Vatican City, Jul 4, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Speaking of the recent visit to Rome of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I as he addressed the crowds of faithful who gathered in St. Peter's Square today to pray the noon Angelus, he said that Catholics and Orthodox are called to remind Europe of it’s Christian roots.
On the patriarch's visit, the Pope remarked that “we signed a Common Declaration which confirms and restarts the commitment by Catholics and Orthodox in the service of the great cause of full communion of Christians.”
Despite persistent obstacles, he added, “we affirmed the will to pursue and even intensify the ecumenical dialogue. ... In the course of our meetings, the awareness emerged that Catholics and Orthodox are called to work together to see to it that the European continent does not forget its own Christian roots.”
“Only in this way will Europe fully undertake its role in the dialogue among civilizations and in the global promotion of justice, solidarity and the safeguarding of creation,” the Pope concluded.