Pope
Francis & Patriarch Bartholomew sign joint declaration
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world, on Sunday signed a Joint Declaration
reaffirming their desire to overcome the obstacles dividing their two Churches.
The two leaders also deplored the terrible situation facing Christians and all
who are suffering in the Middle East and called for an appropriate response
from the international community.
Please
find below the full text of the Joint Declaration:
JOINT
DECLARATION
We, Pope Francis and
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, express our profound gratitude to God for
the gift of this new encounter enabling us, in the presence of the members of
the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to
celebrate together the feast of Saint Andrew, the first–called and brother of
the Apostle Peter. Our remembrance of the Apostles, who proclaimed the good
news of the Gospel to the world through their preaching and their witness of
martyrdom, strengthens in us the aspiration to continue to walk together in
order to overcome, in love and in truth, the obstacles that divide us.
On the occasion of our
meeting in Jerusalem last May, in which we remembered the historical embrace of
our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch
Athenagoras, we signed a joint declaration. Today on the happy occasion of this
further fraternal encounter, we wish to re–affirm together our shared
intentions and concerns.
We express our sincere
and firm resolution, in obedience to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
intensify our efforts to promote the full unity of all Christians, and above
all between Catholics and Orthodox. As well, we intend to support the
theological dialogue promoted by the Joint International Commission, instituted
exactly thirty–five years ago by the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios and Pope
John Paul II here at the Phanar, and which is currently dealing with the most
difficult questions that have marked the history of our division and that
require careful and detailed study. To this end, we offer the assurance of our
fervent prayer as Pastors of the Church, asking our faithful to join us in
praying “that all may be one, that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).
We express our common
concern for the current situation in Iraq, Syria and the whole Middle East. We
are united in the desire for peace and stability and in the will to promote the
resolution of conflicts through dialogue and reconciliation. While recognizing
the efforts already being made to offer assistance to the region, at the same
time, we call on all those who bear responsibility for the destiny of peoples
to deepen their commitment to suffering communities, and to enable them,
including the Christian ones, to remain in their native land. We cannot resign
ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of
Jesus there for two thousand years. Many of our brothers and sisters are being
persecuted and have been forced violently from their homes. It even seems that
the value of human life has been lost, that the human person no longer matters
and may be sacrificed to other interests. And, tragically, all this is met by
the indifference of many. As Saint Paul reminds us, “If one member
suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together”
(1 Cor 12:26). This is the law of the Christian life, and in this sense we can
say that there is also an ecumenism of suffering. Just as the blood of the
martyrs was a seed of strength and fertility for the Church, so too the sharing
of daily sufferings can become an effective instrument of unity. The terrible
situation of Christians and all those who are suffering in the Middle East
calls not only for our constant prayer, but also for an appropriate response on
the part of the international community.
The grave challenges
facing the world in the present situation require the solidarity of all people
of good will, and so we also recognize the importance of promoting a
constructive dialogue with Islam based on mutual respect and friendship.
Inspired by common values and strengthened by genuine fraternal sentiments,
Muslims and Christians are called to work together for the sake of justice,
peace and respect for the dignity and rights of every person, especially in
those regions where they once lived for centuries in peaceful coexistence and
now tragically suffer together the horrors of war. Moreover, as Christian
leaders, we call on all religious leaders to pursue and to strengthen
interreligious dialogue and to make every effort to build a culture of peace
and solidarity between persons and between peoples. We also remember all the
people who experience the sufferings of war. In particular, we pray for peace
in Ukraine, a country of ancient Christian tradition, while we call upon all
parties involved to pursue the path of dialogue and of respect for
international law in order to bring an end to the conflict and allow all
Ukrainians to live in harmony.
Our thoughts turn to
all the faithful of our Churches throughout the world, whom we greet,
entrusting them to Christ our Saviour, that they may be untiring witnesses to
the love of God. We raise our fervent prayer that the Lord may grant the gift
of peace in love and unity to the entire human family.
“May the Lord of peace
himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of
you” (2 Thess 3:16).
From the Phanar, 30
November 2014
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