{"id":28584,"date":"2011-10-04T16:52:55","date_gmt":"2011-10-04T16:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/site\/2017\/2\/1985\/an_interview_with_the_secretary_of_the_vaticans_unity_council\/"},"modified":"2011-10-04T16:52:55","modified_gmt":"2011-10-04T16:52:55","slug":"an_interview_with_the_secretary_of_the_vaticans_unity_council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=28584","title":{"rendered":"An Interview With the Secretary of the Vatican's Unity Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: Pope Benedict XVI has made this ecumenical dialogue – particularly with the Russian Orthodox Church – a priority of his pontificate. Why is this a priority for this Pope?<\/b><\/p>\n

Bishop Farrell: Well, let me start by saying yes there is a certain priority [with the Russian Orthodox] because that is the biggest of all the Orthodox Churches. But, this interest and desire for greater communion with the Orthodox embraces the entire Orthodox world to the point where our theological dialogue with the Orthodox cannot be with individual Orthodox Churches. We have agreed from the very beginning that it has to be with all of them together because all of them together form a unity. They have the same principals, they have the same structures and they have the same tradition, the same liturgical values and beauty. So they work as one in the theological dialogue.<\/p>\n

Now, in the meantime we also have bilateral or direct relationships with each one of these individual Orthodox Churches and since the Second Vatican Council, these relationships have developed enormously. With some Churches it has been faster than with others, with some it is deeper than with others, but we can say that with all of the Orthodox Churches, without exclusion, we have at this point very friendly, very open and very constant contact and collaboration in many ways. When Pope Benedict XVI says that yes, the dialogue with the Orthodox Churches is a priority, this is clear and if you ask me why I will simply say because they are so close to us. We have the same faith, we have the same sacraments, we have the same apostolic succession; therefore we absolutely consider that every one of their bishops and their priests are true bishops and true priests. In that we have a closeness that we do not have with any other Christian community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Pope Benedict XVI has made this ecumenical dialogue – particularly with the Russian Orthodox Church – a priority of his pontificate. Why is this a priority for this Pope? Bishop Farrell: Well, let me start by saying yes there…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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