VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople says dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches is going forward, despite “considerable difficulties that exist and the well-known problems.

“Patriarch Bartholomew I affirmed this in his homily Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The Mass, held in St. Peter’s Square, formed part of the celebrations for the inauguration of the Pauline Jubilee Year. The Holy Father inaugurated the Pauline year at Saturday’s vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. The jubilee runs through June 29, 2009.

Bartholomew I affirmed that the Orthodox have also declared the jubilee. He said the Church is “planning, among others things, a sacred pilgrimage to some of the monuments of the apostolic activity of the apostle in the East: Ephesus, Perge and other cities in Asia Minor, but also Rhodes and Crete, the places called ‘good ports.’

The patriarch stated that the Orthodox “honor and greatly venerate Peter — he who made his salvific confession of the divinity of Christ, as much as Paul — the vessel of election, who proclaimed this confession and faith to the ends of the universe in the midst of the most unimaginable difficulties and dangers. […] To strongly emphasize their equal importance, but also their weight in the Church and her regenerative and salvific work through the centuries, the East honors them in an icon in which they either hold a little ship in their hands, which symbolizes the Church, or they embrace and exchange the kiss in Christ.

“It is indeed this kiss that we have come to exchange with you, Your Holiness, emphasizing the ardent desire and love in Christ, things which are closely related to each other.”

Bartholomew I then turned his attention to the progress toward unity between the two Churches.

“The theological dialogue between our Churches ‘in faith, truth and love,’ thanks to divine help, goes forward despite the considerable difficulties that exist and the well-known problems,” he said. “We truly desire and fervently pray that these difficulties will be overcome and that the problems will disappear as soon as possible so that we may reach the desired final goal for the glory of God.

“We know well that this is your desire too, as we also are certain that Your Holiness will neglect nothing, personally working, together with your illustrious collaborators, through a perfect smoothing of the way, toward a positive fulfillment of the labors of dialogue, God willing.

“The patriarch affirmed that in the context of the Pauline year, the Orthodox will pray for the Pope.

“And now,” he concluded, “venerating the sufferings and the cross of Peter and embracing Paul’s chains and stigmata, honoring the confession and martyrdom and the venerable death of both for the name of the Lord, which truly leads to life, we glorify the Thrice-Holy God and we supplicate him, so that through the intercession of Sts. Peter and Paul, […] he will, here below, grant us and all his children of the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world ‘union of faith and communion in the Spirit’ in the ‘bond of peace’ and there above eternal life and great mercy. Amen.

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Benedict XVI’s address upon receiving Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in audience Saturday on the occasion of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul and the opening of the Pauline Year.

Holiness,

With profound and sincere joy I greet you and the distinguished party accompanying you, and I am pleased to do so with the words expressed in the Second Letter of St. Peter: “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2:1-2).The celebration of Sts. Peter and Paul, patrons of the Church of Rome, as well as that of St. Andrew, patron of the Church of Constantinople, offer us annually the possibility of an exchange of visits, which are always important occasions for fraternal conversations and common moments of prayer. Thus reciprocal personal knowledge grows; initiatives are harmonized and hope increases, which animates everything, to be able to attain full unity soon, in obedience to the Lord’s mandate.

This year, here in Rome, to the patronal feast is added the joyful occasion of the opening of the Pauline Year, which I wanted to call to commemorate the second millennium of the birth of St. Paul, in the hope of promoting an ever more profound reflection on the theological and spiritual heritage left to the Church by the Apostle to the Gentiles, with his vast and profound work of evangelization.I learned with pleasure that Your Holiness has also called a Pauline Year. This happy coincidence highlights the roots of our shared Christian vocation and the significant harmony of feelings and pastoral commitment we are experiencing. For this I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, who guides our path to unity with the strength of His Spirit.

St. Paul reminds us that full communion between all Christians has its foundation in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). May the common faith, the one baptism for the remission of sins and obedience to the one Lord and Savior, be able to express themselves fully as soon as possible in the communal and ecclesial dimension.”Only one body and one Spirit,” affirms the Apostle to the Gentiles, and adds: “As only one is the hope to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:4). St. Paul indicates to us, moreover, a sure way to maintain unity and, in the case of division, to repair it.The decree on ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, has taken up the Pauline indication and proposes it again in the context of the ecumenical commitment, making reference to the weighty and always current words of the Letter to the Ephesians: “I exhort you, therefore, I who am a prisoner of the Lord, to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the vocation you have received, with all humility, meekness and patience, enduring events with love, seeking to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (4:1-3).

To the Corinthians, among whom discord had arisen, St. Paul does not hesitate to address a strong call for them all to remain in agreement, for there to be no divisions among them, and for them to unite in the same mind and purpose (cfr1 Corinthians 1:10).In our world, in which the phenomenon of globalization is being consolidated, yet, despite this, persistent divisions and conflicts continue, men and women feel a growing need for certainty and peace. However, at the same time, they remain lost, as if ensnared by a certain form of hedonist and relativist culture which casts doubt upon the very existence of truth.The apostle’s guidance in this matter is extremely helpful in encouraging efforts aimed at seeking full unity among Christians, which is so necessary in order to offer mankind of the third millennium an ever more resplendent witness of Christ, way, truth and life. Only in Christ and in his Gospel can humanity find the answer to its deepest hopes.

May the Pauline Year, which will begin solemnly this evening, help Christian people renew the ecumenical commitment, and may there be an intensification of joint efforts on the journey to the full communion of all Christ’s disciples. And as part of that journey, your presence here today is certainly an encouraging sign. For this I express again to all of you my joy, while together we raise our grateful prayer to the Lord.