Churches’ differences remain
Although the Catholic and Orthodox Churches agree on key contemporary issues, the two remain divided in serious ways, the Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘foreign minister’ has said.
“Despite the understanding reached on many vital problems of modernity,” Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said in an interview, “profound differences remain between Orthodox and Catholic Christians, in particular in their views on our common history full of tragic events.”
The metropolitan’s comments came in the aftermath of February 12’s historic meeting in Cuba of Pope Francis and Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill, in which the two leaders signed a joint statement highlighting shared concerns about such issues as the persecution of Christians, abortion, and attempts to redefine marriage.
Among the issues dividing the Churches, the metropolitan singled out the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church as a major stumbling block for ecumenical relations.“This block again and again ruins attempts to establish dialogue, to bolster mutual understanding and to bring our positions together,” he said.
Vatican to assess saint’s cause
The sainthood cause of Argentina’s Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio, organiser of the first World Youth Days, has been forwarded to the Vatican.
The diocesan phase of the canonisation process ended on March 11, with the cause now in the hands of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Appointed a bishop in 1964, the eventual Cardinal Pironio served as secretary general and then president of CELAM, the Latin American bishops’ council, between 1968 and 1975. In 1976 Blessed Paul VI appointed him prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, St John Paul II naming him president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1984. He was a close friend to Pope Francis when the future Pope was Argentina’s Jesuit provincial.
Christian refugees in Germany ‘need protection’
The international charity Open Doors has called for better protection for Christian refugees in Germany after Church officials reported on widespread abuse in Muslim-dominated camps and reception centres.
Explaining that the Netherlands-based charity is compiling a report based on accounts of Christians being mistreated, Open Doors spokesperson Rachel Marsuk said “we’ve had questionnaires returned detailing how Christian refugees have been psychologically abused, physically mistreated and denied food,” continuing, “the scale of this problem has been covered up or played down”. Germany accepted 1.1 million refugees from the Middle East and Africa last year, granting 476,000 asylum requests. Newspapers in Germany have reported rapes, beatings and robberies in the country’s refugee centres, as well as abusive taunts against Christianity, with the worst abuses having been reported in Berlin and other cities, Ms Marsuk said.
“It’s essential churches help address this problem, especially since many Christian refugees are too scared to speak out,” she said, criticising how local politicians “don’t see how religious differences have fuelled tensions and led to persecution”.
