Pope Francis today proposed that all Christians celebrate Easter at the same time. He did so, noting that “The Catholic Church has been willing since Paul VI to set a date and give up the first solstice after the full moon in March" by which Easter is established.
With ecumenical goals in mind, the pope said that he had invited the Orthodox ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to present his encyclical on ecology. "We are friends,” he said, “ but he had a commitment, and so sent the Archbishop of Pergamum Zizoulas. This way, the encyclical will be presented by one of the greatest Orthodox theologians. "Get together as priests to prepare homilies. Please, do not scare the people of God, do not waste time. Talk of God's Kingdom, the Beatitudes, the love that transforms the heart. God's love is stronger than any murderous terrorism." "Who are we? Puritans? Please [avoid] a Church without Jesus and without mercy! Do not drive away faithful people," he said citing the case of a priest in Buenos Aires who refused to baptise the child of a single mother. "When this happens, the heart of a priest is bureaucratic; it is closely tied to the law of the Church. The Church, which is like a mother, becomes for many believers a stepmother. Please, make others feel that the Church is always a mother!"
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