Trent, Italy, Dec 17, 2008 / 17:14 pm
The First European Catholic-Orthodox Forum has produced a document on the nature of the family as a "good for humanity." Calling the family "established by God as a union between man and woman," the forum describes the family as a "unity of life-giving love, an indissoluble relationship, open to life."
Explaining teachings on the family common to both Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, the joint document discusses the family as part of God’s plan for man and the "deep crisis of vision" threatening its place in modern societies.
Thirty delegates from the Orthodox Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, and the Vatican met over the past month at Trent in Italy. Organized by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), it is hoped that the First Catholic-Orthodox Forum will advance closer ties and cooperation between the two Churches, LifeSiteNews.com reports.
"The aim above all is to start clear and effective communication between our churches so that we are aware that we face the same challenges (secularism, consumerism, atheism, etc.)," said Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfejev. "These are themes which all our churches face individually and instead it is important to tackle them together."