The pope reached the pilgrimage site on Saturday after something of a pilgrimage of his own. A major goal of Francis’ three-day trip here is to help mend an open wound between the two churches that ultimately goes back to centuries-old theological and political clashes. But for all Francis’ free movement and speech around Romania, tensions still linger between Romania’s majority Orthodox Church and its Catholic communities, which represent about 5 percent of the country’s population. The Great Schism, caused by differences in liturgy and theology, eventually led to a split and mutual excommunications between the western church, loyal to the pope, and the eastern church, loyal to a patriarch. “Generally, there is a good relationship, but I’d like to have a much more closer relationship.”

Source: New York Times June 01, 2019 10:07 UTC