Browsing: Catholic Church
Participants at the fifth European Catholic-Orthodox Forum, held in Paris on January 9-12.
Source: Acton Institute by REV. BEN JOHNSON Leaders from the world’s two largest churches say that Christians in the West are facing “unprecedented” hurdles to living out their vocation according to their conscience. A statement from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians says that as traditional Western culture – liberally influenced by Christianity – is replaced with relativistic secularism and radicalized Islam, Christians are facing new barriers to entering whole sectors of the workplace, as well as other forms of hard and soft persecution. A misunderstanding of human dignity, they say, lies at the heart of it all. “In the…
Source: St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary [SVOTS Communications / Yonkers, NY] On Monday, January 23, 2017, at 7 p.m., St. Vladimir’s Seminary will co-sponsor an “Orthodox-Catholic Prayer for Unity and Life” event at the Parish of St. John Nepomucene and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 411 East 66th Street, New York, NY. Other sponsors include the host parish and the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Sienna. An Orthodox Christian service, the “Akathist for the Unborn,” and a Roman Catholic service, the “Divine Mercy Chaplet,” will be held during the evening. His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA),…
Source: America – The National Catholic Review A special web round-table discussion sponsored by America Media and the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture. The current Vatican commission exploring the possibility of women deacons has raised a number of questions about their role in the church. As ordained ministers who are neither priests nor lay people, the actual role of deacons in the parishes where they minister remains unclear to many Catholics. What are deacons, and how has their role changed over history? Could women deacons revolutionize pastoral ministry and transform the church? How can the diaconate better meet the…
Source: Rome Reports The document signed in September by Orthodox and Catholics is not final,but it is an important step towards unity between the Churches. It establishes the framework for dialogue in two crucial aspects: the meaning of papal primacy, and the way of carrying out the synod; the assembly of bishops. MSGR. ANDREA PALMIERI Pontifical Council for Christian Unity “The primacy is possibly the trickiest subject in the historical dispute between Orthodox and Catholics, who have been separated for 1,000 years. That is why it was decided that we study together the first millennium, when Eastern Christians and Western…
Source: Christian Today Mark Woods – Christian Today Contributing Editor Is the thousand-year-old breach between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches a little closer to being mended? Given the history of suspicion, hostility, political game-playing and theological intransigence that has marked the process so far, it seems unlikely. But after a significant meeting between theologians from the two sides, there are signs that change is in the wind. The 14th Plenary Session of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church met in Chieti, Italy, and has just completed its work. What’s significant is…
Source: Christian Today Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR The Roman Catholic Church took the first tentative steps towards women’s ordination today when Pope Francis announced a new commission to look at the possibility of women deacons. However, there are concerns among campaigners for women priests in the Catholic Church that women deacons will be ordained in an attempt to fob them off from expecting any further moves towards equality. In an indication that the Pope is serious about moving forward on this issue, half of the commission’s members are themselves women, all highly regarded as intellectuals and academics from…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America The Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops met on May 22-24, 2016 at the Saint Methodios Faith and Heritage Center in Contoocook, NH. The Joint Committee was established in 1981 by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America, now the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States, and by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Joint Committee is the first formal gathering of Orthodox and Catholic bishops blessed and supported by both churches, and is co-chaired by His Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley…
Source: Catholic News Service BY SEAN GALLAGHER Catholic News Service INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — The U.S. archbishop who is co-chair of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation and an archdeacon who helps lead Orthodox ecumenical efforts in the United States watched with interest as Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill met in Cuba Feb. 12. Both of them — Catholic Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis and Orthodox Archdeacon John Chryssavgis — saw significance in the historic Havana meeting of pope and patriarch. They shared their observations with The Criterion, the newspaper of the Indianapolis Archdiocese. Archdeacon Chryssavgis, an Australian-born…
Source: Crux High-ranking US Jesuit: Married priests would be healthy for the Church By Michael O’Loughlin National reporter A high-ranking US Jesuit says he wouldn’t be surprised if Pope Francis ushers in an era of married priests in the Roman Catholic Church, and says having the conversation would be “healthy” for the Church. “I used to say, ‘Well, it will change but probably not in my lifetime.’ And then Pope Francis came along, and what I see him doing is opening the avenues for discussion,” the Rev. Michael Garanzini, chancellor of Loyola University Chicago and the secretary for higher education…
Source: Vestnik Kavkaza Not long ago, Pope Francis called on Catholics to participate in politics, calling it “one of the highest forms of love, as its aim is taking care of the global welfare.” According to katolik.ru, the Pope also stressed that participation in politics was a kind of martyrdom, as it demanded faithfulness to the ideal of the global welfare and bearing a heavy cross of disappointments and sins. “Can a Catholic be involved in politics? Of course, he should do it. Should a Catholic interfere in politics? He should do it!” the Pope believes. The Russian Orthodox Church…
Source: First Things by David Gelernter Not for many generations has the Church amassed as much prestige as it has under John Paul II and his successors. They underline (or have so far) the formidable quality of church leadership. Since John Paul II’s elevation in 1978, no nation on earth has been led better. That prestige ought to be used in an important cause, and one where it will matter. There is a desperate cause right under the pope’s nose. What is he doing in the Philippines and South America at a moment when, throughout Europe, Christianity is dying?… Read…