Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV had a phone conversation this morning with Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, a few days after the Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics, celebrated on 10 May.
In it, the pontiff stressed the need to commit to full unity in a world afflicted by conflict and to give fresh impetus to fruitful theological dialogue, overcoming centuries of misunderstandings in a perspective of faith and charity.
In a statement released today, the Vatican Press Office said that the conversation was held "in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere” with the "desire to revitalize" the celebration and stressing the “shared responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel and promoting peace and reconciliation”.
The Press Office noted that this shared task is urgent today more than ever, especially in the “greatly troubled Middle East”.
As he stressed in his talk with Tawadros, the theme of "full unity" among Christians is not and cannot be, for Pope Leo, a distant goal, but is something much needed, above all because of the many conflicts, violence, and divisions tearing the Middle East apart.
The pope had already emphasised this priority in the letter he sent to the Coptic Orthodox patriarch on 4 May ahead of the Day of Friendship, whose idea originated with Tawadros, but was later eagerly embraced by Pope Francis on 13 May 2013, just two months after he ascended to the throne of Peter.
That Day was intended to mark the 40th anniversary of the meeting between Paul VI and Shenouda III in 1973, which ended with the signing of a joint Christological declaration.
The relationship between the two Christian leaders was further confirmed 10 years later, in May 2023, with a joint blessing of the crowd (pictured) and the commemoration of the 21 Coptic Christians (and martyrs) beheaded by the Islamic State in 2015 on a beach in Libya.
Pope Leo reiterated the concepts of friendship and dialogue in the letter sent to Tawadros at the start of last week, in which he underlines that “This Day of Friendship, whose idea originated with Your Holiness, celebrates the relations between the See of Peter and the See of Mark, and is indeed a significant initiative.
“For us Christians, friendship is not a vague sentiment; it is at the very heart of our life and faith. For our Lord himself calls us his friends (cf. Jn 15:15), and he teaches us that ‘no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (Jn 15:13)”.
The pontiff’s letter goes on to say that, “This pilgrimage of friendship has enabled our Churches, separated by centuries of misunderstanding, to engage in a highly fruitful theological dialogue initiated over fifty years ago by Saint Paul VI and His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, of blessed memory.
“This dialogue, which was initially bilateral, has been taking place since 2003 within the framework of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches”.
“It is my hope that this Commission, whose Coordinating committee is currently meeting in Rome, may resume its work as soon as possible with all Churches of the Oriental Orthodox family”.
Citing the Sixth World Conference of the Faith and Order Commission held at the Monastery of St Bishoy, in Wadi El Natrun, in October 2025, the pope said that he was “confident that the reflections undertaken on the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council will rekindle our desire to achieve the visible unity of the Church”.
Such unity, he added, is “rooted in the one baptism that we profess in the Nicene Creed, and which, I sincerely pray, we shall attain.
“At a time when our world is afflicted by so many conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, Christians must, more than ever, strive for full unity so that we may bear witness together to the Prince of Peace.”
Meanwhile, “as our Churches prepare for the feast of Pentecost, I pray that the Holy Spirit, source and bearer of all gifts, will guide Copts and Catholics on our common pilgrimage in truth and charity towards full communion.”
