At the end of this week, Pope Francis will be leaving Rome to visit the Holy Land . Given the armed conflict that has been the poor lot of that part of planet earth over the centuries, its very name might seem a misnomer. To declare Christian faith can be an enormous risk in these days of violent strife. The increasing vulnerability of Christians in the Middle East has been evident in many news reports in recent months, with attacks on church buildings and on individuals. It would appear that Francis has declined the safety of a bullet proof vehicle, according to a Tablet report on their website, May 16.2014.  

With him during the three days of his stay will be the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.  

The meeting of the Church from East and West, torn apart in 1054, beautifully imaged in unity in the logo for their visit, is an important and hopefully joyous occasion. It also marks the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I in Jerusalem in 1964.  

That historic meeting led to the lifting of the mutual anathemas of 1054. The full text of their declaration following a subsequent meeting in Rome in 1967 can be found here.  

Unity is a fragile plant that needs great care, constant attention and always a clear direction. It is too much to expect that unity maintains a totality of views and opinions for that is beyond the experience of our present existence.  

It should however be found in a Christian vision of hope, an understanding that whatever our difficulties, our pilgrimage is centred on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Book of Proverbs memorably recorded that “without vision, the people perish”.  

So maybe with all the bumps and hindrances we have and are experiencing, the clarity of our vision is important. One of the evident truths that Francis has shown us time and again is that faith should not be cluttered with the gathered detail of the years but must be focused ultimately on the Trinity that is our source of life, love and inspiration.  

By going to Jerusalem , by offering friendship to Christians and those of other faiths, Francis is extending the conscious belief of humankind, that thinking, believing, experiential consciousness for which Teilhard de Chardin coined the term Noosphere.

 “In him we live and move and have our being” said the apostle Paul when he appeared before the Areopagus. That is not a confinement, a restriction, but an open invitation. In The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis, there are some tremendous lines. To quote but two: p13 “Christians must be revolutionary”. and p35 “The Lord wants us to belong to a Church that opens its arms to everyone”  

Unity between Christians of East and West may come about through an understanding that examines the core of belief and does not get overwhelmed by the edgeland trivia.

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