Our Blood is the Same

Christian suffering was the topic when the pope and the patriarch met in Jerusalem.  During the liturgy Pope Francis said something very important.  When we suffer we suffer together, there are no distinctions.   We should take consolation in this message.

POPE FRANCIS

"We need to believe that, just as the stone before the tomb was cast aside, so too every obstacle to our full communion will also be removed.”

The Pope said the work of their predecessors, 50 years ago, showed that it's possible to take steps towards unity. But he added that violence and persecution around the world today also force Christians to come together. 

POPE FRANCIS

"There is born an ecumenism of suffering, an ecumenism of blood, which proves particularly powerful not only for those situations in which it occurs, but also, by virtue of the communion of the saints, for the whole Church as well. Those who, in hatred of their faith, kill and persecute Christians, don't ask if they are Orthodox or Catholic. They are Christians, and Christian blood is the same.”