vienna, Austria

You can compare this report to the one at the Vatican website. Did they even experience the same event?

Link to Kath.net...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
NB: this is kind of a quick job, but being as busy as we are, it is what it is.  We try to flesh out things that are missed by others that is of interest.  We've found Kath.net, NeoCatholic though it is, to be a great source of information and a window on the Catholic Church in Europe that is otherwise missing.  It's nice to know that there are Catholics like you in the world who love Jesus and His Immemorial Mass just like you do, or even just Catholics, trying to be a light to the world. Would that we had more time, for there is much that we also miss.

AMDG

Francis Calls Old Catholics to Reconciliation

Pope Francis wants that Catholics and Old Catholics should approach each other more. However, the differences in terms of the Magisterium and ethical issues are difficult to overcome.

Vatican City (kath.net/KNA) Pope Francis wants that Catholics and Old Catholics should approach each other more. At a meeting with bishops of the Union of Utrecht on Thursday in the Vatican, he admitted, the differences in the Magisterium and ethical issues are difficult to overcome. In the past, both sides had committed "serious sins and human failings." They require mutual forgiveness and a way of reconciliation, "an encounter towards friendship, from friendship towards brotherhood, from brotherhood towards unity."

Catholic and Old Catholic Church could, according to the Pope's words, work together to overcome the spiritual crisis that has befallen the individual and European societies. But they would have to set an example together a credible witness of the Gospel.

The delegation of the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht is led by the Bishop of Utrecht Joris Vercammen. He described the theological differences between Catholics and Old Catholics in his address to the Pope, according to the transcript as "intra-Catholic problems". The Old Catholic Church recognizes the unique position of the Pope, "in the whole Church". But they believe that the Bishop of Rome would have had an even higher moral authority, had he included in the Synodality the bishops, those who represent their respective local Catholic churches, said Vercammen. The papacy yet plays an "extremely important" role in ecumenical development.

The Old Catholic churches were established with the exception of the long-standing Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, after the First Vatican Council (1870). The main points of conflict were the dogmas of papal infallibility and the primacy of his jurisdiction over all bishops. (C) 2014 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved.

Link to Katholisches...

Trans: Tancred



AMGD

"False Prophet" Enzo Bianchi is Appointed to Ecumenical Council

Enzo Bianchi und das horizontale Christentum

(Vatikan) Pope Francis named a new member and Consultant of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity Among Christians. No one would have seriously considered that the Argentine Pope would have also called traditional Catholics to such an important board. That Enzo Bianchi the non-clerical Prior of the ecumenical based group he founded "Monastery of Bose", would be shown the Pope's special favor is truly astonishing.

Bianchi belongs to the progressive a-dogmatic part of the Church, who interpret the Second Vatican Council and the popes after it according to their own fancy. Msgr. Antonio Livi, who has criticized Bianchi's theology in several essays did not hesitate to call the Prior of Bose a "false prophet." For Bianchi as the member of a horizontal, anthropocentric, Christendom, the only way to salvation "is imposed by by a demagogic quest for peace, an illusory universal friendship, and laicistic solidarity", so says Catholic historian Cristina Siccardi. One part of the Church which appears to have been neglected by Pope Francis. Under Pope Francis the Cardinal Martini-friend and Left wing media darling Bianchi is accordingly made a Consultant for Ecumenism.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Messa in Latino
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Cardinal Kasper Feels Left Out: Lutherans Snub Joint Declaration on Justification

It’s a big pain that the hard-won basic text for justification is not mentioned by the EKD.

Berlin (kath.net / KNA) The former Vatican Ecumenical Head Cardinal Walter Kasper has criticized the statement of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) on the doctrine of justification. The “basic text published in May didn’t mention a single word on the pact singed in 1999 by Catholics and Lutherans "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (GER), said Kasper this weekend in Berlin. "I could not believe it, it hurt me," said the retired German Cardinal.

