Orthodox and Catholic Bishops Convene in Washington, DC
PRESS RELEASE
28 June 2006
ORTHODOX AND CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONVENE IN WASHINGTON, DC
The Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops held its 22nd
meeting at Saint Paul’s College in Washington, DC, from June 21 to 23.
It was co-chaired by Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile and Bishop
Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada (Orthodox Church in America). Plans had
been made for the twenty-second meeting to take place in October 2005 in
Syria as a guest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, but for
technical reasons this was not possible.
At this meeting the Joint Committee discussed in depth the future of
Kosovo in light of the current negotiations now underway to determine
the political status of Kosovo. Metropolitan Christopher of the Serbian
Orthodox Church summarized the position of his Church’s Holy Synod on
this matter, and Mr. Walter Grazer, responsible for European issues and
human rights, especially religious freedom, in the International Office
for Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, also made a presentation. The Joint Committee then said that
“As Orthodox and Catholic bishops of the United States and Canada, we
urge all the parties involved, but especially the political leadership
of Kosovo and the Serbian government, to negotiate in good faith for a
just and peaceful resolution of their differences. Only through a real
dialogue of mutual respect and good faith negotiations can justice and
peace become a reality in Kosovo.”
The Joint Committee expressed its support for the efforts and the plea
of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to guarantee the
political rights of all minorities, especially Serb minorities in
Kosovo. The Joint Committee discussed at length the difficult situation
of Serb minorities and the need to guarantee their security and full
political and social participation in the life of Kosovo. Without such
guarantees, it will be difficult to achieve a lasting political
framework for the governance of Kosovo. The Joint Committee was grateful
for the recent agreement signed between Serbian and Kosovar authorities
pledging to create safe and fair conditions for the return of some
200,000 Serb and other minority refugees. The Joint Committee hopes
that other aspects of the negotiations will go as well.
Finally, the Joint Committee is especially concerned about the
destruction of places of worship, monasteries, cemeteries and other
religious and holy sites. It hopes that these sites can be rebuilt and
restored and that there will be adequate protection throughout all of
Kosovo for all religious and holy sites. To this end, the Joint
Committee urges the government of the United States and the other
members of the Contact Group (Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the
United Kingdom) to continue to remain engaged and provide leadership in
helping the parties to negotiate and implement a just resolution to this
situation.
The efforts of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches to combat internet
pornography were also discussed. Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos presented
the text of a letter that the Standing Conference of the Canonical
Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) addressed to the Orthodox
clergy on this matter last March, and Cardinal William Keeler reported
on the work of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography. The Joint
Committee expressed its support for these efforts.
At this meeting the members of the Joint Committee also heard comments
by Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos on the recent book by Olivier
Clément, You Are Peter. Kevin Appleby, director of migration and
refugee policy for the U.S. bishops, furnished an overview of the
Catholic Church’s position in the current debate in our country about
immigration.
This year’s meeting coincided with the installation of Most Reverend
Donald W. Wuerl as Archbishop of Washington on June 22. He and
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick invited the members to a luncheon at the
John Paul II Cultural Center with the other bishops present, and to
participate in the Installation Mass at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Orthodox bishops processed
into the Basilica and were given places of honor during the liturgy.
In addition, on the evening of June 21 the members attended an Akathist
Hymn service at the John Paul II Cultural Center and a reception
sponsored by the Orientale Lumen Conference which was taking place at
that time.
The Joint Committee also reviewed significant events that have taken
place recently in their churches. Among these were relations between
the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia,
including an agreed statement on ecumenism, the transfer of the
headquarters of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from Lviv to Kiev
and other developments in Ukraine, the withdrawal of the Antiochian
Archdiocese from the National Council of Churches, the election of
Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, the encyclical Deus Caritas Est
by Pope Benedict XVI, the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to set aside the
title of Patriarch of the West and Orthodox reactions, developments in
SCOBA, the resumption of the international Orthodox-Catholic dialogue,
the raising of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church to Major Archepiscopal
status, the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch to the United States in
January, the recent General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in
Porto Alegre, Brazil, the inauguration of “Christian Churches Together
in the USA,” recent developments in the Orthodox Church in America, and
the just-concluded General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
The next meeting of the Joint Committee was scheduled to take place from
October 3 to 5, 2007, in St. Augustine, Florida, at the Orthodox
Christian Mission Center. The main topic of discussion will be
evangelization and mission efforts of our Churches.
The Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops was established in
1981, and is sponsored jointly by the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical
and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas.
The Catholic members of the Committee include Archbishop Oscar H.
Lipscomb of Mobile (Co-Chairman); William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of
Baltimore; Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati; Bishop Tod D.
Brown of Orange; Bishop Dale Melczek of Gary; Bishop Nicholas Samra,
Auxiliary of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton; Bishop
Richard Sklba, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee; and Rev.
Ronald G. Roberson, CSP (staff).
The Orthodox members are Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada
(Co-Chairman, Orthodox Church in America), Archbishop Vsevolod of
Scopelos (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA), Metropolitan Isaiah of
Denver (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese), Metropolitan Christopher (Serbian
Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos (Carpatho-Russian
Orthodox Diocese), Archbishop Nicolae (Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in
America and Canada), Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco (Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese), Bishop Thomas of Oakland, PA and the East
(Antiochian Archdiocese), and Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos (Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese, staff).
Earlier press releases and Agreed Statements of the Joint Committee are
posted on the USCCB website at
http://www.usccb.org/seia/officialdialogues.shtml#2 and on the SCOBA
website at http://www.scoba.us/resources/index.asp