A new beginning?

At the start of his pontificate Benedict XVI said ecumenical dialogue ought to be strengthened by “concrete gestures”. The Pope has already made several such gestures: the visit of Rowan Williams, Anglican Primate, the meeting with Bartholomew I in Turkey and the signing of a joint declaration. And another important gesture is about to be added: the Pope’s meeting in the Vatican with Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and President of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, on 14 December. “These are concrete gestures that promote good relations between the ‘heads’ of the Churches and at the same time create a climate of trust and hope in believers”, declares Monsignor FRANCESCO PAPAMANOLIS , President of the Greek Bishops’ Conference and bishop of Syros, in an interview with SIR. “To those of us who live, as we do, in an island of 20,000 inhabitants (55% Orthodox, 45% Catholics), where people live together and tackle problems together, where they suffer in the same hospital, one next to the bed of the other, where faithful of different confessions but with close kinship ties live under the same roof, for example mother and son, separation seems absurd. Such gestures give strength to ecumenical dialogue and generate hope. But that in itself is not enough”. What else is needed? “Two other directions would need to be pursued in tandem to achieve, or at least approach, the yearned-for union. One is the purification of our ecclesiastical structures according to a sound ecclesiology, whose foundation remains the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The second, more difficult, is the process of reconciliation required for brother to accept brother. The catholic Church, over these last 40 years since Vatican II, has succeeded in inspiring its members with feelings of charity for and acceptance of others, but it has failed to win the trust of our other Christian brothers”. How could this difficulty be overcome? “By cultivating mutual understanding, Catholics could get to know Orthodoxy and vice versa. If Christians understood each other better, prejudices would crumble, and theological dialogue, contacts and gestures of friendship between Pastors would be more fruitful”. In your recent “ad limina” visit to Rome you spoke of the Greek Catholic Church as a “reliable thermometer to gauge the real progress or regression of contacts with our Orthodox brothers….”. What is the state of health of ecumenical dialogue? “Unfortunately in Greece no official dialogue between the catholic and orthodox Church as yet exists. Addressing the Pope, during our ‘ad limina’ visit, I said that the Greek catholic Church is a ‘reliable thermometer to gauge the real progress or regression’ of ecumenism in Greece”. Is the visit of Christodoulos to Benedict XVI favourable to dialogue? “We are happy about this visit, a ‘concrete gesture’ that strengthens dialogue and generates hope. During the time Chistodoulos spends in Rome, the press will speak a lot about his visit, perhaps even creating the impression that a union between the two Churches is almost achieved. Let it be quite clear that the true face of ecumenism, apart from all social courtesies, is the face that the Orthodox hierarchy in Greece actually shows towards us”. How? “Some examples: the Holy Synod has prohibited (and the prohibition remains in force) Orthodox believers to pray together with non-Orthodox. Let us not forget that it was the same Synod that rebuked Christodoulos for having recited the “Pater Noster” with John Paul II at Athens in 2001. The government for years has avoided determining the juridical situation of the catholic Church in Greece and has done so with the blessing of the orthodox Church. The government itself is funding the renovation of the orthodox Cathedral in Sarajevo (Bosnia) but not that of the Catholic Cathedral, at the heart of Athens; it also funds the orthodox Patriarchates outside Greece, but not the Greek catholic Church. Members of the armed forces of Catholic faith suffer discrimination and are forced to swear their oath of allegiance together with Muslims and non-christians. Being Catholics isn’t easy in Greece”. Despite that, you’ve succeeded in creating excellent personal contacts with various Orthodox bishops and, in some cases, significant acts of communion have been realized… “In Greece, at the local level, in towns in which there is a Catholic presence and especially in cities with Catholic episcopal sees, relations between orthodox and catholics are good, if not excellent: so good that my orthodox counterpart on Syros is considered somewhat lacking in orthodoxy by the more fanatical orthodox”. What can we expect from the visit of Christodoulos to Benedict XVI? “I hope that what they say to each other both publicly and in private may mark the beginning of good relations between our Churches in mutual respect and in charity. I hope they may travel the same road together. For the goal, both for the orthodox Church and for the catholic Church, is Jesus Christ”.