St. John XXIII, patron saint of Christian unity? - Andrea Tornielli, Vatican Insider

Representatives of the Orthodox Church have seen Roncalli as the protector of ecumenism since the days of the Second Vatican Council


ANDREA TORNIELLI vatican city, 24 March 2014

Influential representatives of the Orthodox Church were among the first to recognise John XXIII’s saintliness in the days of the Second Vatican Council. They even wanted to proclaim the good Pope a “patron” saint of the ecumenical path. Italian journalist and essayist Stefania Falasca has just published a book about this based on testimonies gathered during the procedure for the canonization cause. “Giovanni XXIII, in una carezza la rivoluzione” (which roughly translates as: “John XXIII, a revolution came with a caress”) runs through the history of Roncalli’s canonization, explaining the reasons and pastoral opportunities that led Francis to approve, pro gratia, the full canonization of his great Lombard predecessor.

In convening the Second Vatican Council, John XXIII took on the task as Successor of Peter, to make it clear to all Churches that the journey towards full unity between all baptised Christians could not be put off any longer. “This is not an ideological ecumenism that wants to gloss over differences inherited from the past, but an ecumenism of truth and charity,” Falasca writes. The desire expressed since the days of the Council for a return to unity, does not aim to bring about a forced uniformity but create “a building site for the future of the Church.” This is not to be based on emotions and sentiments but on “one, common baptism and the same faith in Jesus Christ.”

Among those who also saw this passion for Christian unity as a reflection of the Good Pope’s holiness, were some of the Orthodox Church’s foremost representatives, who played prominent roles in the post-conciliar period, Falasca writes.






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St. John XXIII, patron saint of Christian unity? - Vatican Insider