For the upcoming anniversary of the Reformation of the EKD promises "no good,” said Kasper. He expressed the hope that this is not the last word on the question by the EKD. The paper is titled “Justification and Freedom. Reformation 500 years in 2017." In the theological question of justification, is, to put it simply, a matter of whether the sin which hinders the relationship between God and man can be brought back to order by grace alone or by human participation.

The former President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity spoke on this at a meeting of the Christian community "Chemin Neuf" (New Way), which celebrated its 20-years of engagement in Berlin. The former president of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop Emeritus of the Brunswick, Christian Krause, said of GER, which is a central Lutheran-Catholic consensus document, had been controversial "only in Germany" within the Lutheran churches before signing. Krause continuing said, for the Catholic Church it was not an easy question to answer, as they are confronted with the anniversary of the Reformation, which has been prepared with great effort.

Kasper explained that the Catholic Church would "participate, if we are invited" in the celebrations. This is where the ball lay, but on the side of the EKD. In his view, the churches could "celebrate what has been given us in recent decades,” in 2017. They should "not forget what we have already formulated together.”

Link to kath.net...

Orthodox Churches Seek Closeness -- Synaxis Meets in Constantinople

(Constantinople) The Orthodox seek unity with one another. The assembly of Primates of the Orthodox Church has begun In George's Church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.  The Patriarchate of Moscow thereby is also searching for the solidarity and support of Orthodoxy  in the Ukraine crisis and will probably get it.

In Constantinople, now Istanbul, today, the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches has opened. This is something  the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has invited    - not without some rumblings of the Russian Orthodox - to discuss a meeting of the Holy and Grand Council, the whole Orthodox  Church that could begin, after 50 years of announcements and preparations, perhaps in 2015.

Will the Holy and Grand Council of the Orthodox Take Place?

The crisis in Ukraine, which is also an East-West conflict, are of particular importance to today's meeting to understand the direction in which the inner- Orthodox  relations between the autocephalous Churches could develop in the coming years, but also the ecumenisml between the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church.

A number of recent signals suggest that in the three-day meeting at the Phanar, at the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Orthodox Churches  will move closer together after years of bickering and divisiveness  and consolidate again its close internal unity.. It features a new dynamic of recovered unity with a Divine Liturgy celebrated on the 9th of March, Sunday, the day of the " Triumph of Orthodoxy ". This still refers to the first millennium triumph of the veneration of icons against the iconoclasts, but in a broader sense, the triumph of Orthodoxy over the heretics. It is the triumph of the "small, persecuted flock," a "triumph of the martyrs and confessors," as it committed to Orthodoxy.

Ukraine Crisis is Leading to  Inner-Orthodox Closeness

For a long time the participation of the most influential Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow was not certain. Yet the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia has finally traveled to Istanbul. For him, it comes to receiving the support of all the Orthodox Primates for the second part of his title. According to Moscow's understanding of the tripartite Russia (Great Russia, Little Russia, Belarus), his primacy extends not only to the state of Russia and ethnic Russians but also through Ukraine and Belarus. The question of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which during the crisis has come down on the side of the anti-Russian independence movement is, therefore, not to affect the assembly.

Patriarch Filaret was on the side of U.S. Secretary of State Kerry over Martyrs' Square in Kiev

As it stands, all canonically recognized Orthodox Churches will continue to repudiate a canonical recognition of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate independent of Moscow headed by Patriarch Filaret of Kiev. Filaret, has been Russian Orthodox Metropolitan since 1966, he became after 1990, after the death of Pimen I his successor as Metropolitan of Kiev and throughout Ukraine. When Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Filaret called  for the autocephaly of the Orthodox church in the country, which  Moscow rejected. In 1995, he called arbitrarily for Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Patriarch of Kyiv and all Ukraine .

