Pope calls for elimination of offensive terminology to strengthen unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christians

Pope Leo is calling for the elimination of outdated ecclesiastical and theological terminology such as «schismatics» or «heretics» from use in order to deepen mutual understanding and communion between Catholics and Orthodox. The announcement was made through the Holy See’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in a message to an international conference marking the 60th anniversary of the historic 1965 declaration on the lifting of mutual excommunications.

As Credo.pro reports, the conference «1965-2025: The Abolition of Excommunication» is taking place in Loppiano (city of the Focolare Movement) and is organized by the International Ecumenical Chair «Patriarch Athenagoras — Chiara Lubich» of the Institute of Sofia University. It brings together Catholic and Orthodox theologians tracing the key stages of the dialog of the last sixty years. An important milestone was December 7, 1965, when, on the eve of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical (Constantinople) Patriarch Athenagoras signed a declaration. They solemnly declared that the mutual excommunications of 1054 and the painful events leading up to them should be «erased from the memory of the Church.»

In his message delivered by Cardinal Parolin, Pope Leo emphasizes that this historic act «opened the way to reconciliation, peace and an ever deeper communion between Catholics and Orthodox.» Significant progress has been made over the years, with frequent contacts, fraternal meetings, exchanges of visits and promising theological dialog. These steps, it is noted, indicate that the memory of the events of 1054, which negatively affected relations between Christians East and West, has been purified, if not completely erased, in both Churches.

Cardinal Parolin, on behalf of the Pontiff, also stated that the Churches «have overcome all the historical, sociological and theological obstacles that prevent us from mutually recognizing the full ecclesiological nature of our Churches, including the validity of the Sacraments administered.» The message calls to ask — given the progress that has been made — whether the time has not come to fully embody the ecclesiological and canonical implications of the 60-year-old declaration, in particular to refrain from calling each other schismatics or heretics.

The international conference, as Pope Leo expressed his hope, should become not only an opportunity for reflection on the past, but also a platform for proposing new, concrete steps to further strengthen unity and reconciliation between Christian denominations.

Recall, earlier we reported that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Pope Leo XIV signed a joint declaration in Istanbul reaffirming their commitment to the path toward restoring full communion between the Roman Catholic and Constantinople Churches. The document also calls for an end to wars and the unification of the date of Easter.