Pope Francis met on January 12 with the Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches—an institution that supports clerics from the Orthodox churches who study at Catholic universities in Rome.
The Pope remarked that these students gain a deeper understanding of Catholicism, and in turn help their fellow students understand the Orthodox traditions. The process, the Pope said, “may prove to be, through mutual acceptance and fraternal respect, dialogue and sharing, a prophecy of charity and a seedbed of unity.”