This division of Orthodoxy in Ukraine has continued still, so that today  three feuding Orthodox Churches face each other. Only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is officially recognized, to which appends still the majority of Orthodox believers. Filaret was excommunicated in 1997 by Moscow and returned to the lay state.  Despite various attempts by anti-Russian Ukrainian politicians speaking of  the recognition,  the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, has  not previously affirmed it. Although  Ukrainian he has had 20 years of independence, the Kiev Patriarchate  has not expanded its position, since the majority of Ukrainian parishes and monasteries belong almost entirely to the Moscow Patriarchate.

Filaret is Considered in Canonical Orthodoxy as Excommunicated Schismatics

Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv remains in the eyes of the recognized Primates as one excommunicated, who is also accused of giving titles and jurisdictions to schismatic groups and strange creations  imparting to secularized priests to self-appointed priests and vagrants, dealing moving in various countries outside the Church control. There is talk of a "schismatic International," calling into question the apostolic succession of the Orthodox Churches undermines in some parts of the world and place. An expression that reflects the mood within  canonical Orthodoxy on the subject.

When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry these days made his walk across the Martyrs' Square in Kiev, he was accompanied by various Ukrainian religious leaders. Right next to Kerry, more visible than any other, was Patriarch Filaret. On the Russian side, Patriarch Kirill I tried to restrain the conflict in Ukraine. All the more so, since Archimandrite Chaplain of Russian Military had designated the  intervention in the Crimea as a "peace mission".  Additionally, Kirill said: "Our nation is composed of people with different perspectives and political convictions, including those which are being  faced on  the barricades. The Church is located at the side of any party in the political struggle."  These words are a message to Metropolitan Onufry  they contain the current locum tenens of the Moscow Patriarchate in Kiev.

Moscow is Seeking Assistance and is Willing to Grant Such

Not only Moscow but also the Ecumenical Patriarch urges a closing of the Orthodox ranks. This not only has to do with the Ukraine crisis. At the same time, the unity will also strengthen the role of Bartholomew as primus inter pares, and thus guarantor and coordinator of Orthodox unity. Therefore, the "foreign minister" of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion found many words of praise and grateful appreciation for Bartholomew and also Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamon, the major theologians of the Ecumenical Patriarchate .

Hilarion: "We must identify the problems of the world today, not those of the 70s"

Hilarion expressed in the preparatory meetings currently in session  at the Synaxis the full readiness  to participate for the  first time in the preparation of the Holy and Grand Council, which has been considered by Moscow with little attention in the past: "New realities, new problems have emerged and we must, for our flock  and the world, identify the problems  that approach  us today and not those which concerned the Orthodox Churches in the 70s and 80s of the last Century. "

Impact on the Primacy Issue between Orthodoxy and Catholicism?

Whether the new unity of Orthodoxy will have an impact on the willingness of Moscow to talk with the Catholic Church on primacy remains to be seen. Recently,  Moscow has been deaf on this topic therefore, and for thus it did not recognize the leading role of the Ecumenical Patriarch in this question.  However, there seems to e a relaxation in progress between Moscow and Constantinople. 

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Vatican Insider

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMGD

"Council of Trent Has Complete Validity" -- "Luther Rehabilitation Impossible": Cardinal Eijk and Ecumenism

Update: thanks to the kind reader who alerted us to the Vatican Insider article from which this is taken.  Apparently now, the Cardinal is saying that he was't quoted directly,  The following was included:

Sparks flew as a result, with an open letter being sent by the Rev. Arjen Plaisier (spokesman for the Synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands) to Cardinal Eijk, who refused to answer for or discuss phrases which he had never used. He also said that the Dutch Catholic Church’s ecumenical office or the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity may begin discussing some of the phrasings used in the Council of Trent. The Archbishop of Utrecht stressed his adherence to the ecumenical path followed by the Church and that he fully backed the Pope’s efforts in this field.

(Amsterdam) Violent polemics were triggered in the Netherlands with the words of the Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk. Here, the Cardinal had only reminded what is self-evident. He said in an interview during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that the Council of Trent still has full force and effect.   Because this self-evident fact has been very little heard any more in the past few decades, it is supposed to have caused a scandal that has provoked fierce reactions toward Protestant as well as Catholic-ecumenical circles.

