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Pope asks Greek Orthodox leader to visit Rome
Athens, Nov. 17 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has asked Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens to visit him in Rome.
Athens, Nov. 17 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has asked Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens to visit him in Rome.
The Pope's invitation was conveyed to the Orthodox leader by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican archivist. Archbishop Christodoulos did not immediately respond, telling reporters that he would wait to receive an official invitation.
In his instructions to Cardinal Tauran, which were released by the Vatican press office on November 17, Pope Benedict expressed his satisfaction with the "ever more active cooperation between the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church." He asked the cardinal to tell Archbishop Christodoulos "that it would be a joy for me to welcome him in Rome."
Cardinal Tauran was in Athens for the presentation of a manuscript dating from the year 985, which is to be jointly published by the Vatican and the Byzantine Library of Athens. The work is an account of the lives of the saints on the Byzantine liturgical calendar.
A visit to Rome by Archbishop Christodoulos would be a significant step forward in relations between the Vatican and the Greek Orthodox Church. Last year the Greek prelate had planned to visit the Vatican, but decided against the trip because of opposition from other Greek Orthodox leaders. He did, however, travel to Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
The visit to Greece by Pope John Paul II in 2001 was a watershed point in relations with the Orthodox world. The Pope made that trip only after easing the anti-Roman suspicions of many Orthodox bishops, who had earlier opposed a visit by the Roman Pontiff. Pope John Paul further eased those suspicions with his public apology for the participation of Catholics in the sack of Constantinople.
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