Kasper Asks Moscow Patriarch For Ecumenical Dialogue

Cardinal Walter Kasper met with Kirill I, the new patriarch of Moscow and asked him to work on ecumenical dialogue with the Catholic church.




Card. Walter Kasper
President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
He has assured me that he wants to continue the dialogue as we have been doing, especially the dialogue on social issues in Europe, also Christian values un Europe. This is his concern. I added that we must also talk about ecumenism, about unity of the Church, because these values are the foundation of the common faith, and we must talk about this. He agreed.




Cardinal Kasper brought Kirill I a chalice on behalf of Benedict XVI. Its a symbolic gift of the sign that one day the two can celebrate mass together.




The new patriarch of Moscow was the most favorable of the three candidates for dialogue between Russian Orthodox and Catholics. He sent a message to the Pope, in which he assured his hopes for improved relations between Rome and Moscow. But for the moment, there are no indications of a meeting between Kirill I and the Pope.

Card. Walter Kasper
Metropolitan Kirill, now Patriarch Kirill, has been to Rome three times during the current pontificate. So he has shown that he is open to Rome, but on the other hand does not depend on all these personal relationships. There are also institutional interests, and now as Patriarch he must keep in mind Orthodox groups that are in Russia. He must maintain unity within his church in Russia, this is normal.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches split in 1054. They had no official dialogue until January of 1964, when Pope Paul VI met with Athenagoras I, the Patriarch of Constantinople. Gestures of friendship and cordiality between the two churches have grown during the 45 years since that first meeting.




Card. Walter Kasper
President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
I think we are on the path toward unity, but it can also be a long way. But you can see that the Ecumenical Patriarch was in Rome three times during the past year. Weve never seen anything like it in 2,000 years.

Much remains to be done, but both sides are determined to solve the theological and practical problems that separate them.




Card. Walter Kasper
President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
What is missing first and foremost for unity between the churches is acknowledgement of the primacy of Rome. But there are also other problems. I think its not just a theological problem, but also a cultural problems. They are two cultures, and its not enough to reach a consensus between the leaders. The people must also be involved.




Official delegations of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches will meet again in October, to study life using the universal primacy of the Bishop of Rome during the first millennium. The Russian Orthodox Church has not confirmed its participation at the event. For this reason, the cardinal is asking for help from Catholics around the world.




Card. Walter Kasper
President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Prayer is the most important thing, because those who pray with us for unity are my most important collaborators.




Thanks to this help, the cardinal says that he is optimistic and hopeful about the future for relations between Orthodox and Catholics.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• romereports
• video
• news
• vatican
• pope
• Kasper
• Asks
• Moscow
• Patriarch
• For
• Ecumenical
• Dialogue

[trueorthodoxfaith]

@gtepp031387 Christ is the "logos" the Word. Since the Holy Trinity is a mystery, beyond our real comprehension, your question is rather meaningless.

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith Again are you saying that the holy spirit left the father without the co-operation of his logos?

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith Intresting that Constantiniople IV(I reckon your reffering to 879) is not ecumentical, and was not approved of by a Pope, so it is niether authoritive nor universal. The Heretic Photios tryed to overstep his bounds and forged documentation after the Pope reinstated him, which caues the Pope to excommunicate him again.

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith 1)Toldeo was approved of by the Pope, which is what makes a council ecumentical, at least in an authoritative view, if no so much a universalist view.

2) No one argues that the spirit ORIGINATES from the father alone, the filioque mearly states that the holy spirit was sent forth from(proceeded from) the father with the co-operation of the logos. The Greek word you for originates also can mean proceeds, but the Latin text only means proceeds.

[trueorthodoxfaith]

@gtepp031387 Toledo was not an Ecumenical Council. There is no single verse in Scripture or in the writings of the early church Fathers where the original Greek word "originates" was combined with the filioque, while the expression "from the Father" is clearly written in John's Gospel. I mention the Constantinople IV council, because it condemned the filioque addition and doctrine.

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith "why doesn't the Nicene Creed state, "from the Father and the Son".

well number one the Nicene creed does not profess even to believe in the holy spirit, that part was an addition at Contstantinople. Nicea was conviened to counter heresy not to give a complete definition of the faith, councils afterword dealt with the holy spirit like Toledo. Just wondering are you saying that the holy spirit left the father without the logos of the father?

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith "The filioque was not used by the Church Fathers"

You are either unstudied or just untruthful, as many fathers used the filioque.

"Changing the Creed is against the common Canon law"

Intresting then the council of Constantinople is heretical, especially becaues it was not ecumentical when convoked nor for a long period afterword.

[trueorthodoxfaith]

@gtepp031387 The filioque was not used by the Church Fathers. Yes, the entire church accepted the original Creed. Changing the Creed is against the common Canon law of the Orthodox Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Councils. If what you are saying is valid, then why doesn't the Nicene Creed state, "from the Father and the Son".

[gtepp031387]

@trueorthodoxfaith The filioque was given in the council of Nicea as one of the bishops local creeds, the filioque has been used by the fathers throughout time. The addition to the creed that covered the holy spirit did not come untill the 2nd council was convieved and that council was not deemed ecumentical untill Rome gave a conditional acceptance of it during the 4th council.

[trueorthodoxfaith]

@gtepp031387 In the Council of Nicea one specific creed was used to define the Church's faith clearly. The filioque did not appear until the Council of Toledo in 587 and slowly spread in the West. It was finally accepted by Rome in 1014.