Chiesa: The Few Big Things That Francis and Kirill Didn’t Say To Each Other In Havana by Sandro Magister
Not only do the Orthodox not recognize the Catholic sacraments as valid, but they call into doubt whether the Church of Rome is a true Church. They accuse it of having corrupted the purity and integrity of the faith, of which they are the sole custodians. The analysis of an expert
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Catholic-Orthodox relations have been full of inconsistencies from the very beginning. For quite a time after 1054, Russian Orthodoxy was in communion with Rome AND Constantinople, even though these two sees were not in communion with each other. Until 17th century, a large part of Southern Italy was Byzantine and was often in communion with both. Jesuits wer quite often favourite confessors to Greeks in Cypress etc and often put themselves under the authority in pastoral things under the Greek bishops. Even now, in the Middle East, communicatio in sacris is normal among laity and many parish clergy. In Belarus and Ukraine, ordinary attitudes do not always reflect those of Russian commentators. One Orthodox parish priest in whose family boys are baptised Orthodox and girls Catholic, took a fellow Belmont monk round some of the churches of Minsk, and asked him to guess which were Orthodox and which were Uniate. In one, it had all the Orthodox trappings, but there was a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Of course, my confrere thought the church was uniate , but it is Orthodox In spite of th enormous anti-Catholic prejudice in some parts of Greece, in other areas, while the two churches are not in communion because of real differences, said a Greek Orthodox priest to me, the two churches recognise each other as sister churches and 'help each other out in emergencies". He, with permission from his bishop, celebrated Mass on several Sundays in a Jesuit parish, using the Missa Normativa: it was an emergency.
On the other hand, what Sandro Magister says in his article is also true, though it needs to be complemented by another side. He is anti- Pope Francis, and this shows in an unduly negative attitude. Certainly, there is much anti-Catholicism in Russia, part of their generally negative attitude towards the West. As one Belarus Orthodox deacon exclaimed to me, "Why is it that the Russians are so anti-Catholic when they don't know any Catholics: the least they know, the greater their dislike!!"
The truth of the matter is that both Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion know that closer relationships with Rome is a divisive issue that comes at a time when they need all the internal unity they can get to re-establish "Holy Russia". The at unityy seem to consider a premature real agreement between Greek and Catholic theologians, however well meant and prfound it may be, could onlt bring about another short-lived, disastrous attempt at unity. The basic requirement in that Catholics and Orthodox must love one another; in which case, they must know one another; therefore, let them work together in areas where there is no division. Hence the Pope - Patriarch meeting avoided controversy, and heralds more collaboration. One when we love one another will theological agreement work: hence, the joint stateme
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