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New day for church dialogue dawns from East to West

27 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Eastern and Western church leaders seem to be taking a cue from Jesus' reconciling message in this Sunday's gospel, focusing on what they are for rather than against. On a five-day visit to Rome, a Russian Orthodox official in charge of interchurch relations met with the pope. The meeting is seen as a sign of improved relations between the two churches under Benedict XVI and the new Russian Patriarch Kirill I. The Vatican provided no details of the pope's meeting September 18 with Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations. The private meeting took place at the pope's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. Archbishop Hilarion was in Rome for meetings and talks with Vatican officials and Catholic groups at the invitation of Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist. Kasper said earlier tensions over the status and evangelizing activities of the Roman Catholic Church in the Moscow Patriarchate had been largely overcome and that relations with the Russian Orthodox had improved appreciably under Pope Benedict. He said Kirill was expected to participate in a major dialogue session with the Vatican in mid-October. Source: Articles by John Thavis for Catholic News Service and Ecumenical News International

benedict xvi walter kasper vatican kirill i russian orthodox church hilarion moscow patriarchate
Nothing orthodox about repression of Coptic Christians

25 Nov 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

As Roman Catholics this Sunday celebrate the feast of Christ the King, a church solemnity that marks the transition from one liturgical year to the next, Coptic Christians in Egypt have transitions both liturgical and constitutional on their minds these days. Last Sunday in a ceremony rich in ritual, they installed a new pope, Tawadros II, who they hope will guide them through the shift to a new, largely Islamist-led Egypt.The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, as it is known officially, is the largest Christian church in the Middle East and belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which became a distinct church body as a result of doctrinal differences during the Council of Chalcedon in 451.In a sumptuous liturgy filled with prayer, chants, and incense at Abbasiya cathedral in Cairo on November 4, the 60-year-old Bishop Tawadros' name was picked by a blindfolded child from a glass bowl in which the names of two other candidates had also been placed. The ceremony last Sunday at the same cathedral marked his formal ascendance as the 118th leader of the church.Coptic Christians make up a tenth of Egypt's 83 million people. Many fear their community, which has long suffered discrimination, will be squeezed to the sidelines of society under Islamists now ruling the Muslim-majority nation.President Mohamed Morsi, propelled to power by the Muslim Brotherhood, did not attend the ceremony, to the dismay of some Christians who said it undermined his claim to be a leader of all Egyptians, but he sent his prime minister, Hisham Kandil.Tawadros II says he will oppose any new Egyptian constitution that meets only Muslim concerns. Liberals, moderate Muslims, and Islamists are tussling over the shape of the constitution and extent of Islamic references in the document. A constitution must be in place before an election can be held to replace the dissolved parliament.Christians have long been sidelined in the workplace and in law. A spate of attacks on churches since Mubarak's overthrow has further alarmed them. Some even speak of an imminent second "age of martyrdom," recalling the era of persecution of Christians under Roman rule that remains burned into Copts' historic memory nearly 2,000 years later.". . . I think we are moving toward a confrontation that will have grave ramifications for Egypt," said Bishop Bieman, a charismatic church leader in the southern province of Qena. "I am not worried about us Christians on the long term, but I am seriously concerned about what happens to us on the short term. Efforts to impose a[n Islamic] religious state are accelerating."Homily hint: Many Catholics are unaware of the existence of the Coptic Christian tradition, much less of the repression its members currently suffer. With Christ as our common King, can we turn our backs on our brothers and sisters in other lands? Sources: Articles by Edmund Blair for Reuters, Hamza Nedawi for the Associated Press, and Wikipedia

egypt coptic christians mohammed morsi tawadros ii hisham kandil constitutions coptic orthodox church

Take Five for Faith Daily

Thursday
January 30

All for the good

Catholic Schools Week is the perfect time to reflect on what we can learn from our Catholic schoolchildren. One young student wrote in a religion class report, “If you do good things, you will have good experiences. If you do bad things, you will have bad experiences.” This simple yet profound understanding of virtuous living echoes Jesus’ teaching in the gospel: “The measure you give will be the measure you get.” If we want the young people in our lives to lead lives of love and good works, we do well to model those actions ourselves.

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