"Condemnation of Those Who Reject the Teachings of the Council, Have Full Force and Effect"

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Calvinist  Reformatorisch Dagblad  published an interview with Cardinal Eijk, which was taken up by the daily newspaper Trouw on 20 January. Within, the Archbishop of Utrecht said that "the doctrine and the condemnations of the Council of Trent are still in full force."  The newspaper wrote: "Cardinal Eijk is explicit in this respect: The Council of Trent's teachings are still perfectly valid. This also applies to convictions which were adopted against those who reject the Council's teachings. Like the Protestants."

The title and the editorial part of the interview had not been seen and approved in advance by the Cardinal. The interview itself was, however, released by the Archbishop for reprinting. It was also published on the website of the Dutch Bishops' Conference.

"Council of Trent Proves the Church's Ability at Self-Reform"

Cardinal Eijk stressed in an interview that the Council of Trent a sign of "the ability of the Roman Catholic Church for self-reform", thanks to the "guidance of the Holy Spirit." The Council of Trent, said the Archbishop of Utrecht, put and end to the many abuses which had crept in the late Middle Ages in the Church,  such as simony, an understanding of the pastoral office, which contradicted the biblical understanding. But it put an end was put to the fundamental  lack of discipline of the clergy and in the monasteries: "When all decrees were implemented [the Council],  order was restored  in the Church,"  said the cardinal.

The Council of Trent also helped to define some "truths of faith" precisely related to the errors of the Reformation. The cardinal affirmed that these provisions continue to have perfect validity "such as transubstantiation and the essence of the Eucharistic Sacrament."

"Many Have a False Picture of the Catholic Church and false Image of God"

Cardinal Eijk said the condemnations and excommunications apply to those who "knowingly and voluntarily" reject the Church's teaching. "In some ways, it is a theoretical question. Many people have a false image of the Catholic Church because they were brought up that way. Or they have a false image of God. But they can not be held personally liable.The condemnations of Trent does not mean that someone is condemned for all eternity by God. God judges each individual, a person can not do that."

Rehabilitation of  Luther is not Possible

Finally, Cardinal Eijk rejected the desired Lutherans'  "rehabilitation" of Martin Luther: "For major issues he had deviated from Church doctrine. And this doctrine remains as it is." For this reason, the differences are given unchanged, which makes   a "rehabilitation" impossible.

The Cardinal took advantage of the interview for a positive evaluation of the Church's renewal  by the Counter-Reformation, which the Holy Spirit knitted performed by the self-cleaning of the Church thorough the Council of Trent and its decrees, the complete validity of the doctrine of the Council of Trent, especially with regard to the Eucharist. Also with regard to the convictions, he reminded them that they apply in the matter, but do not automatically apply to the individual person.  They presuppose a conscious rejection of the Catholic doctrine.

Criticism by Protestants and Catholic Ecumenists

The interview sparked a storm of negative reactions that mainly came from the ecumenical field. Also from Catholics. The overall tenor was that it was considered "inappropriate" that the Cardinal  recalled things that "separate and don't unify"   in the Week of Prayer. Then there was a series of statements attributed to the Cardinal which were placed in the mouth, which he had not at all taken.

Arjen Plaisir, the speaker of the Synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands wrote an open letter to Cardinal Eijk.In his response, the Archbishop of Utrecht said that certain formulations of the Council of Trent could be spoken in the  limits by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. He stands for the ecumenical journey and supports all the efforts of the pope in this direction.

 Interview Reproduced Correctly

Emiel Hakkenes, the editorial director of religion and philosophy for the daily newspaper Trouw confirmed to Vatican Insider that the content of the interview given by Cardinal Eljik was   entirely correct. [!] The editors have asked for Protestant representatives to give their opinion. The chief editor of the Reformatorisch Dagblad announced that the interview was presented to the Cardinal before the publication and expressly approved of it.

