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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWN - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor in Eastern Orthodoxy, emphasized the many areas of agreement between Pope Francis and himself in response to the social concerns of the day.
The Ecumenical Patriarch addressed his remarks to Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who was in Istanbul for the Feast of St. Andrew.
“It is the conviction of His Holiness Pope Francis and ourselves that the problem of reconciliation and peace, of justice and solidarity, cannot be resolved – while the deepest existential quests of humanity cannot be satisfied – without the contribution of faith in the living God,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said on November 30.
He continued:
With His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome, we share the same concerns, the same goals, and the same attitudes with regard to responding to the modern social and humanitarian crisis. Both of us underline the social content of freedom, love and solidarity; we both emphasize relationships and not isolation, being and not having, as well as fellowship and not greed. We resist any idealization of individualism and consumerism. We strive for a fairer world, for respect of human rights, and especially for the right of religious freedom.
The problems of refugees disturb us … Our recent encounter with Pope Francis in Assisi and our joint prayer for peace further solidified our shared conviction that our Churches must intensify their efforts against fanaticism, injustice and violence, but also toward the establishment of a culture of solidarity. We are capable of surviving without destroying the environment.
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CWN - A group of Muslims in an Egyptian village, fearing that a community center would become a church, burned down the center, looted businesses owned by Coptic Christians, and attacked 15 Christian homes, according to multiple reports.
The recent attack took place in Al-Nagameesh, a village in Sohag Governorate in central Egypt.
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CWN - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow will dedicate a new cathedral in Paris this weekend.
The cathedral of the Holy Trinity, located near the Seine just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, is an imposing structure with five golden domes. Its opening signals the new vigor of the Orthodox faith in the French capital.
The cathedral’s dedication ceremony had originally been planned in September, with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to attend. It was postponed because of international tensions.
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Ottawa - (risu.org.ua) The Federal Parliament of Canada is set to honor the 83rd anniversary of the Holodomor Genocide in Ukraine.
MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who is the action organizer, reported it to Ukrinform.
The ceremony will take place on November 29, in the Federal Parliament building in Ottawa and is being organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
Canadian ministers, deputies and senators, foreign diplomats, the Ukrainian community leaders and other famous people and clergy of various denominations are invited to attend.
Note that Canada was the first Western power to recognize the Holodomor as genocide of Ukrainians as early as in 2008. Since then, the official actions to commemorate those terrible events are regularly held not only in the Federal Parliament, but also across the country.
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On November 25, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic bishops of Ukraine issued an appeal on the occasion of the Holodomor Remembrance Day, in which expressed solidarity and prayerful closeness on these days of nation-wide remembrance and mourning for the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine.
Appeal
Having gathered in Lviv-Bryukhovychi, we, the Catholic bishops who perform our ministry in Ukraine appeal to all the faithful of our Churches as well as to all compatriots to express our solidarity and prayerful closeness on these days of nation-wide remembrance and mourning for the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine.
On the day that we remember the tragic events we pray especially for all who have died of starvation so that they become partakers of the Heavenly Table of our Lord.
The ineffable suffering of our people was due to various godless ideologies. Making joint efforts to clean our past, each of us must make a sincere examination of conscience, asking God to forgive the evil that had taken place, and may continue to take place in our lives.
We encourage our clergy and faithful to lift onto God the thanksgiving prayer for daily bread during the Mass. I also thank God for the Eucharistic Bread – the Body of the Risen Christ, through which He feeds our souls. Let us ask the Lord that we had trust and faith in Him, the Creator and Giver of material and spiritual wealth.
Today, as yesterday, many people who live beside us are lacking food and warmth. We urge everyone to proceed with the acts of mercy, showing compassion and active solidarity, especially with people in our society who lack the basic necessities - the poor, orphans, elderly, internally displaced persons, wounded, prisoners and other people in need. We particularly encourage those our compatriots who have enough bread to share with those who lack it.
In a joint prayer for peace in our beloved Homeland, we are calling down the blessing upon the entire Ukrainian nation.
Source:RISU | ugcc.orgua
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CWN - Pope Francis sent his greetings to the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew on November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, the patronal saint of the Constantinople see.
During his regular public audience, the Pope said that he was offering the Ecumenical Patriarch his “best wishes for all possible goods, for all the blessings of the Lord, and a warm embrace.”
In what has become a regular tradition, the Vatican sent a delegation to join Patriarch Bartholomew in the celebration of the feast—just as the Orthodox Patriarch each year sends a delegation to Rome for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The Vatican delegation, led by Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, joined the Orthodox prelate in the Divine Liturgy before meeting with the Patriarch and his staff.
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