He then went further, expressing his desire for full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Following a long-standing custom, the Holy See sent a delegation to Istanbul to celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, on November 30th.

The delegation was led by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

"It is with great spiritual joy and in profound communion of faith and charity that I join the prayer of the Church of Constantinople in celebrating the feast of its holy patron, the Apostle Andrew, the first-called and brother of the Apostle Peter," the pope said in his letter.

"I convey the assurance of the unwavering intention of the Catholic Church, as well as my own, to continue in our commitment to working towards the re-establishment of full communion among the Christians of the East and the West," Pope Francis said.

Francis noted it has been 40 years since the establishment of a Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

"The search for the re-establishment of full communion among Catholics and Orthodox is certainly not confined to theological dialogue, but is also accomplished through other channels of ecclesial life," the pope continued.

"Our relations are nourished above all through authentic gestures of mutual respect and esteem," he said. "Such actions show a shared fidelity to the word of our one Lord Jesus Christ, and the will to remain together in his love."

The pope pointed out that Catholics and Orthodox share a common Baptism, but that joint initiatives take it further.

"The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church," he said, "have already embarked upon this promising journey, as testified by our joint initiatives."

And he urged Catholics and Orthodox faithful to strengthen "the daily dialogue of love and life" by praying and working together in harmony.

Source

• CNA

Pope Francis says he and "our dear brother Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople" prepared the message together to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

Francis says their message invites everyone to take a respectful, responsible attitude towards creation.

He said he and Bartholomew "also appeal to all who occupy influential roles, to listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most from ecological imbalances."

The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation was started by the Orthodox Church in 1989 by Bartholomew's predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios I.

In 2015, Bartholomew's personal envoy, Metropolitan John Zizioulas, spoke at the presentation of Laudato si', Francis's encyclical on the environment. In the encyclical, Francis praises Bartholomew's work for the environment.

Zizioulas suggested that all the Christian churches start marking the day together, as an ecumenical gesture.

Later that year Francis instituted the world day of prayer for the Catholic Church.

At that time he said the world day of prayer would should be a time for individuals and communities to "reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live."

For Christians to contribute to safeguarding creation, Francis says they must rediscover the spiritual foundations of their approach to what exists on earth.

He says this begins with acknowledging "the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature," but lived in communion with all worldly realities.

Source

• Crux
• Vatican Radio
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Catholic World Report