If anyone has anything else to add to this summary of the Pope's ecuмenical activities, this would be a great place to put it so that anyone looking for it can find it easily!
With Anglicanism:Pope Francis and the Anglicans
Anglican Communion News Service
"The Church universal needs Anglicans" - Pope Francis
Posted On : March 14, 2013 12:01 AM | Posted By : Admin ACO
ACNS: ACNS5348
Related Categories: ACO - Ecuмenical Global South America
By ACNS staff
The new Pope has reportedly said the Church universal needs Anglicans and that the Ordinariate is "quite unnecessary".
In a note released after the election of the first ever pontiff from Latin America, the Anglican Bishop of Argentina and former Primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, the Rt Revd Greg Venables said Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was "an inspired choice".
"Many are asking me what is really like. He is much more of a Christian, Christ centered and Spirit filled, than a mere churchman. He believes the Bible as it is written.
"I have been with him on many occasions and he always makes me sit next to him and invariably makes me take part and often do what he as Cardinal should have done. He is consistently humble and wise, outstandingly gifted yet a common man. He is no fool and speaks out very quietly yet clearly when necessary."
Bp Venables added that in a conversation with Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, the latter made it clear that he values the place of Anglicans in the Church universal.
"He called me to have breakfast with him one morning and told me very clearly that the Ordinariate was quite unnecessary and that the Church needs us as Anglicans.
The former Primate of the Anglican Communion's Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de America added, "I consider this to be an inspired appointment not because he is a close and personal friend, but because of who he is In Christ. Pray for him."
ENDS
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2013/3/14/ACNS5348_____________________________________________________________________________
With Islam:Pope Francis' run-in with Benedict XVI over the Prophet Mohammed
Pope Francis came close to losing his position within the Catholic Church after he criticised his predecessor seven years ago.
By Alasdair Baverstock
10:11AM GMT 15 Mar 2013
In 2005, then Pope Benedict quoted from an obscure medieval text which declared that the Prophet Mohammed, founder of the Islamic faith, was "evil and inhuman", enraging the Muslim population and causing attacks on churches throughout the world before an apology was issued.
Reacting within days to the statements, speaking through a spokesman to Newsweek Argentina, then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio declared his "unhappiness" with the statements, made at the University of Regensburg in Germany, and encouraged many of his subordinates with the Church to do the same.
"Pope Benedict's statement don't reflect my own opinions", the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires declared. "These statements will serve to destroy in 20 seconds the careful construction of a relationship with Islam that Pope John Paul II built over the last twenty years".
The Vatican reacted quickly, removing one subordinate, Joaquín Piña the Archbishop of Puerto Iguazú from his post within four days of his making similar statements to the Argentine national media, sending a clear statement to Cardinal Bergoglio that he would be next should he choose to persist.
Reacting to the threats from Rome, Cardinal Bergoglio cancelled his plans to fly to Rome, choosing to boycott the second synod that Pope Benedict had called during his tenure as pontiff.
"The only thing that didn't happen to Bergoglio was being removed from his post", wrote investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky in his column in left-wing daily newspaper Página/24. "The Vatican was very quick to react."
Cristina Kirchner, the Argentina president, stated at the time that such diatribes were "dangerous for everyone".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9931030/Pope-Francis-run-in-with-Benedict-XVI-over-the-Prophet-Mohammed.html------------------------------------
Argentine Muslims: Pope Francis 'a friend of the Islamic community'
15/03/13 11:17
Argentine Muslims: Pope Francis 'a friend of the Islamic community'
Argentine Muslims have welcomed the election of Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the head of the Roman Cathoilic Churhc. In an interview with Buenosairesherald.com, Sheij Mohsen Ali and CIRA Secretary General Dr.Sumer Noufouri praised Pope Francis’s “pro-dialogue” nature.
“He always showed himself as a friend of the Islamic community. He visited the At-Tauhid Mosque (located) in the neighborhood of Floresta and the Arab-Argentine Ali Ibn Abi Talib School strengthening our relations”, the Director of the House for the Diffusion of Islam Sheik Mohsen Ali said and described a personal anecdote with the man that has now become “the Pope of the end of the world.”
“In Suipacha Street, at the headquarters of the Argentine Episcopacy, his humility drew my attention. I went there with Sheij Abdul Karim Paz. There was a small wicker chair and some soft armchairs. He took the little chair for himself and left us the comfortable armchairs,” the Sheij Mohsen Ali recalled now that Catholics around the world learn that their religious leader used to take the subway while being a Cardinal in Buenos Aires.
