Where the Rubber Hits the Road

The Russian Veto Against Francis and Bartholomew

Authentic Ecumenism is bearing fruit! I say 'authentic' because this process has not been based upon reducing dogma to its lowest common denominator but rather it searches to find the truth of dogma that can be accepted by all. It is not a reductionist approach... it is one based upon a mutual understanding of belief. This news should give all Catholics, Roman & Orthodox a sense of joyful anticipation for a renewed sense of communion between our two rites.  Catholics and Orthodox report promising progress in latest round of unity talks | Analysis & Opinion |

'Guess Whose Coming to Dinner': Finding God in Each Other  Ever wonder what God’s address is? Whenever we search for someone in the real or virtual world, we need an address to find them. We can find just about anyone’s civic address or phone number through any number of online and tradition sources. On the Internet, we can search of an email address or a IP address which will lead us to find them. No matter where we search, the first thing that we look for if we want to find someone is their address. So what is God’s address? Barrels of ink have been spilled by theologians and mystics over the millennium trying to explain where God lives. Sometimes the search begins by searching   the heavens to see if God can be found among the stars. Today many search our ecosystem to see if some clue to the Divine address can be discerned through understanding the patterns and designs in nature. Mystics have searched every corner of the ‘dark night’ of the soul and the ecstasie...

If there has been one constant value that is evident in the pontificate of Benedict XVI (aka B16), it has been his creativity and openness to searching for ways of bringing back into the Catholic communion those who have broken away. His overtures to the Anglican communion and the Pius X Society have been well published and debated. This current overture to the Orthodox Churches is another example of his willingness to explore every avenue possible to heal the 1000+ year old rupture that split the western and eastern halves of the ancient Catholic Church. Clearly he is willing to explore new liturgical forms (as with the Anglicans). Now he has evidently opened up the possibility of redefining the role of Peter's successor in a way that maintains the essential truth of this divine office, while at the same time presenting it in a manner that is palatable to those in the Orthodox communion. Check out this article is you want to learn more.

The American Spectator has published an article focusing on the steps that Pope Benedict XVI has taken to bring back into full communion various groups that have split from the Roman Communion. A great deal of ink has been spilled over his overtures to Anglicans, but they point out as well the fact that Pope Benedict has also prepared the way for reunion with traditionalists and with the Orthodox Church. These steps are simply the actualization of what he said that he was going to do in his first homily as pontiff. We can only hope that his efforts will come to fruition in his lifetime.