Catholic News Service
May 9 2008
Pope tells Armenian Orthodox God can work miracle of Christian unity
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God can work miracles, including the miracle of
Christian unity, Pope Benedict XVI told the Armenian Orthodox
patriarch and 18 bishops.
"If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can
work miracles again in the church, restoring the bonds of unity," the
pope said May 9 during a prayer service with Catholicos Karekin II,
patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Catholicos Karekin was visiting the Vatican along with Armenian
Orthodox bishops from Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Turkey,
Egypt, Syria, the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Italy and
Germany.
Some 100 Armenian pilgrims from around the world joined Pope Benedict
and the Armenian bishops for the midday prayer service in the
Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace; afterward, the patriarch
joined the pope for lunch.
Speaking during the prayer service, Pope Benedict looked toward the
May 11 celebration of Pentecost, saying, "We will pray earnestly to
the Father, asking him to send his Holy Spirit, the Spirit whose task
it is to maintain us in divine love and lead us into all truth."
The pope said that while the path to restoring Christian unity appears
long and difficult and there are "deep and painful divisions" still
needing to be healed the Holy Spirit can unite people as occurred on
the first Pentecost.
The Spirit "can open doors that are locked, inspire words that have
been forgotten, heal relations that are broken," he said.
Pope Benedict prayed that the work of the international
Catholic-Oriental Orthodox theological dialogue "will bring us closer
to full and visible communion and that the day will come when our
unity in faith makes possible a common celebration of the Eucharist."
The Armenian Apostolic Church is an Oriental Orthodox church.
The pope also praised the Armenian Orthodox for the "remarkable
pastoral results that have been achieved" since the breakup of the
Soviet Union.
Catholicos Karekin raised political questions that the pope did
not. He said the people of Armenia are suffering from the results of
an embargo imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey related to ongoing
tensions in the region, specifically the independence efforts by
ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan.
Turning to the importance of ecumenical relations, Catholicos Karekin
said, "Faithful to the holy church fathers and their legacy, despite
our differences and unique characteristics, we shall place greater
importance on that which unites us."
While theological differences remain, he said, Christians have an
obligation to work together because "many environmental, social,
political, economic and moral issues urgently need attention."
"True respect for life and man and love for God is diminishing," he
said. "Only through inclusive cooperation shall we be able to better
serve the establishment of peace in the world and to better defend
human rights and the rights of nations, families and those classes of
society which are at risk," he said.
Speaking to reporters after his lunch with the pope, Catholicos
Karekin said his visit was a further example of "that warm atmosphere
of love and respect" that exists between Catholics and Armenian
Orthodox.
The warm relations, he said, are found not simply between church
leaders, "but also among the communities, parishes and dioceses
throughout the world."
Archbishop Avak Asadourian, primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in Iraq, was asked about the situation of the faithful in his
violence-torn country.
"When we speak of Iraq today and the severe difficulties Iraqis face,
we do not want to differentiate between the different religions
because the plight is common to all. Terrorism or bullets do not
differentiate between religions," the archbishop said. "The
difficulties are the same for everyone across the board."
END