Need for reciprocal listening

To overcome the Russian Orthodox Church’s mistrust of the Catholic Church we need to intensify “the ecumenical dialogue”: that’s the view of Thaddeus Pikus , auxiliary bishop of Warsaw and president of the Catholic-Orthodox bilateral Commission in Poland, commenting on the expulsions of four priests of foreign origin, in service in Russia, in the space of five months. “It is – explains Bishop Pikus, in a long interview granted to Milena Kindziuk in a Polish magazine, of which we publish a part below – an aversion “cultivated for almost a thousand years”. But “the problem – adds the bishop – does not directly concern the individual priests but how the Orthodox perceive the way that the Catholic Church exists on the territories of the Russian Federation”. Bishop Pikus predicts that there will be further expulsions and “this – he adds – will be painful for the priests themselves but even more so for the communities in which they perform their pastoral service”. What will be the outcome of this situation? “It’s difficult to predict – replies Pikus -. What’s for sure is that there’s a need for dialogue”. Dialogue based on attentive reciprocal listening because “even if we can differ about certain facts connected with the operation of the Catholic Church in Russia, we need to listen to what the other side has to say about the idea they have of the Church, which is still perceived there in a different way”. Msgr. Pikus, is it true that the Russian government keeps a “black list” of priests? “The existence within the Russian government of such a list of black-listed persons is possible. But I cannot confirm it. I would like however to recall that a report was published on the Internet on 25 July in which the names of some priests (not only of Polish origin), and some institutions and congregations accused of proselytism, were disclosed”. Why is each action of the Catholic Church condemned as proselytism? “The Orthodox Church was ready to accept the existence of the Catholic Church in Russia, on some conditions. The Catholic Church would be obliged, in the first place, to respect the traditions and submit to the ‘status quo’ that existed prior to the revolution in 1917. That meant that it would have to perform its pastoral service exclusively among Catholics and citizens of Catholic origin, i.e. of non-Russian origin. Nor should it introduce the Russian language into its own liturgy, but only the national languages and Latin… I think it is right to ask for respect and recognition of Russia’s own traditions but anachronistic to remain stubbornly attached to historical conventions. We risk in this way depriving people of the freedom to choose for themselves on questions of faith and confessional allegiance”. Whom and what does Catholicism disturb in Russia? “Still today Catholicism is not well received by people in Russia because it is seen as an element alien to their own culture and, in some circles, is even considered a threat. History in part helps us to understand these phobias. We should recall that many Catholics found themselves on Russian territories as deportees, convicts and immigrants. They were Poles, Lithuanians, Germans and often sworn enemies of, or at any rate disaffected to, the tsars and the Russian state. The authorities thus regarded Catholics with suspicion and as possible enemies”. What’s the solution? “The historical dissonances between the two sides unfortunately continue to cause problems today; only apparently have the difficulties been overcome. That’s why there’s a need for specific ecumenical dialogue, because what’s at issue is in effect, a question internal to a single Church. I would almost say we are faced by a kind of ‘family quarrel’. Even if today we are witnessing an intensification of the crisis, these two great lungs of Christianity have behind them a history characterized by many ecumenical successes. I truly hope and believe that this ecumenical process is irreversible, also because it is the prayer of Jesus to his Father that urges all Christians to seek unity”.