In order to address   the question raised by Cardinal Eijk, the document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith  was issued in 2000 clarifying the Declaration Dominus Iesus on the uniqueness and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church's binding position. A clarification to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification had been signed on  Reformation Day in 1999  by the then chairman of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Chairman of the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Methodist Churches.

The responses to the interview with Cardinal Eijk laid bare how little the Catholic doctrine is known publicly and also among the Protestant interlocutors. Not least because it has been so little stressed from the Catholic side.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

Reformation Day: Luther's Pact With the Devil

Luther's Pact With the Devil

Martin Bucer laments: The greater part of the people seem only to have embraced the gospel in order to shake off the yoke of discipline and the obligation of fasting and penance, which rested upon them in popery, and that they may live according to their own pleasure, enjoying their lusts and lawless appetites without control. That was the reason they lent a willing ear to the teaching of justification by faith alone and not by good works, for the latter of which they had no relish." [(Bucer, De Regn. I, c. I, 4) Cf The Facts About Luther, Msgr Patrick F. O'Hare, LL.D., Tan Books Reprint, 1987,  P. 91.]

Such violence  done to good doctrine, politics and sound morals by Luther's Revolt, was also leveled against art, and continues to be accomplished today as this article about a Tate Museum exhibit reveals appropriately in the Guardian for today, being Reformation Day in some circles:

Two images haunt me from Tate Britain's survey of attacks on art in Britain since the Reformation. One is a painfully realistic, lifesize stone figure of the dead Christ, eyes closed, chest emaciated, body taut. This terrifying portrait of death is a radical and dangerous work of art. It was carved by an unknown sculptor in the early 16th century then apparently buried, as an idolatrous object, just a few years later when Henry VIII rejected the Pope and dissolved Britain's monasteries.

1. Art Under Attack: Histories of British Iconoclasm
2. Tate Britain,
 
3. London
4. SW1P

1. Starts 2 October 2013
2. Until 5 January 2014
3. Venue website

The other is a portrait that was bought by the artists Jake and Dinos Chapman just so they could deface it. They've added bloody marks, made the mouth ugly and the eyes mad. We're supposed to think this is hilarious.

Art Under Attack: Histories of British Iconoclasm wants to make us think, but I found myself asking the wrong questions and drawing the wrong conclusions. The exhibition fumbles with ideas about "iconoclasm", or the deliberate destruction of art: can art vandalism be art? Is there a perverse humour or truth or beauty in a suffragette slashing Velázquez's Venus or the IRA blowing up Nelson's Pillar in Dublin?

Link to article...

SSPX Organizes Ecumenical Pilgrimage to Pray for Persecuted Christians Throughout the World

(Fulda) On Saturday and Sunday, the 7th and 8th of September, the 10th National Pilgrimage of the German District of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X will take place. The Pilgrimage is traditionally carried to Fulda to celebrate the Traditional Rite of the Mass for the consecration of Germany to commemorate the Virgin Mary, which was completed in 1954 by the German bishops.

The theme of the pilgrimage in 2013, is the persecution of Christians. They prayed for their loyalty to the faith in difficult times and the persecuted Christians in the world. More than 100,000 Christians are killed for their faith each year.

The pilgrimage of the German national pilgrimage will begin on Saturday afternoon in front of the Stadtschloss City Palace with a Marian procession through the city. The two-day prayer meeting will again be held in the ballroom of the Old Orangery at Castle Garden, which belongs to the Maritim Hotel. On Saturday evening at 18:30 a solemn High Mass will be celebrated in the Traditional Rite. At night, the Catholic youth movement will keep a prayer vigil before the altar.

On Sunday, at 8 o' clock, a presentation by Norbert Clasen about persecution of Christians will take place: For Islamic Tolerance in Past and Present. At 9:30 a solemn High Mass will follow. The celebrant is the new German District Superior Father Firmin Udressy. The national pilgrimage will be concluded with the prayer of Consecration to Mar in which the Mother of God is beseeched to return Germany again to the Mother of God and Virgin Mary.

