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The Editor: Pan. Drakopoulos



21 November 2005          click for your free subscription



NEWS 

Pope Invites Archbishop Christodoulos to Rome

Papal Message on Progress in Ties With Greek Orthodox

Paris RCatholic Archbishop Reflects on France's Violence

Separation of Church and State not an Issue

3 Hills are the Bedrock of Europe: Golgotha, Areopagus, and Capitolium



NEWS 

Pope Invites Archbishop Christodoulos to Rome

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has invited Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, to visit Rome as a sign of the "new stage" in ecumenical dialogue. The Pope's invitation was extended Nov. 16 in Athens, Greece, where Catholic and Orthodox officials presented a jointly published facsimile of a Byzantine manuscript held by the Vatican Library. In a message presented to the Orthodox leaders by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican Library, the Pope recalled Pope John Paul II's historic 2001 visit to Athens, where he was hosted by the Orthodox Church. Pope Benedict said it would be a joy for him to welcome Archbishop Christodoulos to Rome "in order to signify together that a new stage has been entered on the path of reconciliation and cooperation."

see the Archbishop Christodoulos’s address on the Church and the Roots of Europe.

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Papal Message on Progress in Ties With Greek Orthodox
Notes the Publication of "Menologion of Basil II"


Here is the message Benedict XVI sent to Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, on the occasion of the publication of the "Menologion of Basil II." The Vatican Library collaborated with the Greek Orthodox Church on the project.

* * *

Lord Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church

I received with interest the news of the collaboration that has been created between the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Orthodox Church of Greece on the occasion of the publication of the "Menologion of Basil II," the manuscript of which is kept in the Vatican Apostolic Library, and I express my gratitude for the good development of the different stages of this project.

Given that you are going to attend the meeting in Athens on the occasion of the first official presentation of the manuscript's facsimile, I request that you express to His Beatitude Christodoulos, archbishop of Athens and of All Greece, my cordial and fraternal sentiments and my full satisfaction for this important achievement, fruit of the new relations that have been interwoven after the unforgettable visit of my venerated predecessor, His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Athens, on the occasion of his jubilee pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul. It makes me profoundly happy to see that an ever more active cooperation is developing between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Greece.

With this motive, I ask you to transmit to His Beatitude Christodoulos the joy it would give me to welcome him in Rome to manifest together that a new stage has been reached in the path of reconciliation and cooperation. Attest to my heartfelt desire to develop with ever more intensity relations of trust and fraternity between us to work together in the numerous challenges of evangelization: In particular, we can with greater strength help European nations to reaffirm their Christian roots to again find the sap that nourishes and fertilizes the future itself for the good of persons and of the whole of society. It will be a way of proclaiming together the Good News of Christ to the contemporary world, which so needs it. In this way, we will respond ever more to the ardent desire expressed by the Lord himself: "That they be one!" (cf. John 17:21), until the day in which, when God wills and under the attentive guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to celebrate the full regained communion.

I request at the same time that you greet cordially in my name the members of the Sacred Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece, as well as my brother bishops of the Catholic Church, His Excellency, the Lord President of the Republic of Greece, and the other authorities gathered in this circumstance.

With these sentiments of trust and hope, I wish you full success in your mission. Invoking on your person the loving intercession of the Mother of God, I impart, Lord Cardinal, a particular and affectionate apostolic blessing.

Vatican, October 27, 2005
BENEDICTUS PP.XVI

[Original text in French; translation by ZENIT]

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Paris RCatholic Archbishop Reflects on France's Violence
Sees Need for New Ways to Mediate Problems


RCatholic Archbishop André Vingt-Trois of Paris believes that French society must find "new mediations" in order to address the recent wave of violence that has swept the country.

"We are not faced with reproachable deeds of a category of people; there are no representatives of these groups with whom we can sit down to discuss the situation," said the archbishop when addressing the International Congress for New Evangelization, which closed in Lisbon on Sunday.

Thus it is necessary "to promote mediations," he said.

This objective "is not the task of the police," but of the intermediary entities, such as churches, associations and social works, contended Archbishop Vingt-Trois, 63.

"If we find ourselves obliged to impose a curfew so that our children are not out on the street at night, it means that there are those who do not do their job well," he continued.

Source: Zenit.org.

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Separation of Church and State not an Issue

The Government has not decided to pose an issue of separating the State and the Church, stressed speaking in Parliament the minister of Education and Religious Affairs mrs Marietta Giannakou (photo).

Speaking at a ceremony where the high medal of the Church was awarded to clergymen and private citizens, Archbishop Christodoulos noted that the roles of the Church and the State are set and that those issues have been resolved for some time now, while new solutions, which border on prejudice, will not be accepted.

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3 Hills are the Bedrock of Europe: Golgotha, Areopagus, and Capitolium

Josef Homeyer, the president of the Commission of Bishop’s Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) visited some of the new members of the European Union, among them Hungary. At the end of his stay he gave an interview to “Magyar Kurír”. The paper asked him on his experiences about Christian Europe, and the Hungarian church. Here is the extract on Christian Europe:

What is your opinion about “Christian Europe”? Will Christianity be able to influence the future of our common Europe?

Bishop Josef Homeyer: The most important chance for this is the message of Christ. Our continent’s historical past is resting on three base pillars: the Capitolium in Rome, the Areopagus in Athens and the Golgotha in Jerusalem. The conditions of our history are at the same time the conditions of our existence, therefore the future of Europe cannot be shaped without Christianity. I consider regretful that the European constitution only refers to a religious heritage: it should have been more appropriate to mention a Jewish-Christian heritage.

Independently of this, it is a fact that besides Roman thinking and Greek spirit Christianity played an immense role in European civilisation. Despite some breaks throughout the history of Christianity, we always have been able to return to the core: the message of Jesus Christ, and we constantly strive to do it. No matter how high the level of technological or scientific development will be, it is never going to be able to give people the hope they need.

Also today, Christianity is able to have an inspiring effect on the identical development of Europe. I am convinced that only Christian values can guarantee the cohesion of the new Europe.

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