ECUMENISM
A packed cathedral in Moscow welcomed the new Catholic Archbishop of the Russian capital, Paolo Pezzi, on Saturday 27 October. Alongside diplomatic representatives of various countries and exponents of Communion and Liberation, who had travelled from Italy for the occasion, a large delegation of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow was also present. The new bishop in Moscow is 47 years old, and is far from new to Russia: he served as dean of the diocese of Novosibirsk; taught and was Rector of the Catholic Seminary in St. Petersburg; and then became chaplain of the Italian community of Moscow. In his homily, Pezzi spoke of the need for ecumenism because the two churches – he said – are faced by the same challenges and must unite their forces”. Archbishop Pezzi had already met the number two of the Orthodox hierarchy, Metropolitan Kirill, on 16 October; little emerged about that meeting, but in recent days Bishop Mark, first assistant of Kirill, cautiously opined: “The change in the Russian Catholic hierarchy can become a positive sign of a change in attitude to Russia on the part of the Vatican”. A sign of this appreciation is also the prize recently awarded by Patriarch Alexei II to Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Mennini for his service to dialogue between Rome and Moscow. During the ceremony, Arch-Priest Vesevolod read out a message of good wishes in which Patriarch Alexei II expressed the hope that the appointment of the new archbishop would represent the advent of a time “of good relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church and a speedy solution of the problems that remain between us” because our common witness “to the world of Christian values” depends on this unity. In a long interview with the Russian Interfax press agency, Archbishop Pezzi said his work would be that of remaining as faithful as possible to the “will and intentions of Pope Benedict XVI”, in other words, he would work for a “friendly, serious and substantial dialogue with the Orthodox tradition”. With regard to the accusations of missionary “expansion” strongly criticized by the Patriarchate of Moscow, the archbishop said: “proselytism begins where mission ends”. “The cultural differences cannot be denied in this regard”, but “the challenges of modern life” call “Orthodox and Catholics to unite their efforts to protect and promote Christian values”.
