Building relations

Aside from the fact that the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter is also considered a Head of State, since the Vatican is considered a sovereign state.  Therefore, in addition to liturgical celebrations and the work undertaken by the Church to build relationships with other Ecclesial communities, there is also considerable effort invested into sustaining the relationships that already exist between the Vatican State and other countries with which the Vatican shares diplomatic relationships.

As such, communications are constantly shared between the Secretariat of State of the Vatican and other countries and sovereign territories, as well as with other Ecclesial communities and with other faiths.

To this end, although the efforts at building relationships between the Eastern and the Western Church have been ongoing, the visit of the Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness, Bartholomew I to the Vatican this week for the Innauguration of the Petrine ministry of His Holiness, Francis was another milestone which has not occurred since the Eastern and Western Churches split as a result of the great schism of 1066.

In addition, news of the retirement of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor Rowan Williams, had already reached the Vatican before His Holiness, Benedict XVI had announced his intention to renounce the Petrine ministry.  In fact, Doctor Williams' successor, Archbishop Justin Welby, was invested in his new role of service exactly one week before the announcement was made by the Pope.

On February 4 of this year, His Holiness, Benedict XVI sent a message to the new Archbishop of Canterbury:

To the Most Reverend and Right Honourable

Justin Welby

Archbishop of Canterbury

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (Col 1:3)

With these words of Saint Paul, I greet you joyfully in the name of the Lord Jesus, "whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor 1:30), and I offer you my prayerful good wishes on the occasion of your installation as Archbishop of Canterbury.

You take up your office at a time when the Christian faith is being called into question in many parts of the Western world by those who claim that religion is a private matter, with no contribution to offer to public debate. Ministers of the Gospel today have to respond to a widespread deafness to the music of faith, and a general weariness that shuns the demands of discipleship. Yet the hunger for God, even if unrecognized, is ever-present in our society, and the preacher's task, as a messenger of hope, is to speak the truth with love, shedding the light of Christ into the darkness of people's lives. May your apostolate yield a rich harvest and may it open the eyes and ears of many to the life-giving message of the Gospel.

Let us give thanks to God that the bonds of affection between Catholics and Anglicans have become firmly established in recent decades, through dialogue and collaboration, as well as personal meetings between our respective predecessors. It is greatly to be hoped that we will continue to build upon that important legacy. The disappointments that have been encountered and the challenges that remain on our journey towards full communion are well known, but there have also been signs of hope. Recognizing that our unity will arise only as a gift from the Lord, let us entrust ourselves to his Holy Spirit, as we renew our determination to seek genuine unity in faith and to engage more profoundly in common witness and mission.

With sentiments of fraternal regard, I assure you of my prayers as you take up your new responsibilities. Whatever challenges you encounter, may the Lord grant you strength and wisdom, and may the Holy Spirit guide you in all that you undertake in his name.

From the Vatican, 4 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

One day prior to the inauguration of his Ministry as Successor of Peter, Pope Francis also sent a note of congratulations to the new Archbishop of Canterbury:

To the Most Reverend and Right Honourable

Justin Welby

Archbishop of Canterbury

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you" (1 Pet 1:2b)

I thank you for the kind words contained in your message to me at my election, and I wish in turn to offer my greetings and best wishes on the occasion of your Enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral.

The pastoral ministry is a call to walk in fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please be assured of my prayers as you take up your new responsibilities, and I ask you to pray for me as I respond to the new call that the Lord has addressed to me.

I look forward to meeting you in the near future, and to continuing the warm fraternal relations that our predecessors enjoyed.

From the Vatican, 18 March 2013

FRANCIS

From one city of bridges to another, it seems as though the mail (and not only water) has been flowing.