"This is especially true for us Christians, because for us the truth is the
person of Jesus Christ", observed the Pontiff. "The example of Saint Andrew,
who with another disciple accepted the invitation of the Divine Master, 'Come
and see', and 'stayed with him that day', shows us plainly that the Christian
life is a personal experience, a transforming encounter with the One who loves
us and who wants to save us. In addition, the Christian message is spread
thanks to men and women who are in love with Christ, and cannot help but pass
on the joy of being loved and saved. Here again, the example of the apostle
Andrew is instructive. After following Jesus to his home and spending time
with Him, Andrew 'first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have
found the Messiah" (meaning Christ). He brought him to Jesus'. It is clear,
therefore, that not even dialogue among Christians can prescind from this
logic of personal encounter".
 Therefore, "it is not by chance that the path of reconciliation and peace
between Catholics and Orthodox was, in some way, ushered in by an encounter,
by an embrace between our venerable predecessors, Ecumenical Patriarch
Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, which took place fifty years ago in Jerusalem.
Your Holiness and I wished to commemorate that moment when we met recently in
the same city where our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose.
 "By happy coincidence, my visit falls a few days after the fiftieth
anniversary of the promulgation of Unitatis Redintegratio, the Second Vatican
Council's Decree on Christian Unity. This is a fundamental document which
opened new avenues for encounter between Catholics and their brothers and
sisters of other Churches and ecclesial communities. In particular, in that
Decree the Catholic Church acknowledges that the Orthodox Churches 'possess
true sacraments, above all - by apostolic succession - the priesthood and the
Eucharist, whereby they are still joined to us in closest intimacy'. The
Decree goes on to state that in order to guard faithfully the fullness of the
Christian tradition and to bring to fulfilment the reconciliation of Eastern
and Western Christians, it is of the greatest importance to preserve and
support the rich patrimony of the Eastern Churches. This regards not only
their liturgical and spiritual traditions, but also their canonical
disciplines, sanctioned as they are by the Fathers and by Councils, which
regulate the lives of these Churches".
 The Pope emphasised the importance of reaffirming respect for this principle
"as an essential condition, accepted by both, for the restoration of full
communion, which does not signify the submission of one to the other, or
assimilation. Rather, it means welcoming all the gifts that God has given to
each, thus demonstrating to the entire world the great mystery of salvation
accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit. I want to assure each
one of you here that, to reach the desired goal of full unity, the Catholic
Church does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared
profession of faith. Further, I would add that we are ready to seek together,
in light of Scriptural teaching and the experience of the first millennium,
the ways in which we can guarantee the needed unity of the Church in the
present circumstances. The one thing that the Catholic Church desires, and
that I seek as Bishop of Rome, 'the Church which presides in charity', is
communion with the Orthodox Churches. Such communion will always be the fruit
of that love which 'has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to us', a fraternal love which expresses the spiritual and
transcendent bond which unites us as disciples of the Lord".
 In today's world, "voices are being raised which we cannot ignore and which
implore our Churches to live deeply our identity as disciples of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The first of these voices is that of the poor. In the world,
there are too many women and men who suffer from severe malnutrition, growing
unemployment, the rising numbers of unemployed youth, and from increasing
social exclusion. These can give rise to criminal activity and even the
recruitment of terrorists. We cannot remain indifferent before the cries of
our brothers and sisters. These ask of us not only material assistance -
needed in so many circumstances - but above all,our help to defend their
dignity as human persons, so that they can find the spiritual energy to become
once again protagonists in their own lives. They ask us to fight, in the light
of the Gospel, the structural causes of poverty: inequality, the shortage of
dignified work and housing, and the denial of their rights as members of
society and as workers. As Christians we are called together to eliminate that
globalisation of indifference which today seems to reign supreme, while
building a new civilisation of love and solidarity".
 A second plea, he said, "comes from the victims of the conflicts in so many
parts of our world. We hear this resoundingly here, because some neighbouring
countries are scarred by an inhumane and brutal war. I think in a particular
way of the numerous victims of the grotesque and senseless attack which
recently killed and injured so many Muslims who were praying in a Mosque in
Kano, Nigeria. Taking away the peace of a people, committing every act of
violence - or consenting to such acts - especially when directed against the
weakest and defenceless, is a profoundly grave sin against God, since it means
showing contempt for the image of God which is in man. The cry of the victims
of conflict urges us to move with haste along the path of reconciliation and
communion between Catholics and Orthodox. Indeed, how can we credibly proclaim
the Gospel of peace which comes from Christ, if there continues to be rivalry
and disagreement between us?"
 A third cry is that of young people. "Today, tragically, there are many young
men and women who live without hope, overcome by mistrust and resignation.
