COMMUNION WITH ROME
“TO AN EXTENT” ALREADY ACHIEVED
HIS HOLINESS Pope Benedict XVI, during his recent visit to the Holy Land, addressed an ecumenical meeting at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on 15th May, according to Zenit. Among other things he said: “Of particular joy for our Churches has been the participation of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness (sic) Bartholomew I, at the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome dedicated to the theme: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. The warm welcome he received and his moving intervention were sincere expressions of the deep spiritual joy that arises from the extent to which communion is already present between our Churches (emphasis ours). Such ecumenical experience bears clear witness to the link between the unity of the Church and her mission.” There is no mention of any theological basis for this “already present” extent of communion. It appears that the modus operandi of the ecumenists, is simply to keep moving the “extent” towards their desired goal, without achieving any real unity of Faith and confession.
DISHONESTY WITHIN ECUMENISM
A “BLOGSPOT,” entitled “Edwards in Greece,” posted on 27th April by a Father Gregory, reports on a talk given at Moni Lazariston by a Greek Catholic Archbishop, who is not identified in the piece, although it carries a picture of him. The Archbishop spoke about the Roman Catholic presence in Greece. The blogger reports: “I found particularly interesting his rather frank and open admission that, since the Catholics view Orthodox mysteries as perfectly valid (while the Orthodox do not share the same view), he (and other Catholic bishops) tell their faithful who do not live near a Catholic church to simply go to the Orthodox Church for communion, but NOT TO TELL the Orthodox priest. He said they have found that if the priest is not told, he will give them communion.” A comment posted by Carlos Antonio Palad adds: “I’m Catholic, and I find this offensive. I mean, I’d be very angry if a Protestant were to try to sneak into the communion line in a Catholic liturgy. I frankly am embarrassed by this.” One can admire the integrity of Mr Pallad, while deploring the deliberate dishonesty of the Catholic hierarchs who apparently perpetrate this deceit. The present compiler of this magazine, remembers being told years ago by an Anglo-Catholic clergyman that he perpetrated a similar deceit when visiting the Continent, and took communion in RC churches without advising them that he was an Anglican. How can such people believe for a moment that they receive any benefit at all, when at the very moment of “communing” they are perpetrating a deceit upon the very people with whom they are communing and with whom they would appear to be confessing that they are of one mind and heart with them?
VATICAN - MOSCOW RAPPROCHEMENT
CONTINUES APACE
ON 24th May, the Moscow Patriarchate consecrated a Church to the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Rome. According to a report in the New York Times, ““The Vatican described a solemn ceremony on Sunday for the consecration of the first parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Rome as a sign of further thawing of relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. ‘We are happy that the Russian Orthodox community has a new church in the center of Rome. It is a sign that we are nearer to each other,’ said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who attended the three-hour dedication…” The report continues: “at the official dedication, Cardinal Kasper presented the church with a relic of St. Helen, ‘a saint of the first millennium common to both churches.’” “‘Today is a special event,’ said Andrey Shumkin, a priest with the delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate, ‘and the presence of two cardinals here is a visual sign of collaboration.’” Zenit also reports on an ecumenical meeting in Pamplona in Spain: “The Moscow Patriarchate’s secretary for ecumenical relations is affirming that relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Russia are progressing, and that it is an important step for evangelizing the world. In an address at the University of Navarra in Spain, Father Igor Vyzhanov stated that the two Churches ‘seem to understand each other better now than before.’ His conference titled “Relations Between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church: The Current Situation’ noted signs of the Churches’ collaboration. The priest affirmed a shared responsibility of Orthodox and Catholics to ‘renew the Christian roots of Europe’ and to preach the message of Christ to the world.”
Meanwhile relations back in Russia with people of other faiths do not look so rosy. On 28th May, Geraldine Fagin of Forum 18 reported: “The powers of the Russian Justice Ministry’s Expert Council for Conducting State Religious-Studies Analysis were considerably widened in February 2009, allowing it to investigate the activity, doctrines, leadership decisions, literature and worship of any registered religious organisation and recommend action to the Ministry. The subsequent appointment of renowned “anti-cultists” and controversial scholars of Islam to the Council – and the choice of prominent “anti-cultist” Aleksandr Dvorkin as its chair - have led a wide range of religious representatives to liken the Council to a new “inquisition”, Forum 18 News Service notes. If the Council is given free rein, it is likely to recommend harsh measures against certain religious organisations. At the Council’s first meeting, Dvorkin named the Russian Bible Society as a possible target for investigation, but its executive director told Forum 18 no action has followed. Forum 18 asked the Justice Ministry how many commissions it is likely to give the Council each year, whether the Ministry will automatically accept its conclusions and, if not, who will decide. However, the Ministry has so far failed to respond.”
