Mexican bishops pleased with visit by Orthodox patriarch

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 9, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The bishops of Mexico have expressed satisfaction over their meeting with the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, who visited the country this week, and said they hoped the encounter would lead to greater unity among Christians in Mexico.

Bartholomew I met for almost an hour with some 20 bishops, led by the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Mexico, Bishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago, and the Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico, Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello.

After the meeting, Bishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference, said it was emotional and historical “because it helps the bishops of Mexico to be more conscious of the efforts for unity that have been taking place and the difficulties that have been encountered along the way.”

He called the “very positive attitude” of the Patriarch an indication of the Orthodox Church’s desire to take concrete steps toward unity and said he was impressed by the Patriarch’s clear and direct comments regarding the need for unity in the Church.