Christian Unity and the East-West Divide (Part 1)

To avoid an East-West conflict it is necessary for all Christians to unite, says the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In this interview with ZENIT, Bishop Brian Farrell, who represented the Holy See at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Brazil, addresses the topic of ecumenism…Q: The present work of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is focused on promoting union with the Orthodox churches. What is still lacking to achieve this unity? Bishop Farrell: There are serious difficulties, the result of 1,000 years of division. One thousand years is a long time. And, over the course of the last thousand years, the East and the West have developed differently, with different perceptions and with different doctrinal formulations. All these things must be examined as a whole, to show that the differences are few, and what divides us today is almost a psychological perception -- I would say -- cultural, more than a profound theological reason. However, we do have one specific problem. I am not saying that it is difficult, but it will require an enormous effort on both sides. I am referring to the way of exercising the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. In a certain sense, the Orthodox could recognize him, but the way in which the primacy of Peter has been exercised in the West is not exactly the same as it was exercised in the East during the first millennium. That is why a way must be found. In his encyclical "Ut Unum Sint," number 95, Pope John Paul II invites Orthodox churches, Catholic theologians and all in general to think of the way in which this primacy may be exercised in an acceptable manner for them, in the service of unity and love…

From ZENIT News Agency (Vatican) (dated March 5, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends March 7, 2006 (EU/RE)