The National Pilgrimage is open to all Christians who are willing to support the concern. It is expected to have around 1000 participants from all over Germany.

Info: www.deutschlandweihe.de
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to katholisches....

AMGD

Interview with Secretary of State Parolin: “With Francis, the Impression of a Besieged Church Has Changed to an Open Church"

(Caracas)  Pope Francis accepted  the resignation last Saturday of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone and appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the new Secretary of State. On 4 August the Venezuelan newspaper published an interview with the former nuncio and future cardinal. The Vatican diplomat Archbishop Parolin is a man of few words, and those he uses, he weighs carefully, as it is expected of a diplomat. It was not easy to persuade him to be interviewed, writes Manuel Isidro Molina, the journalist of the pro-government daily newspaper Ultimas Noticias, who conducted the interview. The answers give some insight into the person, his understanding of diplomacy and thus also a preview of how he will fill the highest office of the Roman Curia behind the Pope.

It took place at the end of July at the Apostolic Nunciature in Caracas, shortly after Nicolas Maduro, the successor of Chavez   returned as Venezuelan president from visiting the Vatican with Pope Francis. The responses of the nuncio and the new Secretary of State of the Holy See took place against the background of Venezuela, which is dominated by Bolivarism,  a left national state ideology with nationalist and Marxist elements.

What has happened in the Church since last 13 March as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen as the new Pope?

I think that nothing new is happening in the Church in the sense that something is new and normal.

Getting ready for renewal?

That's right, always, because the main actor in the Church is the Holy Spirit.

How do you interpret the "phenomenon" Francis?

What moves me and what I consider to be a miracle of the election of Pope Francis is the abrupt climate change, which was perceived immediately. Previously there was a pessimism entirely unjustified, as I add, because Pope Benedict XVI. has done everything humanly possible to renew the Church, if we think for example of the great commitment in the fight against pedophilia.

It seems that to have to face the pressure of pedophilia and corruption, have exhausted him ...

Yes, I suspect that too. We were focused on these issues and it seemed as if the Church were not able to renew itself: but suddenly, after this election and the first utterances of the Pope, the situation changed completely. It made a climate of hope, renewal, a broad future that previously seemed hopelessly blocked. And I really look upon as great miracle. The courage and the humility of Benedict XVI.  to take a step back, goes in the same direction as the courage and the humility of Pope Francis to accept the papacy, and the new wind that he has brought.

What impressed you most in the pontificate of St. Francis?

What impresses me most is the complete change of perception that it was for the Church. From a besieged Church with a thousand problems, one might say, a little sick Church, we have moved to a Church that has opened.

He has revitalized it ...

Exactly, and now we look with great confidence in God's future. It seems to me that that's the best thing that has happened to us.

What does it mean that the Pope made his first trip to Brazil?

That's a coincidence, because it was already decided that the World Youth Day will be held in Brazil. Therefore, it fell to the Pope, any Pope to be there.

A chance also that Pope Francis has taken a decision for the poor and that Brazil was the cradle of liberation theology?

To liberation theology, and I say it with all my heart, because there has been much suffering, things are clarified.These painful, passionate years have led to clarify things. The Church, that’s right, has a preferential option for the poor.This is a decision that the Church has made on a universal level. But it has also clarified that the option for the poor nor is it an alternative option.

But preferential...

Yes, a preferential. However, this means that the Church is church for all. The church offers all the Gospel with a special attention to the poor, because they are especially loved by the Lord, because you know, you can accept the gospel only in an attitude of poverty.

The simplicity, Francis proclaimed ...

Pope Francis goes in this direction. This attention he has shown since the first moments of his pontificate, represents a fundamental option in the center of the Church, which applies to everyone, but with a special attention to the poor.

This is a reading that is true for Latin America and the Caribbean believers. Which reading there might be among the African believers?

There are differences. Liberation theology had less resonance in Africa than in Latin America.

And in Europe with the worker priests ...