Many of the young, influenced by the prevailing culture, seek happiness solely
in possessing material things and in satisfying their fleeting emotions. New
generations will never be able to acquire true wisdom and keep hope alive
unless we are able to esteem and transmit the true humanism which comes from
the Gospel and from the Church's age-old experience. It is precisely the young
who today implore us to make progress towards full communion. I think for
example of the many Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant youth who come together
at meetings organised by the Taize community. They do this not because they
ignore the differences which still separate us, but because they are able to
see beyond them; they are able to embrace what is essential and what already
unites us.
 Pope Francis concluded by addressing Bartholomaios I: "We are already on the
way, on the path towards full communion and already we can experience eloquent
signs of an authentic, albeit incomplete union. This offers us reassurance and
encourages us to continue on this journey. We are certain that along this
journey we are helped by the intercession of the Apostle Andrew and his
brother Peter, held by tradition to be the founders of the Churches of
Constantinople and of Rome. We ask God for the great gift of full unity, and
the ability to accept it in our lives. Let us never forget to pray for one
another".

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 Joint declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomaios I: "We call on
all religious leaders to pursue and strengthen interreligious dialogue"
 Vatican City, 30 November 2014 (VIS) - Following the Divine Liturgy, Pope
Francis and Patriarch Bartholomaios I appeared on the balcony of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate and blessed the faithful gathered in the street.
Francis imparted the blessing in Latin, and Bartholomaios I in Greek. They
subsequently ascended to the Throne Room where they signed and read the
following joint Declaration:
 "We, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I,express our profound
gratitude to God for the gift of this new encounter enabling us,in the
presence of the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, to celebrate together the feast of Saint Andrew, the
first-called and brother of the Apostle Peter. Our remembrance of the
Apostles, who proclaimed the good news of the Gospel to the world through
their preaching and their witness of martyrdom, strengthens in us the
aspiration to continue to walk together in order to overcome, in love and in
truth, the obstacles that divide us.
 "On the occasion of our meeting in Jerusalem last May, in which we remembered
the historical embrace of our venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and the
Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, we signed a joint declaration. Today on the
happy occasion of this further fraternal encounter, we wish to re-affirm
together our shared intentions and concerns.
 "We express our sincere and firm resolution, in obedience to the will of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to intensify our efforts to promote the full unity of all
Christians, and above all between Catholics and Orthodox. As well, we intend
to support the theological dialogue promoted by the Joint International
Commission, instituted exactly thirty-five years ago by the Ecumenical
Patriarch Dimitrios and Pope John Paul II here at the Phanar, and which is
currently dealing with the most difficult questions that have marked the
history of our division and that require careful and detailed study. To this
end, we offer the assurance of our fervent prayer as Pastors of the Church,
asking our faithful to join us in praying 'that all may be one, that the world
may believe'.
 "We express our common concern for the current situation in Iraq, Syria and
the whole Middle East. We are united in the desire for peace and stability and
in the will to promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue and
reconciliation. While recognising the efforts already being made to offer
assistance to the region, at the same time, we call on all those who bear
responsibility for the destiny of peoples to deepen their commitment to
suffering communities, and to enable them, including the Christian ones, to
remain in their native land. We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East
without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two
thousand years. Many of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted and have
been forced violently from their homes. It even seems that the value of human
life has been lost, that the human person no longer matters and may be
sacrificed to other interests. And, tragically, all this is met by the
indifference of many. As Saint Paul reminds us, 'If one member suffers, all
suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together'. This is the
law of the Christian life, and in this sense we can say that there is also an
ecumenism of suffering. Just as the blood of the martyrs was a seed of
strength and fertility for the Church, so too the sharing of daily sufferings
can become an effective instrument of unity. The terrible situation of
Christians and all those who are suffering in the Middle East calls not only
for our constant prayer, but also for an appropriate response on the part of
the international community.
 "The grave challenges facing the world in the present situation require the
solidarity of all people of good will, and so we also recognise the importance
of promoting a constructive dialogue with Islam based on mutual respect and
friendship. Inspired by common values and strengthened by genuine fraternal
sentiments, Muslims and Christians are called to work together for the sake of
justice, peace and respect for the dignity and rights of every person,
especially in those regions where they once lived for centuries in peaceful
coexistence and now tragically suffer together the horrors of war. Moreover,
as Christian leaders, we call on all religious leaders to pursue and to
strengthen interreligious dialogue and to make every effort to build a culture
of peace and solidarity between persons and between peoples. We also remember
all the people who experience the sufferings of war. In particular, we pray
for peace in Ukraine, a country of ancient Christian tradition, while we call
upon all parties involved to pursue the path of dialogue and of respect for
international law in order to bring an end to the conflict and allow all
Ukrainians to live in harmony.
 "Our thoughts turn to all the faithful of our Churches throughout the world,
whom we greet, entrusting them to Christ our Saviour, that they may be
untiring witnesses to the love of God. We raise our fervent prayer that the
Lord may grant the gift of peace in love and unity to the entire human family.
 "'May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you'".
 After the signing of the Declaration, the Pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch and
various members of the respective delegations lunched together on the third
floor of the Phanar.

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