How can unity be achieved between the Orthodox East and the Latin West? The Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue for North America has made a proposal for exactly this. It's a document that is only 5 pages long, yet it is a splendid summary of where we are in dialogue, East/West, and where we can go. It can be found on the web-site of the USCCB.
I am excited about the possibility of having dialogue on this topic in the near future, and I am excited about the prospects of taking significant steps to reunion, even if the final and perfect end is not in my own lifetime.
Prayer and study together, along with fellowship, are keys to eliminating the barriers that have no purpose in existence other than misunderstanding and prejudice. We can avoid what former Vatican ecumenical head Cardinal Cassidy called "the dialogue of the deaf"; we might actually, authentically listen to one another. Once those pseudo-barriers are gone, we can discuss properly the remaining issues of substance.
On every level this is good news. It is another step in the process begun in such earnest by Pope John Paul II in his ground-breaking encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint (1995). There is much hope for the future, thanks be to God!
I can't find it. Do you know the name of the document or even better the link?
ReplyDeleteFATHER, IT IS A GRAND MOMENT FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN MEETING AND COMMUNING FOR MANY A YEAR. IT SEEMS YOU CAN NOW MOVE ON, HOWEVER SLOWLY, TO ACTUALLY LISTENING TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT STIGMATIZING..
ReplyDeleteMAY THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTINUE TO MOVE AMONG YOU.
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-177.shtml
ReplyDeleteAbove is the link for the article I mentioned. I'm working on being able to imbed these links in my blog posts--patience, please: I'm almost there!