Free Congress Foundation's Notable News Now Excerpts from FCF Programming and Other FCF Projects May 11, 2001 The Free Congress Commentary Pope John Paul II Still Trying to Unite Greek and Latin Churches by Nicholas Sanchez Despite the fact that his health betrays the fact that he is now in the closing days of his pontificate, His Holiness John Paul II seems committed to pushing forward with his dream of a united Christiandom. His recent trip to Greece, Syria and Malta allowed him to make an attempt to reunite the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches (the two largest bodies of Christians in the world) after nearly a thousand years of separation. However, as it has been every time the pope has made moves to reconcile these two bodies, the results of his most recent efforts are decidedly mixed and do not seem to offer any real hope for reunion anytime soon. To show the hard feelings that still linger between the Latin and Greek Churches, many faithful of the Orthodox Christian Church in Greece -- including many monks -- took to the streets to protest his visit. It was reported that some of the more enthusiastic protesters labeled the Pope an "arch-heretic". And before his arrival, the monks of Mount Athos -- an island made up of various Orthodox monasteries often called "the Holy Mountain" -- held all-night vigils of prayer against the pope's impending visit. However, Archbishop Christodoulos, the reigning hierarch of Greece, allowed the visit to occur...and the Pope was able to make his pilgrimage, which he billed as an attempt to re-trace the steps of St. Paul. (St. Paul the Apostle, of course, is the Jewish convert to Christianity who converted on the road to Damascus. After his conversion, he spread the Gospel in Athens, among other places, and later went on to Rome and martyrdom.) While in Greece, the pope was met by Christodoulos and made an official apology to him and all Orthodox Christians for the Roman Church's sack of Constantinople during the time of the Crusades. Up until the Second Vatican Council, Catholics were commonly taught that the Crusades were one of the most glorious epochs in Church history. However, as more than one Orthodox commentator has made note of, the problems that exist between Orthodoxy and Catholicism cannot be attributed solely to historical mistakes. There are theological questions that have not been settled between the East and West. And there are also political questions that right now make re-approachment difficult right now. For instance, after visiting Greece, His Holiness made his way to Syria. While there he went to the Omayyad Mosque -- becoming the first Roman Pontiff to ever enter a Muslim mosque. He also became the first Successor to St. Peter to ever pray in such a temple. And this was not just any mosque either. The Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria is built over the ground where the head of St. John the Baptist, tradition holds, is laid. While the pope's visiting a mosque raised eyebrows among conservative and traditionalist Catholics, it certainly did not do anything to strengthen relations with the Orthodox, with whom he had just previously met with. The majority of Orthodox Christians live in the Middle East and in the Slavic lands. These are countries where the large majority of the people are either Eastern Orthodox or Muslim. And anyone who has picked up a newspaper in the last couple of years should well realize that the relationship between the Orthodox and Muslims has not been particularly good lately. Whether it has been the war in Kosovo against Serbia or the Chechnyian rebels and their campaign against Russia, ancient rivalries are running strong today. Naturally many Orthodox will be offended by the Pope running from them to the arms of the Muslims; almost as if to say that the Orthodox and Muslims are held in the same regard by the See of Rome. This leads one to wonder why a politically savvy a pope as John Paul would pay special homage to the shrine of a religion that even one of his own Cardinals has called the "enemy of Christianity"? This is especially confusing when you consider that this Pope has said from the very beginning of his pontificate that he wished to see an end to the schism between East and West. There is no doubt that Pope John Paul II is a holy man. There is no doubt that he will and should be remembered by Catholics and non-Catholics alike as one of the great opponents against the pernicious Communist state. And there is certainly no doubt that he has outstretched his arms to the Orthodox Christians. However, the one question mark that will loom large after he has passed from this life is how much he actually did for relations between the Catholics and the Orthodox ... whether he was an agent of reconciliation or an overreaching ecumenist. Nicholas Sanchez is the Free Congress Foundation's Director of Development. For media inquiries, contact Notra Trulock 202.546.3000 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] For other questions or comments, contact Angie Wheeler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit our website at http://www.FreeCongress.org This publication is a service of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (FCF) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Free Congress Foundation nor is it an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill. Free Congress Foundation * 717 Second Street, NE * Washington, DC 20002 * 202.546.3000 * Fax: 202.544.2819 Project Manager: Angela Wheeler * Copyright * 2001 Free Congress Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
