Pope’s greetings to Orthodox meeting in Bose

(September 09, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his hopes for a "renewed commitment to spiritual communion and evangelical witness" as the fruit of the 19th International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox spirituality. The five-day conference began on Wednesday at the Monastery of Bose, in northern Italy. This year's theme is "The Word of God in Spiritual Life." Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a message to the conference on the Pope’s behalf expressing the Holy Father's good wishes. The message speaks of the participants "drawing from the richness of sacred Scripture, loved both in the East and in the West." The event gathered leading biblical scholars and some of the most authoritative exponents of the various Orthodox Churches.