Pope Benedict XVI Address to the Congress of the Eastern Churches

(October 09, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI paid a special tribute to Pope John Paul II for his intuition and special concern towards the eastern Catholic Churches by providing a special Code of Canons to suite to the times so that they may go ahead with greater vigour to their mission. The Pope was addressing on Saturday, the delegates of the Study Conference held in Rome from October 8 to 9^th to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. This twenty-year anniversary celebration event, said the Pontiff, is not only to recall its memory, but see their implementation the Eastern Catholic Churches and their institutions, especially the Hierarchies. The question is how far the code has actually been the force of law for all Eastern Catholic Churches themselves and how it was translated in the daily activities of the Eastern Churches, as well as the extent to which the legislative authority of each Church applied the provisions of the Second Vatican Council within the context of its own rites. Pope Benedict said that the theme of the conference, divided into three units, namely, the history, the special laws, the ecumenical perspective, indicates a very significant process to be followed. It must begin with the realization that the new Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches has created for the Eastern faithful Catholics a disciplinary situation, providing a valuable tool to preserve and promote their own rite in their liturgical, theological, spiritual and cultural and historical circumstances of peoples, thus enabling them to live fully their faith. Inviting them to maintain their identity and ecumenical spirit, the Pope told them that it is the duty of all Eastern Catholic Churches to preserve the common heritage and their fidelity to their tradition.