‘ Pope Benedict XVI pledged Sunday to work to end Roman Catholicism’s 1,000-year-old rift with the Orthodox Church, delivering a message of healing on the first trip of his papacy.

Benedict flew by helicopter to the Adriatic port of Bari, home to the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra, a fourth-century saint popular among both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The presence of the relics has earned the city a reputation as a religious bridge between East and West.

The 3 1/2-hour trip was Benedict’s first outside Rome since being elected the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church on April 19. Though brief, the outing showed he was following in the much-traveled footsteps of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.’

Read more at Benedict Reaches Out to Orthodox Church

Recent Entries

• Papal center’s spiral costly
• Pope to visit Britain next year
• John Paul’s sainthood centers on young nun
• Priest probes possible miracle in John Paul II saint case
• Pope Benedict chooses 15 new cardinals, and two are from U.S.
• Pope to name new Cardinals soon
• Pope urges caution on new converts to French Catholic group
• Ex-Vatican priest returns to Canada to face child sex charges
• Vatican Calls Turkey Trip a Critical Test
• First Lady Discusses Terrorism With Pope

This entry was posted on Monday, May 30th, 2005 at 1:49 pm and is filed under General Pope News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.