Yes, of course, but not in Africa. The attention of Pope Francis for the poor is good news for Africa, which experienced conflicts and forms of inequality in different countries. I think the emphasis that sets the Pope, is also important for Africa,  for the whole area, which relates to the issue of social justice and peace, which were treated by the two synods held in the Vatican for Africa.

The issue of poverty is a human issue for the Church. For Marxists, it is also a question of class ...

The Church can not accept the Marxist categories of class struggle. One point among the various problems that existed with those who represented the liberation theology, was the use of the Marxist category of class struggle in their teaching. The Church is always aimed as a first step in the conversion of hearts and the education of human solidarity, a solidarity which not only personally enables, but structurally  overcomes the problems of society.  The Church receives an enormous treasure, namely its social doctrine.

Which measures the weight of church corruption as the cause of these problems?

The Pope has drawn attention. It is a topic that the Church, because she knows that corruption harms the character of the society and attracts many consequences for how the gennanten. It is important that we fight corruption, especially through education, which is a core area for the church. The education of the people to law-abiding, to be honest, the match between word and deed, so that people are able to reject these temptations and to build a healthy society, a positive society.

Pope Francis has inspired increased inter-religious relations, at least between the monotheistic religions ... What is true for the mixture of Latin American and Caribbean beliefs?

,The Pope has expressed ecumenical dialogue between Christians and the inter-religious dialogue in terms of its predecessors, for example, of the meeting with John Paul II in Assisi. Pope Francis is very clear: we must continue on this path.

And the mishmash of Latin American-Caribbean beliefs?

The Church follows the principle of St. Paul to take note of everything and take what is good and healthy. All that is compatible with the Gospel may be adopted.

Are there signs of a possible visit of Pope Francis in Venezuela?

I can not say. We do not know what  the intentions of the Pope will be.

President Nicolas Maduro has invited him on his visit to the Vatican ...

According to my knowledge, he has not invited him. According to yours?

He has opened him the opportunity to come ...

Yes, but a formal invitation, I think there seems to be no. The President is to have said something like the gates are open to Venezuela.

In any case, he did not tell him that they are closed ...

[Laughter] No, not that. At this moment, as far as I know there has been no formal invitation to the Pope to come to Venezuela.

Is  the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the opinion that this meeting was good?

Yes, yes.

Was there an immediate impact?

The evaluation of the meeting of Pope Francis with President Maduro was positive in terms of the dialogue that advances the Church. It was a testimony of dialogue. The Pope is always ready to welcome all.

He has proved it: with the Argentine President Cristina Kirchner there were rumored  disagreements.

The Pope received and embraced her.

He has received President Maduro, in which you claimed that there were differences ...

That's right, the Pope is open to receive all and talk to everybody. It seems to me that the meeting with President Maduro was helpful for a dialogue with the Church here in Venezuela.

An improvement in the quality?

At least, contact channels are open and  dialogue is seen as a means of solving problems.

To understand the problems?

To understand and solve problems in a peaceful, humane and Christian way.

What perception does the Church have of the social suffering that prevails due to the economic crisis in different European countries?

The Church and the Christians, as the Second Vatican Council says, is currently celebrating its 50 years, to make all the dramas of the contemporary  their own. The Church has appealed that human suffering be taken into account in solving the crisis suffered by Europe.

And what happens to the "wild capitalism” as John Paul II has criticized it?  Benedict XVI. has criticized it and Pope Francis criticizes it. Nevertheless, this direction continues to dominate Europe?

This is a worrying thing. The Church is continuing its demand that all this is corrected, so that the human is measured against  the economic, according to  ethics and morality. Man must come before the economic laws. This creates a sense of love for the poor, solidarity, a truly human economy that helps people develop and that they not be humiliated and have their dignity offended. This is a fundamental discourse for the Church, and we all have papal encyclicals from Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII. up to Caritas in Veritate of Benedict XVI.

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Don Antonio Lasierra / La cigüeña de la torre

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMGD