Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople called on Christians of the East and West to finally agree on a common date for Easter.

During a meeting at the patriarchal palace on 29 November, the two leaders — who met to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea — said the anniversary should inspire “new and courageous steps on the path toward unity,” including finding that common date.
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On the eve of the feast of Saint Andrew the First-called Apostle, brother of the Apostle Peter and patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we, Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, give heartfelt thanks to God, our merciful Father, for the gift of this fraternal meeting. Following the example of our venerable predecessors, and heeding the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, we continue to walk with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth (cf. Eph 4:15), towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches. Aware that Christian unity is not merely the result of human efforts, but a gift that comes from on high, we invite all the members of our Churches – clergy, monastics, consecrated persons, and the lay faithful – earnestly to seek the fulfilment of the prayer that Jesus Christ addressed to the Father: “that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).
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Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople met at the patriarchal seat in the ancient Phanar quarter on Saturday (Nov. 29) to sign a joint declaration affirming their commitment to achieving communion between the two churches.

“We continue to walk with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth, towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches,” the declaration read.
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Canadian church leaders issued a joint statement endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and promising to implement its principles. Doreen Spence, an aboriginal Canadian who was one of the architects of the declaration, welcomes the move.

“Endorsement is a big step forward. I really commend them,” Spence says. “It has taken them a long time.”

Spence served as presiding elder to the core group of indigenous people who met in Geneva over a 20-year period to craft the declaration and guide it through the lengthy process that led to its adoption by the UN General Assembly in 2007. The World Council of Churches (WCC) supported the working group by offering meeting space at the Ecumenical Centre.

The Canadian churches’ statement, signed by seven church leaders, says they commit to implementing the principles, norms, and standards named in the UN declaration and “embrace the opportunity … to work for reconciliation and to fully respect the human rights and dignity of indigenous peoples in Canada.”

Canadian church leaders issued their endorsement on 30 March in response to a call-to-action by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission into abuse of aboriginal students in church-run residential schools. In its report released in June 2015, the TRC called on churches, faith groups, and social justice groups in Canada to “formally adopt and comply with” the principles and standards of UNDRIP as a framework for reconciliation between the country’s aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples.

Leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, Christian Reformed Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Salvation Army, and United Church of Canada issued the statement in Ottawa, the country’s capital city. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Holy Cross Fathers also issued statements, as did several ecumenical and interfaith groups.
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