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#288280 - 05/08/08 09:07 AM
Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
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Philippe Gebara
Member
Registered: 05/14/06
Posts: 323
Loc: Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brazil
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HOLY FATHER PRAISES VITALITY OF THE MELKITE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 8 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received 300 members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate, headed by His Beatitude, Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, who are on pilgrimage to Rome.
The Pope praised "the vitality of the Melkite Church, despite the difficulties of the region's social and political situation", affirming that "on drawing near to the beginning of the year dedicated to St. Paul, I cannot forget that the seat of your patriarchy is established in the city of Damascus, on the road to which the apostle lived the event that transformed his existence and opened the doors of Christianity to all the nations".
The Holy Father used the occasion of the Pauline Year to invite the patriarch to carry out "an intense pastoral outreach" to awaken in the faithful "a new impetus to know ever more closely the person of Christ, thanks to a renewed reading of Paul's writings". This focus," he emphasized, "will also guarantee a thriving future for the Melkite Church".
"In order to ensure the evangelical dynamism and unity of the communities, as well as the proper functioning of the ecclesial work in the patriarchal Churches," Benedict XVI observed, "the role of the Bishops' Synod is of primary importance. That is why it is necessary, every time the right allows for it, above all when it has to do with questions related to those same bishops, to give this venerable institution and not only the Permanent Synod, the standing it merits".
Referring to ecumenical outreach, the Pope recalled that "the commitment to the search for unity of all Jesus' disciples is an urgent obligation" and therefore "everything possible must be done to tear down the walls of division and mistrust that prevent us from achieving it. Nevertheless, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the search for unity is a task that concerns not only a particular Church but the entire Church, in respect of its nature".
"I also appreciate," he added, "your good relations with the Muslims (.) as well as your efforts to resolve, with a sincere and objective spirit of fraternal dialogue, problems that may arise. (.) In line with Vatican Council II, the Melkite Church has sincerely sought mutual understanding and the promotion and a shared defense of social justice, moral values, peace, and freedom with the Muslims to the benefit of all".
On achieving its mission in the troubled and at times dramatic context of the Middle East," he concluded, "the Church finds itself faced with situations where politics plays a role that is not indifferent to its life. That is why it is important to maintain contacts with the political authorities and institutions and the different political parties. Nevertheless, it does not fall to the clergy to dedicate themselves to a political life. That is the duty of the laity. The Church, however, should propose the light of the Gospel to all so that all may dedicate themselves to serve the common good and so that justice may always prevail, so that the path to peace for all peoples in this much loved region may be opened".
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/d1_en.htm
Entire discourse in French: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/22101.php?index=22101&lang=po
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#288293 - 05/08/08 10:40 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Philippe Gebara]
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asianpilgrim
Member
Registered: 05/10/07
Posts: 258
Loc: Philippines
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"Referring to ecumenical outreach, the Pope recalled that "the commitment to the search for unity of all Jesus' disciples is an urgent obligation" and therefore "everything possible must be done to tear down the walls of division and mistrust that prevent us from achieving it. Nevertheless, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the search for unity is a task that concerns not only a particular Church but the entire Church, in respect of its nature'."
An obvious reference to the Zoghby initiative.
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#288305 - 05/08/08 12:20 PM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: asianpilgrim]
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Philippe Gebara
Member
Registered: 05/14/06
Posts: 323
Loc: Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brazil
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#288344 - 05/08/08 09:38 PM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: JLF]
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Philippe Gebara
Member
Registered: 05/14/06
Posts: 323
Loc: Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brazil
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Very good, Jack! Thanks for sharing.
But I didn't understand what you said about the video cameras. Did someone recorded in video the celebration? Where can we see?
* * *
A photo of the meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch:
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_quo/text.html#3
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#288353 - 05/09/08 01:50 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Philippe Gebara]
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JLF
Member
Registered: 08/25/07
Posts: 49
Loc: Fairfax, VA, USA
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Philippe,
There was one "news" video camera in the audience for the two speeches. Then I had three cameras of my own that recorded the entire Divine Liturgy. I will edit the three views into a single program and make it avaialble through our OLTV website: http://www.oltvweb.com sometime in the future. I will also produce DVDs that persons can purchase. There was also a fourth camera that recorded for the Patriarchate, and I have asked for a copy of that view (which was more mobile than I was) so I can merge all four into a very nice finished production. But it might take me a few weeks to complete the edit. I will be doing it myself and I have three Orientale Lumen Conferences to host starting in mid June, and many details have to be finalized between now and then.
Jack
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#288355 - 05/09/08 02:32 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Philippe Gebara]
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Edmac
Member
Registered: 10/21/07
Posts: 260
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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Pope Benedict's interest in and concern for the Eastern Christian
Churches have been made very obvious these last couple of days
with the visit of Catholicos Karekin II and his entourage and now
with this interaction with the Melkites. On the one hand we
have a major encounter with leaders of an Eastern Church
with which the re-establishment of communion in the foreseeable
future seems really possible, and on the other, a very clear
endorsement of the Zogby initiative, no ifs, ands or buts.
