Pope sends greetings to new Romanian Orthodox patriarch

Published: 2007-10-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI sent warm greetings and words of ecumenical encouragement to the newly elected head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniel. After expressing his joy at the inauguration of the patriarch's ministry, the pope said Catholic-Orthodox relations should be strengthened "in order to respond to the present needs of Europe and the world on the religious and social levels." He said, "The common witness of Christians is increasingly necessary to respond to our common vocation and the urgent needs of our time." The pope's message was read aloud after an enthronement liturgy for the new patriarch Sept. 30 in Bucharest, Romania. A Vatican delegation headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist, attended. Patriarch Daniel, 56, who was elected by the Romanian Orthodox synod Sept. 12, is regarded as a modernizer within his church and open to ecumenism. He replaced Patriarch Teoctist, who died in July at age 92.

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