This brief message by our Holy Father, Pope Leo, is packed with meaning for both the Church of the East, even the schismatics, but also the Church of the West.
The Byzantine Churches of the East in full communion with the Patriarch of the West, the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ, the pope, maintain the patrimony of the East. The East’s form of the Divine Liturgy is a heritage to be preserved, not Latinized (or Westernized) and not tinkered with in an absurd, causal, priests’ personality sort of way as happens, without authorization, but developed in a deformed organic way, in so many Latin Rite Modern Masses.
And finally, as it concerns synodality, Pope Leo says that the Byzantine Church (in their synodal way) renews their pastoral ministry ROOTED in FIDELITY to their heritage!
So there are three points in what I take away in Pope Leo’s brief message to the Byzantine Church in the USA.
1. You give a way to full communion with the Church to our separated Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters, to include their bishops and lower clergy.
2. Your liturgical heritage is to be preserved as a rich heritage not to be squandered (as in the Western Rite’s current state of liturgical affairs).
3. Pastoral (synodal) renewal (missionary thrust) is accomplished by remaining rooted in their rich heritage (of faith and morals as well as liturgy, unlike the current Western’s development of synodality which seeks to abandon the West’s patrimony of faith, morals and liturgy).
The following is the Message sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the participants in the Third Metropolitan Assembly of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh:
Message of the Holy Father
To the Participants
in the Third Metropolitan Assembly
of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
I extend heartfelt greetings to all of you gathered for the Third Assembly of the Byzantine Catholic Church of Pittsburgh, convoked by Metropolitan Archbishop William Skurla and the Council of Hierarchs, taking place at the Church of Saint Mary in Whiting, Indiana.
Your Assembly, held under the theme Come, let us worship and bow before Christ, offers a precious opportunity to grow in unity and to reaffirm your commitment to the Lord. Through your liturgical celebrations, prayerful reflection and fraternal dialogue, you will surely renew your faithful witness to Christ and deepen your proclamation of the Gospel in the rich tradition of the Byzantine Catholic Churches.
The participation of clergy, religious, and lay faithful, along with representatives from the Exarchate of Toronto and the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, offers a visible sign of communion in the Church.
I give thanks for the witness of your forebears, who built vibrant Byzantine communities in North America amidst various challenges and uncertainty. Their legacy continues in your courageous embrace of pastoral renewal, which is rooted in fidelity to your heritage.
I assure you of my spiritual closeness and entrust your gathering to the intercession of Mary the Mother of God. To all participating in the Assembly, I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to all in the Archeparchy as a pledge of wisdom, joy and peace in the Lord.
From the Vatican, 12 July 2025
5 comments:
Beautiful words from the Holy Father!
"Come let us worship and bow before Christ", from Divine Liturgy.
It did not come easily, what was built in the U.S., the RC caused 3 schisms to occur, 2 of which should never have happened.
Nonetheless, and moving forward, we are surviving having reclaimed our patrimony resulting in an authentic Eastern expression of Christ-centered worship with Mother Mary as our intercessor.
I'm profoundly grateful for this inheritance!☦️
Are you reading into this what you want to read into it ?
In a word, YES!
I don't believe so. Pope Leo has clearly focused on the East during his brief occupancy of the throne. That we've garnered this much positive attention in and of itself is remarkable. Us being part of his overall agenda is to be determined, but, it would seem, not out of the question.
If not for work obligations, I would like to participate in these types of gatherings someday.
I do think Pope Leo is signaling the Latin Rite by praising the Eastern Rite in so many way and really since day one of his papacy, with the Holy Spirit coincidence of so many Eastern Rite prelates in Rome during the short conclave and after the pope’s election. Pope Leo was able to praise the mystery maintained by the Eastern Rite Liturgy at an audience with them. I do think Pope Leo is a “refining” pope and he knows Pope Francis’ version of synodality departs greatly from the Eastern Form of it that has centuries of tradition in both the Eastern Rite and Eastern Orthodoxy. Their form is very palatable for most Latin Rite Catholics who are very suspicious of Francis’ type of synodality still embraced by his cabal of leaders who continue to speak gibberish about synodality while neglecting God altogether. I’d say that’s a major red flag and a sign of a godless ideological form of synodality they want.
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