World Congress Controversy: Cardinal Schonborn Defuses Concern Over Orthodox Bishop's Remarks

ROME, April 6, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Day 4 (Saturday,April 5) of the World Mercy Congress at St. John Lateran Basilica here,Congress President Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Austria dealt with acontroversy stemming from yesterday's plenary sessions, according to a story by Dan Valenti.

The controversy deals with a presentation made on Friday (April 4) byRussian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyed of Austria. Valenti, who broke thestory, is covering the Congress here for http://www.thedivinemercy.org and theAssociation of Marian Helpers.

As pastoral heads of Austria for their respective Churches, theCardinal and Bishop have a warm, productive relationship that many see as amodel for ecumenical rapprochement.

In his talk, Bishop Hilarion said God's mercy for humanity is so greatthat it even places a limit on the temporal punishment of sin of those inhell. Bishop Hilarion said the Russian Orthodox view of "hell" is actuallymore like the Roman Catholic teaching of purgatory. It is a point of majordisagreement between the two Churches.

Cardinal Schonborn said, "The witness [of Bishop Hilarion] has caused afew doubts in some of us. I hold him in great esteem. What he said aboutthe eternal destiny of man is not a doctrine of the [Catholic] Church. Weshould follow what great saints of all time have said. [We should] praythat no one should be lost. God wants all men to be saved and to come tothe knowledge of truth. For this reason, we invoke The Divine Mercy on us all."

Knowledgeable observers said Cardinal Schonborn's unscripted commentswere significant in that he did not reject or minimize the teaching of theRussian Orthodox bishop and that his inclusive use of the collectivepronoun "us" could be seen as a tacit endorsement of Bishop Hilarion'stopic. That topic had been approved for inclusion in the plenary sessionsby the Congress' International Executive Committee, over which CardinalSchonborn presides.

The Vatican Press Office had embargoed, copyrighted, and permitted thetext of the speech. Many congressional delegates applauded both CardinalSchonborn and Bishop Hilarion for what was seen as a courageous ecumenical stance.

"Here we had the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Churchconfronting an issue of disagreement with mutual respect, openness, anddialogue," said a member of the U.S. delegation, who spoke on condition ofanonymity. "Cardinal Schonborn did not run away in fear as some always doin these ticklish matters. Rather, he moved forward and with him took allwho are secure in their identity as Christians."

The first-ever World Mercy Congress ends tomorrow with Mass in St.Peter's Square celebrated by Cardinal Schonborn and the "Regina Caeli" byPope Benedict XVI at noon.

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