Pope Francis Speaks About Historic Meeting with Patriarch Kirill : “I Felt an Internal Joy”

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Pope Francis was full of joy and enthusiasm after his meeting with Patriarch Kirill. His face revealed this clearly as he spoke on the plane to journalists shortly after departing from Havana and heading for Mexico City. His face was glowing with happiness, as he confided, “I felt an internal joy.”
“We spoke together as brothers, we spoke freely and with frankness about the things that concern us. We didn’t mince words,” he stated.
“We spoke as pastors, about our concerns for our churches and for the world where wars are being fought piecemeal but risk turning into a world war,” he said.
He revealed that during their private conversation, at one point he told Kirill that “if we wait” to work out Christian unity in the study, the Lord would arrive before it happened. “We make unity by walking together,” he stated.
He said they had talked together in the presence of the interpreters and of Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Department of External Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow, and of Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. They also spoke about the Pan-Orthodox meeting that will take place in Crete in June, he said.
He and Kirill had discussed “how we can work together,” he said, and in this context he commented on the joint declaration they had just signed. That 30 point declaration covers many issues, some of which could give rise to questions and discussion. Well aware of this, and seeking to avoid sterile debate, Francis offered an interpretative key to its reading. “It is not a political or sociological document, it is a pastoral document written by two bishops in which they express concern for their churches and for the world’”
It is clear that for Francis the most important thing was his meeting with Kirill, not the document, though the latter too has its importance as it identifies ways in which Catholics and Orthodox can work together on the road to unity.
The declaration covers a wide range of subjects, ranging from the unity they shared in the Christian millennium, to “the wounds” of division “caused by old and recent conflicts.” Significantly it adds that “mindful of the permanence of many obstacles” to recovering that unity, Francis and Kirill express “the hope that our meeting may contribute to the re-establishment of this unity.” On this road, they committed themselves “to combine our efforts” to give witness to the Gospel of Christ in the modern world.
He said they had talked together in the presence of the interpreters and of Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Department of External Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow, and of Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. They also spoke about the Pan-Orthodox meeting that will take place in Crete in June, he said.
He and Kirill had discussed “how we can work together,” he said, and in this context he commented on the joint declaration they had just signed. That 30 point declaration covers many issues, some of which could give rise to questions and discussion. Well aware of this, and seeking to avoid sterile debate, Francis offered an interpretative key to its reading. “It is not a political or sociological document, it is a pastoral document written by two bishops in which they express concern for their churches and for the world’”
It is clear that for Francis the most important thing was his meeting with Kirill, not the document, though the latter too has its importance as it identifies ways in which Catholics and Orthodox can work together on the road to unity.
The declaration covers a wide range of subjects, ranging from the unity they shared in the Christian millennium, to “the wounds” of division “caused by old and recent conflicts.” Significantly it adds that “mindful of the permanence of many obstacles” to recovering that unity, Francis and Kirill express “the hope that our meeting may contribute to the re-establishment of this unity.” On this road, they committed themselves “to combine our efforts” to give witness to the Gospel of Christ in the modern world.

Source:http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/i-felt-internal-joy-pope-francis-speaks-about-historic-meeting-patriarch-kirill