More sensitive issues, political arguments, also seem to prove the nature of the two times president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference. “By the time of the 2006 Lebanon War, I held an argument with one of his assistants. He received me and understood my position. He acted like a friend, not a personal friend because we did not have the time to deepen our relation, but he has been a friend," the Muslim leader affirmed.
Regarding the tensions between Pope Francis and the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kircher, Sheij Mohsen Ali called for dialogue. “Everyone knows the position Bergoglio has about the government of Cristina, a model I support. Channels of dialogue must come up. As in life, we all have lights and shadows. I wish Francis becomes even better and shadows can dissipate”, one of the most renowned voices among Argentina’s Islamic community hoped for.
“With joy and expectation of strengthening dialogue between religions”, Secretary General of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina (CIRA) Dr. Sumer Noufouri told Buenosairesherald.com to resume how news about Bergoglio’s appointment were received by the institution he presides.
Considering ties between the CIRA and now Pope Francis “excellent”, Dr. Noufouri explained that the one-decade relation has helped to build Christian-Muslim dialogue, something “really significant in the history of monotheistic relations in Argentina”. A “joint work”, CIRA head added, “that we have never given up on”.
Mario Jorge Bergoglio is a “respectful, pro-dialogue person who knows the Islam”, the CIRA Secretary General said and, just like Sheij Mohsen Ali. he chose an anecdote to picture the personality of the elected pontiff.
“When Bergoglio attended the CIRA to have lunch with the board, he told us that in Rome, when he talked about the relation he had with Muslims saying that he came to the CIRA and that we congratulated him on Christmas, they just could not believe it, it shocked them,” Dr. Noufouri said and affirmed that “Argentina is a model of dialogue and coexistence that, God willing, could be exported to the world.”
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/126369/pope-francis-a-friend-of-the-islamic-community_______________________________________________________________________________
With Judaism:http://www.bnaibrith.org/5/post/2013/03/bnai-brith-international-welcomes-new-pope-francis-i.htmlB’nai B’rith International Welcomes New Pope Francis I
03/13/2013
Looks Forward To Continued Friendship Between Catholics and Jєωs
B’nai B’rith International welcomes Pope Francis I, who was elected at the Vatican on March 13 by the 115 Catholic cardinals eligible to vote.
The new pope, the former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is the first pope from Latin America. He will lead a Catholic church with 1.2 billion followers.
In November, then-Cardinal Bergoglio was the keynote speaker at B’nai B’rith’s Krystallnacht commemoration in Buenos Aires, where he helped light the menorah.
“We welcome Pope Francis I to his new role as leader of the Catholic Church,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations had remained a focus of Pope Benedict XVI and we look forward to continuing the solid foundation that already exists for interfaith dialogue.”
Pope Benedict resigned last month. Pope Francis I is the 266th pope.
“We have been encouraged by the historic progress in Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations,” said B’nai B’rith Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin. “Interfaith dialogue, stressing tolerance and mutual respect, is increasingly important in today’s world.”
B’nai B’rith leaders met with Pope Benedict, as with a line of his predecessors, on multiple occasions and looks forward to establishing a similar relationship with Pope Francis I.
On Monday, November 12, 2012, the Cathedral of Buenos Aires hosted hundreds of people who attended the B'nai B'rith Argentina commemoration of Krystallnacht. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I, lead the event, and is pictured here lighting the menorah with Rabbi Alejandro Avruj.
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http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/adl-francis-vatican-pope/2013/03/13/id/494587 ADL Applauds Choice of New Pope
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 06:18 PM
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as the next Pope Francis I, applauding his close relationship with the Jєωιѕн community.
"We congratulate the new Pope and wish him well in his important new responsibility. We believe that the election of Francis I is a significant moment in the history of the Church. We look forward to working with him to continue to foster Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations as we have with his predecessors. There is much in his record that reassures us about the future," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director said in a statement.
"Under his leadership in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergogolio made important strides in maintaining positive Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations following the transformational papacies of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI - pontiffs who launched historic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jєωιѕн people.
"Cardinal Bergoglio maintained a close relationship with the Jєωιѕн community in Argentina. He has celebrated various Jєωιѕн holidays with the Argentinian Jєωιѕн community, including Chanukah where he lit a candle on the menorah, attended a Buenos Aires ѕуηαgσgυє for Slichot, a pre-Rosh Hashana service, the Jєωιѕн New Year, as well as a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the wave of violent nαzι attacks against Jєωs before World War II.
"In 2010, during a commemoration of the 1994 bombing, Cardinal Bergogolio called it 'a house of solidarity' and added 'God bless them and help them accomplish their work,' which showed his dedication and support in standing up against extremism.
