Pope Francis meets on Wednesday afternoon with Myanmar’s Supreme Council of Buddhist monks, as well as with the country’s Minister for Religious Affairs. There are about half a million monks in the country today, plus over 60.000 Buddhist nuns, often seen with shaved heads and pink robes, collecting money or uncooked rice in metal alms bowls. Philippa Hitchen is in [...]
Catholic and Methodist theologians wind up a meeting at the weekend that has been marking the 50th anniversary of their first ecumenical dialogue group, established in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. The first session of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission was held in the hill town of Ariccia in October 1967. Pope Francis met with members of the [...]
In just one week’s time, Pope Francis takes off on a journey to the Egyptian capital Cairo, where he will visit the prestigious al-Azhar centre of Islamic studies. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world, is also expected to join the Holy Father there, alongside the Coptic Pope Tawadros II. Both Pope Francis and [...]
Georgia’s ambassador to the Holy See says she believes the Pope’s recent visit to her country can help promote better relations with other Christian Churches. (Vatican Radio) Tamara Grdzelidze, an Orthodox theologian and former official at the World Council of Churches, told Vatican Radio she was saddened by some of the negative media coverage of the two [...]
Pope Francis takes off for the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday for a two-day visit to the majority Orthodox republic. As well as meeting with religious and civil authorities in Tbilisi, the Pope will travel to the nearby ancient city of Mtskheta, founded in the 5th century BC and famed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage [...]
February 5, 2016, Friday -- More on the Pope Francis-Patriarch Kirill Meeting in Havana, Cuba, on February 12 "Thus, in full awareness and at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome that Peter bathed with his blood, the current successor assumes as his primary commitment that of working tirelessly towards the reconstruction of [...]