And the Bishops of India on Their ad Limina Visit
The Vatican announced that on Tuesday, September 17, Pope
Francis received in audience, in the Vatican, the Ecumenical Patriarch
of Constantinople, Bartholomew I and his entourage, and the Bishops of
India.
A press release of the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo
Bruni, specified that the “meeting unfolded in a fraternal atmosphere
and was followed by lunch, with the respective delegations, in Saint
Martha’s House.”
“Before the meeting, at the invitation of Monsignor Semeraro,
Secretary of the Council of Cardinals, the Patriarch greeted briefly the
Cardinals, Members of the Council, and he stressed to them the value of
synodality in the Orthodox Church and assured them of his prayers,”
said Matteo Bruni. The Vatican’s photographic service published photos
of the audience.
The Patriarch also met with Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The Patriarch offered Pope Francis a precious chalice for the
Eucharistic celebration and his book. Among others things the Pope
offered the Patriarch a medallion of some 20 centimeters representing
the Virgin and Child.
As is known the month of September is dedicated to the message for
the protection of creation. Pope Francis chose the date September 1 for
the prayer for the preservation of the planet, in reference to the date
already chosen by the Orthodox. With the Patriarch, author of “And God
Saw that It Was Good” (Cerf, 2015), the Pope was able to refer to the
forthcoming Synod on the Amazon. Recently, the Patriarch published a
statement on the forest fires in the world.
The Patriarch also announced the holding in May 2020 of a 4th summit against modern slaveries, a subject on which the Pope has also mobilized the Catholic Church.
In the past, the Patriarch joined Pope Francis for a visit to the
refugee camp of Moria, on the Greek Island of Lesbos on April 16, 2016.
And, with the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, Ieronymos, they signed a
Joint Statement on the situation of refugees, saying: “The tragedy of
migration and forced displacement affects millions of people, and it is
fundamentally a crisis of humanity, which calls for a response of
solidarity, of compassion, of generosity and an engagement of immediate
and practical resources.” It’s another subject of common concern.
On May 25, 2014, during a “fraternal meeting,” they signed a Joint
Declaration at Jerusalem, hailing a “new and necessary stage on the path
of communion in legitimate diversity.”
Recently, the Pontiff wrote the Preface of the Patriarch’s book:
“Bartholomew: Apostle and Visionary,” of John Chryssavgis (Cerf, 2016,
306 p., 25 euros).
On June 29, 2019 Pope Francis also offered the Patriarch a relic of Saint Peter.
This morning, the Holy Father also received a second group of 54 Catholic Bishops of India on their ad Limina Visit.