Ecumenical Patriarch Welcomes Pope's Call
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:41 a.m. ET
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- The spiritual leader of the world's 200 million Orthodox Christians welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's pledge to end a schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, calling it a mutual ''obligation to God.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I's statement to The Associated Press was his first response to the new pope's call to heal the 1,000-year rift and reflected the difficult task of trying to reconcile differences between the two churches. He warned that the path to unity would be ''slow and painful.''
''Such rapprochement -- what Pope Benedict XVI called 'spiritual ecumenism'-- is our obligation to God and our commitment to the world,'' Bartholomew said in a written response given Thursday to questions from The AP. ''At the same time, we must be realistic about the cost and the time involved in this process.''
Bartholomew said that efforts toward reconciliation wouldn't be easy and would require the churches to examine theological differences and ''the errors of the past.''
''The genuine work of unity is slow and painful, and it must be treated with sensitivity to theological truths, honesty before historical events, and realism in the face of cultural distinctions. This is why reconciliation can only blossom when there is sincerity and continuity in this delicate process of healing,'' Bartholomew wrote.
Bartholomew was responding to Benedict's May 29 pledge in the Adriatic port of Bari, home to the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra, a fourth-century saint popular among both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, that Christian unity would be a ''fundamental commitment'' of his new papacy.
On Thursday, Benedict affirmed that would be his ''primary task'' as pope, saying ''the commitment of the Catholic Church to the search for Christian unity is irreversible.''
Orthodox churches are largely autonomous, but Bartholomew is considered ''first among equals'' of the world's Orthodox patriarchs and directly controls several churches, including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Orthodox and Catholic churches have been split since 1054 in large part because of disagreements over the power of the pope.
Also complicating efforts toward reconciliation are painful historical memories, such as the 1204 sacking of Constantinople -- the historical center of Orthodox Christianity that is today's Istanbul -- by Catholic Crusaders. The city was captured by Muslim Turks in 1453.
In November, the Vatican returned the relics of two important Orthodox saints to Istanbul in a gesture aimed at healing those wounds.
But fundamental differences remain, such as the status of Eastern Rite churches, which follow many Orthodox traditions but remain loyal to the Vatican. Orthodox leaders have claimed the churches are part of expansionist attempts by Roman Catholics.
Reconciliation with the Orthodox was also a fundamental goal of the late Pope John Paul II, who was never able to fulfill his dream of traveling to Orthodox Russia.
''The pope's call is indeed a reflection and continuation of the reconciliatory works of his illustrious predecessors,'' Bartholomew said.
But he added reconciliation would require the churches to carefully examine differences in doctrine and mistakes of the past.
''Reconciliation is a process of repentance,'' Bartholomew said Thursday. ''If we are to move forward in a journey of reconciliation, then we must truthfully acknowledge the errors of the past. If we cannot yet stand united in the theological doctrines that divide us, we can at least kneel in earnest repentance over the disgraceful prejudices that were the cause of suffering in the past.''
He should does the same thing that he is saying