Orientale Lumen VIII
Washington, DC June 2004

The participants in OL VIII in the auditorium of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC

Theodore Cardinal McCarrick visited the conference and said a few words of encouragement to the participants

Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia addressed the conference via live satellite link from Oxford, UK

OL VIII, June 2004, Washington , DC
"What's Our Bottom Line?"

Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia - " Many Orthodox see the greatest difficulty in their relations with the Catholic Church as being the existence and the activity of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Here, I wish to disagree. I do not think that this is the main point at issue, and I very much regret that because of this question the Catholic-Orthodox international dialogue seems to be making little progress. My own feeling as an Orthodox is that the Eastern Catholic Churches have undoubtedly a right to exist. And I would add at once that we Orthodox need to ask forgiveness for the way in which we’ve often treated the Eastern Catholics in the past. And not only that, I would also add that we Orthodox should see the Eastern Catholics as our best friends in the Catholic Church, as those who are best able to understand us. "