ECUMENISM
Moscow: Italian delegation visit Patriarch Alexei”Disoriented and secularised Western societies have a need for guidance and for roots”; Catholics and Orthodox can and must “work together and with courage to give a soul to this Europe of ours: this soul is the source of hope for the future of our peoples and charity for the sufferings of the contemporary world”, declared Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, when he met the Patriarch of Moscow and of all the Russias, Alexei II, in the Russian capital on 1st October. In his visit to Russia, the cardinal is accompanied by Mgr. Vincenzo Paglia, who chairs the Commission for interreligious dialogue of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Andrea Riccardi, historian and founder of the St. Egidio Community, and Adriano Roccucci of the same Community. The delegation has made a series of visits and held a series of meetings. They have included, in particular, an audience with Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad whom the cardinal had met in Naples last year and to whom he consigned the keys of the church of Santa Maria del Buon Morire as a gift of the archdiocese of Naples to the city’s Russian community. Cardinal Sepe’s visit to the Russian capital culminated with the meeting with Patriarch Alexei II – it lasted for roughly an hour and a half – during which he gave the Patriarch an autograph letter of the Pope, the greetings of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, and the gift of a reliquary of St. Januarius, patron saint of Naples. “Alexei II – says a press release of the Curia of Naples – seemed particularly touched and moved by the gift of the reliquary, which he received with his own hands and took to his private chapel. Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue While the draft blueprint will be submitted during the plenary sitting of the “International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church” (2009), the coordinating mixed commission will convene from tomorrow to October 4. The meeting, hosted by the Orthodox Church, will be held in Crete – Elouda, in Aghios Nikolaos and in the Metropolitan seat of Petra. The Mixed coordinating Committee is charged with drawing up an organic synthesis of the theme proposed during the latest plenary meeting (Ravenna 2007) regarding “The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Church communion of the first millennium”. The mixed Commission will be examining the reports drawn up by mixed subcommittees that convened at the beginning of the year. The subcommittee in the French language, had two meetings in April and July, while the English language one held its meetings in February and June. The mixed coordinating meeting is co-chaired by Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas of Pergamon, and by Cardinal Walter Kasper. They are assisted by two Secretaries: Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima and Msgr. Eleuterio F. Fortino, Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.Milan: Ecen Assembly on climate The 7th General Assembly of the European Christian Environment Network (ECEN) took place on 24-28 September . This year’s topic was “The true challenge of climate changes”. Participants – over one-hundred from 27 European Countries belonging to various Christian denominations – attended the lectures on climate changes delivered by scientists. Among the speakers figured climate-expert Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-President of the Intergovernmental Committee of the United Nations on Climate Changes. Mr. Ypersele said the global picture “has drastically worsened since 2001”. The issue was then addressed from an ecumenical standpoint by the representatives of the different Churches: Orthodox bishop Dimitri Oikonomou, Otto Schäfer from the Reformation Church, Roman Catholic Karl Golser, evangelical Alfredo Abreu and Michael Slaby, lay representative of the UN Environment Program. On Saturday 27, the delegates convened in piazza Duomo along with the representatives of the City’s Council of Christian Churches for “a silent demonstration”: one hour of prayer for the protection of the Creation. The Assembly ended on Sunday September 28 with an ecumenical celebration along with the Churches’ appeal to step up commitment in the realm of education and monitoring governments’ environmental policies. “The time to act is now!” , says the manifesto. WCC: Samuel Kobia reconfirmedThe executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) that convened in Lübeck, Germany, on September 23-26, made known its decision to extend the mandate of Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, in his present post as Secretary General of the World Council of Churches. Dr. Kobia will occupy this position until August 26-September 2 2009 when the WCC Central Committee will convene in Geneva and elect the new Secretary General.
