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Barcellona S. Egidio 5 ottobre
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- Creato: 05 Ottobre 2010
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(Barcelona) Not being afraid of not being “politically correct”. Ecumenical dialogue needs “honesty”, it needs to tell, even if sometimes with “anguish and pain”, what we do not agree about. This is the proposal of the metropolitan bishop Hilarion, born in 1966, president (appointed by the Patriarch Kirill) of the External Relations Department of the Patriarchate of Moscow. He spoke yesterday night at the workshop on “The urgency of the unity of Christians”, which brought illustrious Christian Church leaders to the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. “The lack of unity and the lack of Eucharistic communion – Hilarion said – are a scandal for the whole world and for our Churches. And we cannot shy away from the responsibility of putting it back together”. In addition, the Metropolitan bishop repeated once again his words of esteem for Pope Benedict XVI. “In this age – he said –, there are many options to cooperate, and these options have become wider because of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, a man who has a broad and deep theological mind, who knows the Christian Orthodox tradition, who has done and is doing a lot for the unity of Christians”. Then, the Metropolitan bishop took stock of bilateral theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches as a whole. A dialogue that “is going on”, especially on the problems of Uniatism and the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.
The Metropolitan Bishop Hilarion spoke of the meeting of the International Joint Commission that took place in Vienna recently, where they decided to revise a text that had already been approved in Cyprus last year. “There has been no break – the Metropolitan Bishops wanted to point out –, there’s been an open and honest discussion about what divides us. Hopefully, these discussions will make us try all those ways that will lead back to the undivided Church of the first Millennium”. In the meantime, Orthodox and Catholics congregations can join forces on the values of the family and life, from conception to its natural end. Issues – he added – for which “we have more problems with the Protestant world” and the Anglican world, which opened up to “rites of blessing for same-sex couples” and to the “ordination of women and openly homosexual persons”. These are decisions – Hilarion said – that are a “threat for unity, because they drive us apart. It is not us who are moving away from them, it is them who are moving away from us by introducing new rules in ecclesiology and moral teaching that cannot be accepted”. Hence his appeal to a dialogue that can give a voice to difficulties “with honesty”. And then a recommendation: “We must act quickly: otherwise, we risk giving Europe over to a militant secularism”.
Continuing theological dialogue, trying all the ways for effective cooperation on several fronts, facing ethical issues, exploring all forms of visible unity but above all getting rid of “any feeling of suspicion and circumspection”. It is the face of ecumenism in a time in which the state of dialogue “is not looking good”. Suggestions and prospects are listed by the Christian Church leaders who are in Barcelona for the International Pro-Peace Meeting of Comunità di Sant’Egidio. According to card. Lluis Martinez Sistach, Catholic archbishop of Barcelona, one should not be a pessimist. “Over the last one hundred years, we have made more steps forward than in all the millennium that led us to our division. Neither should we forget that unity is a gift of the Holy Spirit and, as such, it must be invoked through prayer”. The Catholicos of Cilicia of all Armenians, Aram I, does not hide the problems. “There are those who state that ecumenism is experiencing a winter, there are those who think dialogue is an increasingly marginal topic in the life of the Churches, there are others who speak of a transition period. As a matter of fact, interest in ecumenism is waning and unity does not seem to be a priority in the agendas of the Churches any more”.
“Where do we go from here?”, the Catholicos asked. “Is unity close by or is it an eschatological goal? I have no answers to give. But I would like to say that first and foremost we must go on with theological dialogue, with fresh commitment. There are unexplored areas that require in-depth dialogue and wide investigation”. The Cathlolicos suggests that “the ethical issues that have become decisive in inter-Church relations should be addressed together” and all visible forms of unity, such as celebrating Easter together, should be explored. According to John Barrett, president of the World Methodist Council, “the need to be together is not dictated by our scattering and scarcity of means. But rather by the zeal to be more effective and credible in evangelising the world. This urgency that led to start the modern ecumenical modern is still there today. The lack of unity among Christians is first and foremost a veritable sin, which ends up denying evangelical love. The lack of unity among Christians ends us denying out the very mission to work ‘for the world to believe’ and is an obstacle to the building of peace, since the Church cannot be the author of a newly-coined world if it is divided inside”.
© SIR - 5 ottobre 2010
The Metropolitan Bishop Hilarion spoke of the meeting of the International Joint Commission that took place in Vienna recently, where they decided to revise a text that had already been approved in Cyprus last year. “There has been no break – the Metropolitan Bishops wanted to point out –, there’s been an open and honest discussion about what divides us. Hopefully, these discussions will make us try all those ways that will lead back to the undivided Church of the first Millennium”. In the meantime, Orthodox and Catholics congregations can join forces on the values of the family and life, from conception to its natural end. Issues – he added – for which “we have more problems with the Protestant world” and the Anglican world, which opened up to “rites of blessing for same-sex couples” and to the “ordination of women and openly homosexual persons”. These are decisions – Hilarion said – that are a “threat for unity, because they drive us apart. It is not us who are moving away from them, it is them who are moving away from us by introducing new rules in ecclesiology and moral teaching that cannot be accepted”. Hence his appeal to a dialogue that can give a voice to difficulties “with honesty”. And then a recommendation: “We must act quickly: otherwise, we risk giving Europe over to a militant secularism”.
Continuing theological dialogue, trying all the ways for effective cooperation on several fronts, facing ethical issues, exploring all forms of visible unity but above all getting rid of “any feeling of suspicion and circumspection”. It is the face of ecumenism in a time in which the state of dialogue “is not looking good”. Suggestions and prospects are listed by the Christian Church leaders who are in Barcelona for the International Pro-Peace Meeting of Comunità di Sant’Egidio. According to card. Lluis Martinez Sistach, Catholic archbishop of Barcelona, one should not be a pessimist. “Over the last one hundred years, we have made more steps forward than in all the millennium that led us to our division. Neither should we forget that unity is a gift of the Holy Spirit and, as such, it must be invoked through prayer”. The Catholicos of Cilicia of all Armenians, Aram I, does not hide the problems. “There are those who state that ecumenism is experiencing a winter, there are those who think dialogue is an increasingly marginal topic in the life of the Churches, there are others who speak of a transition period. As a matter of fact, interest in ecumenism is waning and unity does not seem to be a priority in the agendas of the Churches any more”.
“Where do we go from here?”, the Catholicos asked. “Is unity close by or is it an eschatological goal? I have no answers to give. But I would like to say that first and foremost we must go on with theological dialogue, with fresh commitment. There are unexplored areas that require in-depth dialogue and wide investigation”. The Cathlolicos suggests that “the ethical issues that have become decisive in inter-Church relations should be addressed together” and all visible forms of unity, such as celebrating Easter together, should be explored. According to John Barrett, president of the World Methodist Council, “the need to be together is not dictated by our scattering and scarcity of means. But rather by the zeal to be more effective and credible in evangelising the world. This urgency that led to start the modern ecumenical modern is still there today. The lack of unity among Christians is first and foremost a veritable sin, which ends up denying evangelical love. The lack of unity among Christians ends us denying out the very mission to work ‘for the world to believe’ and is an obstacle to the building of peace, since the Church cannot be the author of a newly-coined world if it is divided inside”.
© SIR - 5 ottobre 2010