"The Ecumenical Chart is fundamental for dialogue between the Churches, but there are other common factors, such as the need to take proactive measures for reconciliation, measures that differ from one country to the other but are similar in their aims": this was expressed, this morning, about the journey that has been covered so far at a local level in the run-up to Sibiu, during the third preparatory meeting for the European Ecumenical Assembly (Aee3), which is under way in Wittenberg (Germany). "Not only can we already see what unites us, but we must also try to defeat the temptation to withdraw onto ourselves", commented mgr. Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of CEI (Italian Bishops Conference), which suggested the Italian experience of the Day for the Protection of Creation should be extended "and celebrated in ecumenical style". From France to Poland, the Christian Churches wish they could really take care of men and women in today’s Europe. "Even if the painful problem of Eucharistic separation remains highlighted father Heikki Huttunen from the Finnish Orthodox Church , the process of integration must still be covered, with an attitude of respect, joy and renewal". In the matter-of-factness of these relations, commented sister Jolanta Galach of the Bulgarian Ecumenical Council, "a serious journey starts from friendship".
