8,921
edits
Changes
m
→Era of Dialogue
*1995 Pope [[John Paul II]] issues ''[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_02051995_orientale-lumen_en.html Orientale Lumen]'' ("Light from the East"), encouraging East-West union.
*1997 Beginning of the annual series of [http://www.olconference.com/ Orientale Lumen Conferences], a grassroots movement among lay persons and clergy providing a common forum for Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholics and Roman Catholics to meet and learn about eachother's traditions; "Orientale Lumen I" is held in Washington D.C.
*2000 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Baltimore, but is suspended after an acrimonious meeting, in particular due to the issues of [[w:Primacy of the Roman Pontiff|papal primacy]] and the role of [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], with the Commission not resuming again for six years; in view of the celebration of the Roman Catholic [[w:Great Jubilee|Great Jubilee]] year (''Jubilaeum,'' Dec. 24, 1999 - Jan. 6, 2001), on Sunday March 12 in his ''"[http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/jubilevents/events_day_pardon_en.htm Day of Pardon]"'' homily Pope [[John Paul II]] formally asked forgiveness for the various sins committed by the Roman Catholic Church over the last two millennia.<ref>''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/674246.stm Pope apologises for church sins].'' BBC News. Sunday, 12 March, 2000, 19:48 GMT.</ref><ref group="note">"...we cannot fail to recognize the infidelities to the Gospel committed by some of our brethren, especially during the second millennium. Let us ask pardon for the divisions which have occurred among Christians, for the violence some have used in the service of the truth and for the distrustful and hostile attitudes sometimes taken towards the followers of other religions." (''HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER. "[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000312_pardon_en.html DAY OF PARDON]".'' Sunday, 12 March 2000).</ref>
*2001 Pope [[John Paul II]] apologizes to Orthodox for [[Fourth Crusade]], on the first trip to Greece by a Pope since AD 710;<ref group="note">"...Some memories are especially painful, and some events of the distant past have left deep wounds in the minds and hearts of people to this day. I am thinking of the disastrous sack of the imperial city of Constantinople, which was for so long the bastion of Christianity in the East. It is tragic that the assailants, who had set out to secure free access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their own brothers in the faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret. How can we fail to see here the mysterium iniquitatis at work in the human heart? To God alone belongs judgement, and therefore we entrust the heavy burden of the past to his endless mercy, imploring him to heal the wounds which still cause suffering to the spirit of the Greek people. Together we must work for this healing if the Europe now emerging is to be true to its identity, which is inseparable from the Christian humanism shared by East and West." (''[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20010504_archbishop-athens_en.html ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II TO HIS BEATITUDE CHRISTODOULOS, ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND PRIMATE OF GREECE].'' Friday, 4 May 2001.)</ref> a day earlier some 1,000 Orthodox conservatives took to the streets to denounce his visit.
*2002 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] and Pope [[John Paul II]] co-sign Venice Declaration of Environmental Ethics; problem of Vatican [[proselytism]] is highlighted in its decision to upgrade its four [[w:Apostolic Administrator|Apostolic Administrations]] in Moscow, Saratov, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk to fully fledged Diocese status, and elevate the former Apostolic Administrator, Msgr. [[w:Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (archbishop)|Tadeusz Kondrusiwicz]], to Metr.-Abp. of Moscow, drawing a storm of protest from Patr. [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the Holy Synod of Russia who described the move as "unfriendly" claiming the [[Roman Catholic Church]] saw Russia as a field for missionary activity.<ref>
