His Holiness Pope Francis: 'Christian fraternal dialogue can be a model for today’s world'

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The Vatican delegation with His Beatitude Bartholomew I

In his traditional greetings to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the occasion of the feast of Saint Andrew, His Holiness Pope Francis calls for ongoing efforts and prayers for “the gift of unity” among Christians, remarking that their fraternity and witness can also serve as a model for today’s world "plagued by war and violence”.

By Lisa Zengarini

Following a long-standing tradition, on the occasion of today’s Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, patron saint of Constantinople, His Holiness Pope Francis has sent a delegation to Istanbul to convey his greetings and the assurance of his “fraternal affection” to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I.

The visit is part of the annual exchange of Delegations between the Holy See and the Patriarchate for their respective patronal feasts, on 29 June in Rome, the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, and on 30 November in Istanbul, Türkiye.

In his message, His Holiness Pope Francis highlights  listening without condemning as the primary path toward unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, expressing his hope that the upcoming celebrations 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea may offer an opportunity to strengthen the fraternal relations they have developed over the past six decades.

60 years of fruitful dialogue

The Pope begins the message by remarking  the significant progress of Catholic - Orthodox dialogue since the promulgation of the Decree ‘Unitatis Redintegratio’ in 1964 which marked the Catholic Church’s official entry into the ecumenical movement. 

He notes that one of the first fruits obtained in this dialogue is the “renewed fraternity” they experience today  “with particular intensity.”

The ultimate goal of full communion

While acknowledging that the full Eucharistic communion envisioned by the Conciliar document has not been achieved yet, because “divisions dating back a millennium, cannot be resolved within a few decades”, the Pope stresses that Christians must not “lose sight of that ultimate goal”, nor can they “lose hope that this unity can be achieved in the course of history and within a reasonable time”.

“Catholics and Orthodox must never cease to pray and work together to dispose ourselves to accept the divine gift of unity.”

A synodal approach to ecumenical dialogue

His Holiness Pope Francis goes on to recall  that the Catholic Church’s “irreversible commitment to the path of dialogue”  was  further affirmed by the recent Synod on synodality in which participants, from different backgrounds, were able “to listen to each other without judging or condemning”.

This approach, he says,  “should also be the manner in which Catholics and Orthodox continue their journey towards unity”…

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