"In 2010, he together with Argentinian Rabbi Abraham Skorka, published the book “On Heaven and Earth” addressing issues of interfaith dialogue. The new Pope’s sensitivity to the Jєωs emerges from this work in his comments on the Church’s approach to the Jєωιѕн people since Vatican II, the h0Ɩ0cαųst and the Arab-Israeli conflict."
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
-------------------------------
New Pope Writes to Chief Rabbi in Rome
Francis wants to "contribute" to Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations in light of Vatican II
In a letter addressed to the rabbi of the Roman Jєωιѕн community Riccardo Di Segni, Pope Francis said he expects to “contribute to the progress of the relations between Jєωs and Catholics."
“I deeply hope to contribute to the progress of the relations that Jєωs and Catholics hold since the Vatican Council II, through a spirit of renewed collaboration put to the service of a world more and more in harmony with the will of the Creator,” the new Pope affirmed in a message published in the website of the Hebraic community in Rome.
In his first day of his papacy, the first Latin American pope in history visited one of Rome's great basilicas to pray for guidance before the mass at the Sistine Chapel.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/126378/francis-wants-to-contribute-to-catholicJєωιѕн-relations
Pope pledges good relations with Jєωs
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis reached out on Thursday to Rome's Jєωιѕн community, saying he hoped he would be able to contribute to furthering good relations between Catholics and Jєωs.
The new pope sent a message to Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, inviting him to his inaugural Mass at the Vatican on March 19.
"I sincerely hope to be able to contribute to the progress that relations between Jєωs and Catholics have enjoyed since the Second Vatican Council," he said, according to a statement on Vatican Radio.
Francis said he hoped to be able to contribute to "a spirit of renewed collaboration".
Relations between Catholics and Jєωs improved greatly after the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which issued a landmark statement repudiating the concept of collective Jєωιѕн guilt for Jesus's death and urged dialogue with all religions.
Both of Francis's immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, visited Rome's main ѕуηαgσgυє.
The Rome Jєωιѕн community is the oldest in the diaspora and plays a guiding role in Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations worldwide.
World Jєωιѕн organisations welcomed the election of Francis, who maintained good relations with the Argentine Jєωιѕн community when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.
"There is much in his record that reassures us about the future," said Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League in the United States.
In 2010, the future pope published a book on inter-faith dialogue together with Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka.
In Israel, the Chief Rabbinate of the Jєωιѕн state said Francis's past "good relations with the Jєωιѕн people are well known" and was confident his pontificate would develop them further. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Michael Roddy)
http://news.yahoo.com/pope-pledges-good-relations-Jєωs-213207842.html
-----------------------------
ADL Press Release
ADL Congratulates New Pope Francis
New York, NY, March 13, 2013 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as the next Pope Francis.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director issued the following statement:
We congratulate the new Pope and wish him well in his important new responsibility. We believe that the election of Francis I is a significant moment in the history of the Church. We look forward to working with him to continue to foster Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations as we have with his predecessors. There is much in his record that reassures us about the future.
Under his leadership in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio made important strides in maintaining positive Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations following the transformational papacies of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI - pontiffs who launched historic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jєωιѕн people.
Cardinal Bergoglio maintained a close relationship with the Jєωιѕн community in Argentina. He has celebrated various Jєωιѕн holidays with the Argentinian Jєωιѕн community, including Chanukah where he lit a candle on the menorah, attended a Buenos Aires ѕуηαgσgυє for Slichot, a pre-Rosh Hashana service, the Jєωιѕн New Year, as well as a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the wave of violent nαzι attacks against Jєωs before World War II.
In 2010, during a commemoration of the 1994 bombing, Cardinal Bergoglio called it “a house of solidarity” and added “God bless them and help them accomplish their work,” which showed his dedication and support in standing up against extremism.
In 2010, he together with Argentinian Rabbi Abraham Skorka, published the book “On Heaven and Earth” addressing issues of interfaith dialogue. The new Pope’s sensitivity to the Jєωs emerges from this work in his comments on the Church’s approach to the Jєωιѕн people since Vatican II, the h0Ɩ0cαųst and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/interfaith/adl-congratulates-new-pope-francis.html_______________________________________________________________________________
With the Orthodox:Pope Francis and the Orthodox
03/15/2013 15:51
TURKEY - VATICAN
For the first time since the Great Schism, ecuмenical patriarch to attend pope's inaugural Mass
The metropolitans of Argentina and Italy will accompany Bartholomew. Moscow Patriarchate hopes in closer cooperation with Rome but excludes for now a meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) - The Ecuмenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I will attend Pope Francis's inaugural Mass. The Ecuмenical Patriarchate Press Office informed AsiaNews about the decision, noting that this is the first time such an event occurs since the Catholic-Orthodox split in 1054, an important sign for Christian unity.
