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Pope writes to the Patriarch of Moscow. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Benedict XVI wrote a personal message to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II …More
Pope writes to the Patriarch of Moscow.

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Benedict XVI wrote a personal message to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, in which he expresses the importance of "hastening the journey toward the full unity of all the disciples of Christ".

In "our times, marked so often by conflict and grief", this testimony of reconciliation is necessary so "that the joyous message of salvation may be spread to all humanity".

The message was hand-delivered to Alexy II by the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, on an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of the patriarch. The cardinal delivered the letter, along with a relic of St Gennaro, during an audience at the Kremlin.

In his letter, the Pope said he has "a deep affection for all the Orthodox brethren", and affirms that "faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is a bond that unites hearts in a profound way and invites us all to strengthen our commitment to manifest to the world a shared witness of living together respectfully and peacefully".