This is radical; the equivalent of Admiral Farragut's
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" and from the Pope himself, no less.
God be praised for this man.
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#288378 - 05/09/08 10:29 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Philippe Gebara]
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Amadeus
Member
Registered: 01/30/02
Posts: 3890
Loc: Chicago
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Thanks for the link. (I still can't locate Patriarch Gregory of th Melkites.)
Your link also shows the Armenian Catholicos with the Pope.
Edited by Amadeus (05/09/08 10:35 AM)
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#288380 - 05/09/08 10:48 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Amadeus]
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Philippe Gebara
Member
Registered: 05/14/06
Posts: 323
Loc: Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brazil
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Ah, I understood. I'll wait very anxiously for your editing, Jack!
Amadeus, you can see the photo in the following link I created (the Vatican Journal has already modified its webpage):
http://br.geocities.com/phik_lippe/papapatriarca.jpg
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#288382 - 05/09/08 11:40 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Philippe Gebara]
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Philippe Gebara
Member
Registered: 05/14/06
Posts: 323
Loc: Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brazil
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- Address of His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (strangely, the English version has more things than the French original one!):
http://www.pgc-lb.org/english/News2_Visite_Rome_English.html
- Gifts offered by H.B. to H.H. (translated by myself):
1. Icon representing St. Benedict of Nurse and St. Gregory Nazianzen in an interceding position, around the All Holy Theotokos with your Divine Son in a throne; work of iconography damascene of Georges Abboud Haskour (2005).
2. Fabric of brocade damascene to make liturgical ornaments.
3. Box-mosaic (marqueterie) damascene, according to the craft tradition introduced by Georges Bitar, called the "Father of the Poor", who has served of his technique to give work to poor families (he died in odour of holiness in 1935).
4. Priestly stole, made by the Religious of Our Lady of Good Service in their St. Joseph Convent in Damascus.
5. Souvenir in mother of pearl of the the Holy Land.
6. Eastern pastoral bat, offered by the Workshop Arabesk, Church's needs and Churches, of our faithful Georges Kakach.
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#288466 - 05/10/08 11:25 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: Edmac]
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asianpilgrim
Member
Registered: 05/10/07
Posts: 258
Loc: Philippines
|
Pope Benedict's interest in and concern for the Eastern Christian
Churches have been made very obvious these last couple of days
with the visit of Catholicos Karekin II and his entourage and now
with this interaction with the Melkites. On the one hand we
have a major encounter with leaders of an Eastern Church
with which the re-establishment of communion in the foreseeable
future seems really possible, and on the other, a very clear
endorsement of the Zogby initiative, no ifs, ands or buts.
This is radical; the equivalent of Admiral Farragut's
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" and from the Pope himself, no less.
God be praised for this man.
Far from being an endorsement of the Zoghby Initiative, the Pope's words are a renewed (if polite) rejection of it.
The Pope's statement:
"everything possible must be done to tear down the walls of division and mistrust that prevent us from achieving it. Nevertheless, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the search for unity is a task that concerns not only a particular Church but the entire Church, in respect of its nature'."
is reminiscencent of the 1997 letter in which the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger warned the Melkite Synod (in the most polite but firm manner possible) to slow down its drive to establish communion with the Antiochian Orthodox:
http://www.ratzinger.it/documenti/BeatitudeMaximos.htm
especially the following passages from the said letter:
A second level of involvement necessitates that the sharing of the content of the dialogue not be limited only to the two direct participants: the Patriarchates of the Catholic Greek-Melkites and the Orthodox of Antioch, but that it involve the Confessions with whom the two Patriarchates are in full communion: the Catholic communion for the former and the Orthodox for the latter...
As to the modalities for exercising the Petrine ministry in our time, a question which is distinct from the doctrinal aspect, it is true that the Holy Father has recently desired to remind us how "we may seek--together, of course--the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned" (Ut unum sint, 95); however, if it is legitimate to also deal with this on a local level, it is also a duty to do this always in harmony with a vision of the universal Church...
In summary, the fraternal dialogue undertaken by the Greek-Melkite Catholic Partriarchate will be better able to serve the ecumenical dialogue to the degree that it strives to involve the entire Catholic Church to which it belongs in the maturing of new sensitivities. There is good reason to believe that the Orthodox in general so share the same worry, due also to the obligations of communion within their own body.
Since the Pope's most recent comments echo this letter, it also bears observing that the same letter insisted that all Eastern Christians must accept the doctrine of Papal Primacy as enunciated by Vatican I and II.
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#288467 - 05/10/08 11:26 AM
Re: Holy Father praises vitalitty of the Melkite Church
[Re: asianpilgrim]
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asianpilgrim
Member
Registered: 05/10/07
Posts: 258
Loc: Philippines
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"is reminiscencent of the 1997 letter..."
I should have said "reminiscent"
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