The ecuмenical patriarch will be accompanied by Ioannis Zizioulas, metropolitan of Pergamon and co-president of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church, as well as Tarassios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, and Gennadios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Italy.
Relations between Catholics and Orthodox have been improving since the Second Vatican Council through mutual visits, acts of friendship and theological dialogue.
Under Benedict XVI, the dialogue picked up in earnest after a lull. In trying to promote it, the pope suggested ways to express the primacy of Peter's successor that could be acceptable to the Orthodox, finding his inspiration from the undivided Church of the first millennium.
Catholic ecuмenism has met however with great resistance from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate, seat of the 'Third Rome'.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, said on Thursday that a meeting between the pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was "possible but the place and timing will depend on how quickly we will overcome the consequences of the conflicts from the turn of 1980s and 1990s".
The issue of the Ukrainian Catholic Church is at the core of the "conflicts" to which Hilarion was referring. Although it was unbanned following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was left without its original churches, which had been seized by the Communists under Soviet rule and later transferred to the Orthodox Church.
Still, "on several occasions, Pope Francis has shown spiritual sympathy towards the Orthodox Church and a desire for closer contacts," Hilarion said.
It is his hope that under the new pontificate "relations of alliance will develop and that our ties will be strengthened."
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/For-the-first-time-since-the-Great-Schism,-ecuмenical-patriarch-to-attend-pope%27s-inaugural-Mass-27408.html
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03/15/2013 13:42
EGYPT - VATICAN
Tawadros II thanks cardinals and Pope Francis for the "blessed choice"
The patriarch of Orthodox Copts sends a telegram of best wishes to Pope Francis. Al-Azhar greets the new pontiff but continues to call on the Catholic Church to issue an apology. The spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church criticises the superficiality of Egyptian media.
Cairo (AsiaNews) - Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Church has thanked Catholics for the election of the new pope and sends its greetings to the new Bishop of Rome, Francis.
In a telegram sent last night, Tawadros II, patriarch of Orthodox Copts, expressed his personal greeting to the pope. "News of your election as head of the Catholic Church fills my heart with joy," said the telegram. "I congratulate you and the cardinals wholeheartedly for this blessed choice. Your Holiness, I wish you good health and long life, that through your work the Catholic Church may grow and bear witness to Christ in the entire world."
Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand Imam at Al-Azhar, the world's main Sunni university, also sent his congratulations. In his message, the Muslim leader, who broke off relations with the Vatican in 2010 during Benedict XVI's pontificate, stressed however that "Islam asks for respect from the new pontiff." For many, al-Tayeb's statement is a sign of openness by the Sunni university, but his message to Francis follows similar ones made in the past.
Over the years, al-Tayeb has in fact on several occasions called on Benedict XVI to issue an official apology for a plea he made on behalf of Christians murdered in the Middle East during New Year's Mass in 2011, which he made in the wake of the horrendous attack of 31 December 2010 at the al-Qidissin (Saints) Coptic Church in Alexandria that left dozens dead, as well as the mass slaughter of Christians at Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad.
Speaking about media coverage of the papal election, Fr Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, said that the local press is also divided between those who welcome the election of the pope, an show respect for the Catholic Church, and those who reprint stories that have appeared in the West's yellow press that accuse Francis of doing nothing during Argentina's military regime.
"Articles in Egyptian press divide three ways," Fr Greiche said. The first group prints only news from the main news agencies like Reuters, AP and AFP (for example, Al-Arham). The second relegates the story to the back pages with short articles without any in-depth analyses (mostly Arabic language newspapers). The third group, which is closer to the liberal camp, includes papers established following the Arab spring (for example, Al-Masry al-Ayoum) and is in favour of the new pontiff."
According to the priest however, Egyptian media for the most part has treated the pope's election with superficiality, repeating the errors of the main international news agencies.
"No one has grasped the spiritual and religious significance of the pope's election, and the importance that the conclave has for Catholics. Most articles are vague, do not know the difference between a bishop and a cardinal and view the bishop of Rome as an ordinary religious leader that speaks to his people and not to the whole world." (S.C.)
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Tawadros-II-thanks-cardinals-and-Pope-Francis-for-the-blessed-choice-27405.html
Topic: Pope Francis and Ecuмenism - A Summary (Read 1994 times)