OL VIII, June 2004, Washington , DC
"What's Our Bottom Line?"
Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia - " Many Orthodox see the greatest difficulty in their relations with the Catholic Church as being the existence and the activity of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Here, I wish to disagree. I do not think that this is the main point at issue, and I very much regret that because of this question the Catholic-Orthodox international dialogue seems to be making little progress. My own feeling as an Orthodox is that the Eastern Catholic Churches have undoubtedly a right to exist. And I would add at once that we Orthodox need to ask forgiveness for the way in which we’ve often treated the Eastern Catholics in the past. And not only that, I would also add that we Orthodox should see the Eastern Catholics as our best friends in the Catholic Church, as those who are best able to understand us. "
-
- Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia addressed the conference via live satellite link from Oxford, UK
-
- Theodore Cardinal McCarrick visited the conference and said a few words of encouragement to the participants
-
- The participants in OL VIII in the auditorium of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC