Metropolitan of Moscow: Pope is pushing for shared mission with the Orthodox
19 May, 2005
Msgr Tadeus Kondrusiewicz says that new conditions exist for dialogue
between Catholics and Orthodox: the fight against aggressive
secularism;
respect for human life; the importance of the family; "no" to female
priesthood.
Rome (AsiaNews) -- Benedict XVI's main objective is to witness the
Gospel
together with the Orthodox in the fight against contemporary society's
"aggressive secularism".� This is what the Catholic Metropolitan of
Moscow,
Monsignor Tadeus Kondrusiewicz, said following a private audience with
the
Pope at the Vatican today. "The Pontiff takes to heart the situation of
Catholics in Russia -- Kondrusiewicz said to various journalists -- and
underlined the importance of Catholics and Orthodox witnessing together
the
Gospel and moral values in the fight against aggressive secularism,"
which
abounds in our societies.
During the audience, Kondrusiewicz presented the Pope with the first
two
volumes of the Catholic Encyclopedia in Russian.� "The Pontiff took
them in
hand and began reading a few words in Russian," a pleased Kondrusiewicz
said.
Pastor of the Russian capital's Archdiocese of the Mother of God,
Kondrusiewicz is in Rome leading the first pilgrimage of Russian
Catholics
since the death of John Paul II.� "Yesterday, the late Pope's birthday,
we
celebrated Mass near his tomb," he said, "and in my homily, I prayed
that
Pope Woytjla makes it possible for Benedict XVI to fulfil the dream of
visiting Moscow."� Msgr Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical
Council
for the Laity, was of the same opinion; Kondrusiewicz said that, while
meeting the Russian faithful yesterday, Rylko said, "John Paul II's
work
will assist his successor toward reaching Moscow."
In the meantime, the Russian faithful go to the Pope.� Yesterday at the
general audience in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI greeted the
pilgrims in
attendance in Russian.� "Everyone was moved," the Archbishop said,
"some
wept and were saying, "Pope Benedict, we await you in Russia."
Kondrusiewicz confirmed that "new conditions" exist today for closer
ties
with the Orthodox Patriarchate which is hostile toward the Vatican and
Catholics for their alleged proselytism in Russia.� "The situation
needs
time to mature," he stated, "but there is less tension in the air."
Kondrusiewicz explained that many Orthodox already see various points
of
contact with Pope Ratzinger's teaching: "the firm stance on women
priests,
the importance of the family, the question of respect for human life;
these
are the groundwork from which to begin."� For the Metropolitan,
however,
more is needed.� "We must first work together with the Orthodox from
the
theological point of view and define what 'proselytism', 'religious
freedom'
mean, to then procede along a shared path."� A mixed commission, set up
following the first visit to Moscow in February 2004 of Cardinal Walter
Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, has
been
working for some time on these questions.� The commission has dealt so
far
with several cases of proselytism.
Lastly, the Metropolitan touched on the situation of Catholics in
Russia.
Among the various problems faced by the Catholic community is, above
all,
the lack of Russian-born priests, due to decades of atheism under the
Soviet
regime.� Some 90% of priests in Russia are of foreign origin.� Another
problem is the lack of churches: many religious buildings which once
belonged to Catholics were confiscated under the Soviet regime and have
not
yet been returned.
In the evening, Msgr Kondrusiewicz and his pilgrims took part in the
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Rome's Saint Mary Major Basilica.
Several prayers were read in Russian during the Eucharistic adoration.