![Cardinal O’Malley at Catholic-Orthodox conference: ‘Come together and pray for unity’ #Catholic WASHINGTON — Cardinal Seán Patrick OʼMalley, retired archbishop of Boston, encouraged Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians to pray together for reunification at a joint conference focused on healing the nearly 1,000-year schism between the churches.“Come together and pray for unity,” O’Malley said at the conference, hosted by the Orientale Lumen Foundation at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15.Speakers included Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox bishops, and a few dozen laity and clergy focused on ecumenism attended. Along with O’Malley, speakers included Archbishop Flavio Pace — secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — and Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).O’Malley encouraged concrete steps to integrate Catholic and Orthodox communities, one of the most important of which was “praying together.” Just prior to his speech, the Catholic and Orthodox clergy — including O’Malley, Pace, and Mollard — prayed daily vespers together in the form used in Eastern churches.The cardinal, speaking to those gathered, said unity will ultimately be achieved as a gift to the faithful granted by Christ and will come about “how he wills [it].” He said he considers joint prayer to be crucial because it is the Holy Spirit who will “illuminate the way” toward East-West communion.‘Work for unity’In his address, O’Malley discussed his concern with the disunity of Christianity, which he said “weakens our ability [as Christians] to proclaim the Gospel with coherence and authority.”He recalled his early work in the 1970s with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The order was deeply involved in missionary work in Papua New Guinea. Although O’Malley himself was not a missionary there, he spoke about conversations with colleagues who were working with people accepting Christianity in large numbers.O’Malley noted that when new converts had learned about the various Christian denominations, many felt “sad and embarrassed.” Although many Christians view the disunity as “normative,” he said, the people of Papua New Guinea correctly recognized it as “scandalous.”“All disciples of Jesus Christ must feel an impulse to work for unity among Christians,” O’Malley said.O’Malley said Catholics should see Orthodoxy as the “greatest possibility of success in this task in fulfilling Christ’s wish so that we all become one so the world may believe.” He noted that the two share “so many saints and devotions” and are more similar to Catholics in theology than any other Christian community.He expressed joy that many Orthodox churches send representatives to meetings held by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and that the Catholic Church also sent representatives to the Orthodox Council of Crete in 2016. Yet, he encouraged a stronger bond.O’Malley urged the bodies to “consider the possibility of joint pastoral letters or statements” on issues of mutual agreement like world hunger, euthanasia, and abortion. He said they should establish committees together to organize joint prayer, study sessions, and works of mercy.His idea of unity, he explained, would be “communion without absorption” and said there is a difference between “unity and uniformity.” He said people should look to the Eastern Catholic Churches as a model, saying “they are bridges for reconciliation and laboratories for synodal communion.”Although Rome’s relationship with the Eastern Catholics was not always perfect (O’Malley noted historical attempts at forced Latinization), the cardinal said there is an opportunity to work more closely with Eastern Catholics as part of ecumenical efforts, focused on “greater respect for their uniqueness.”Mollard, speaking from the Orthodox position, echoed O’Malley’s desire for unity and the feeling of pain over continued separation.“It affects the faithful in the parishes and how they live their lives,” the metropolitan said. “And perhaps encourage[s] us all to not just reach out and educate but really inspire in people that faith in Christ and love for the Church can drive … [the path toward] unity.”O’Malley told EWTN News that ecumenism requires “different groups that would be Catholic and Orthodox, working together,” and Church leaders should be “letting people know the progress that has been made in the dialogue.”He said Eastern Orthodox Christians “have the sacraments,” they have apostolic succession, and “the differences are not great.” Although theological disputes remain a division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, he said he believes the causes of the schism were more political and cultural.“Most Catholics and Orthodox in the pews are not focused on those fine points of theology,” O’Malley said.Ongoing Vatican ecumenical workMany theological disputes, however, are being hashed out at the highest levels of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of the biggest include questions of papal supremacy, primacy, and jurisdiction as well as the language of the Nicene Creed and subsequently certain details about the Holy Trinity.Pace, who flew in from Rome, discussed some of the history and recent progress on ecumenism related to these subjects during his speech, noting that the end goal is “full unity” between the East and the West.
Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, speaks at the Orientale Lumen Foundation conference at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2026. | Credit: Tyler Arnold/EWTN News
The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, formed in 1980, created two subcommittees in 2024. One focuses on infallibility, which is the current priority. The other is about the dispute about the Nicene Creed."We have to prepare a very good draft,” Pace told EWTN News.He said once the subcommittee completes its draft on infallibility, the body will consider a call for a full meeting for approval. He said the subcommittee must “arrive to a good document that the [full committee] can discuss and approve.”The First Vatican Council teaches that the pope speaks infallibly on matters of faith and morals when defining matters of doctrine and invoking his papal authority, binding the declaration on the entire Church.Bishop Anthony Vrame, a Greek Orthodox bishop and director of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, said in a panel discussion that Orthodoxy recognizes the indefectibility of councils: “When the Church gathers together in council, … no error is possible.” Yet, papal infallibility is different, as it is “designated to one person.”Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, offered a prerecorded video message for the conference, stating that he hopes the eventual documents will be received by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.Koch emphasized the importance of clergy informing the laity when there are developments, so the progress is “not to be remained known only by experts.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cardinal-omalley-at-catholic-orthodox-conference-come-together-and-pray-for-unity-catholic-washington-cardinal-sean-patrick-ocabcmalley-retired-archbishop-of-scaled.jpg "Cardinal O’Malley at Catholic-Orthodox conference: ‘Come together and pray for unity’ #Catholic WASHINGTON — Cardinal Seán Patrick OʼMalley, retired archbishop of Boston, encouraged Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians to pray together for reunification at a joint conference focused on healing the nearly 1,000-year schism between the churches.“Come together and pray for unity,” O’Malley said at the conference, hosted by the Orientale Lumen Foundation at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15.Speakers included Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox bishops, and a few dozen laity and clergy focused on ecumenism attended. Along with O’Malley, speakers included Archbishop Flavio Pace — secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — and Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).O’Malley encouraged concrete steps to integrate Catholic and Orthodox communities, one of the most important of which was “praying together.” Just prior to his speech, the Catholic and Orthodox clergy — including O’Malley, Pace, and Mollard — prayed daily vespers together in the form used in Eastern churches.The cardinal, speaking to those gathered, said unity will ultimately be achieved as a gift to the faithful granted by Christ and will come about “how he wills [it].” He said he considers joint prayer to be crucial because it is the Holy Spirit who will “illuminate the way” toward East-West communion.‘Work for unity’In his address, O’Malley discussed his concern with the disunity of Christianity, which he said “weakens our ability [as Christians] to proclaim the Gospel with coherence and authority.”He recalled his early work in the 1970s with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The order was deeply involved in missionary work in Papua New Guinea. Although O’Malley himself was not a missionary there, he spoke about conversations with colleagues who were working with people accepting Christianity in large numbers.O’Malley noted that when new converts had learned about the various Christian denominations, many felt “sad and embarrassed.” Although many Christians view the disunity as “normative,” he said, the people of Papua New Guinea correctly recognized it as “scandalous.”“All disciples of Jesus Christ must feel an impulse to work for unity among Christians,” O’Malley said.O’Malley said Catholics should see Orthodoxy as the “greatest possibility of success in this task in fulfilling Christ’s wish so that we all become one so the world may believe.” He noted that the two share “so many saints and devotions” and are more similar to Catholics in theology than any other Christian community.He expressed joy that many Orthodox churches send representatives to meetings held by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and that the Catholic Church also sent representatives to the Orthodox Council of Crete in 2016. Yet, he encouraged a stronger bond.O’Malley urged the bodies to “consider the possibility of joint pastoral letters or statements” on issues of mutual agreement like world hunger, euthanasia, and abortion. He said they should establish committees together to organize joint prayer, study sessions, and works of mercy.His idea of unity, he explained, would be “communion without absorption” and said there is a difference between “unity and uniformity.” He said people should look to the Eastern Catholic Churches as a model, saying “they are bridges for reconciliation and laboratories for synodal communion.”Although Rome’s relationship with the Eastern Catholics was not always perfect (O’Malley noted historical attempts at forced Latinization), the cardinal said there is an opportunity to work more closely with Eastern Catholics as part of ecumenical efforts, focused on “greater respect for their uniqueness.”Mollard, speaking from the Orthodox position, echoed O’Malley’s desire for unity and the feeling of pain over continued separation.“It affects the faithful in the parishes and how they live their lives,” the metropolitan said. “And perhaps encourage[s] us all to not just reach out and educate but really inspire in people that faith in Christ and love for the Church can drive … [the path toward] unity.”O’Malley told EWTN News that ecumenism requires “different groups that would be Catholic and Orthodox, working together,” and Church leaders should be “letting people know the progress that has been made in the dialogue.”He said Eastern Orthodox Christians “have the sacraments,” they have apostolic succession, and “the differences are not great.” Although theological disputes remain a division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, he said he believes the causes of the schism were more political and cultural.“Most Catholics and Orthodox in the pews are not focused on those fine points of theology,” O’Malley said.Ongoing Vatican ecumenical workMany theological disputes, however, are being hashed out at the highest levels of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of the biggest include questions of papal supremacy, primacy, and jurisdiction as well as the language of the Nicene Creed and subsequently certain details about the Holy Trinity.Pace, who flew in from Rome, discussed some of the history and recent progress on ecumenism related to these subjects during his speech, noting that the end goal is “full unity” between the East and the West.
Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, speaks at the Orientale Lumen Foundation conference at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2026. | Credit: Tyler Arnold/EWTN News
The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, formed in 1980, created two subcommittees in 2024. One focuses on infallibility, which is the current priority. The other is about the dispute about the Nicene Creed.\"We have to prepare a very good draft,” Pace told EWTN News.He said once the subcommittee completes its draft on infallibility, the body will consider a call for a full meeting for approval. He said the subcommittee must “arrive to a good document that the [full committee] can discuss and approve.”The First Vatican Council teaches that the pope speaks infallibly on matters of faith and morals when defining matters of doctrine and invoking his papal authority, binding the declaration on the entire Church.Bishop Anthony Vrame, a Greek Orthodox bishop and director of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, said in a panel discussion that Orthodoxy recognizes the indefectibility of councils: “When the Church gathers together in council, … no error is possible.” Yet, papal infallibility is different, as it is “designated to one person.”Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, offered a prerecorded video message for the conference, stating that he hopes the eventual documents will be received by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.Koch emphasized the importance of clergy informing the laity when there are developments, so the progress is “not to be remained known only by experts.”")
Cardinal Seán O’Malley discussed ways in which Catholics and Orthodox Christians can build closer bonds. Archbishop Flavio Pace discussed ongoing Vatican efforts to help bring about unity.
![Canonization cause for Mother Angelica’s spiritual mentor, Rhoda Wise, reaches next step #Catholic The canonization cause for Servant of God Rhoda Wise crossed another hurdle after formal documents that outline her life, heroic virtues, and holiness were submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal “positio,” which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown’s annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.“Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican,” Culurgioni wrote in the letter.“First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the ‘positio’ may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work,” she added. “Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles.”“Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives,” Culurgioni wrote.Next stepsRyan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery’s review of the “positio,” which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title “venerable.”He said there’s no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to “continue to pray for Rhoda’s intercession and continue to pray for her beatification.”Schweitzer called the news of this development “exciting.” He said if Leo elevates her status to “venerable,” “that’s a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization.” He said that would increase her visibility and “Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession.”Rhoda Wise’s legacyThe Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death.According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise’s home weekly, many of whom come “because they’re seeking healing,” whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because “they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing” and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo “suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment,” and her mother took her to see Wise.Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as “a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life” and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was “a very humble housewife,” a person who is “not someone who is unreachable” for the average person.“She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with,” Schweitzer said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/canonization-cause-for-mother-angelicas-spiritual-mentor-rhoda-wise-reaches-next-step-catholic-the-canonization-cause-for-servant-of-god-rhoda-wise-crossed-another-hurdle-after-formal-docu.jpg "Canonization cause for Mother Angelica’s spiritual mentor, Rhoda Wise, reaches next step #Catholic The canonization cause for Servant of God Rhoda Wise crossed another hurdle after formal documents that outline her life, heroic virtues, and holiness were submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal “positio,” which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown’s annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.“Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican,” Culurgioni wrote in the letter.“First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the ‘positio’ may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work,” she added. “Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles.”“Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives,” Culurgioni wrote.Next stepsRyan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery’s review of the “positio,” which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title “venerable.”He said there’s no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to “continue to pray for Rhoda’s intercession and continue to pray for her beatification.”Schweitzer called the news of this development “exciting.” He said if Leo elevates her status to “venerable,” “that’s a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization.” He said that would increase her visibility and “Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession.”Rhoda Wise’s legacyThe Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death.According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise’s home weekly, many of whom come “because they’re seeking healing,” whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because “they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing” and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo “suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment,” and her mother took her to see Wise.Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as “a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life” and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was “a very humble housewife,” a person who is “not someone who is unreachable” for the average person.“She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with,” Schweitzer said.")
A positio for Servant of God Rhoda Wise was submitted to the Vatican. She has been associated with hundreds of unexplained, miraculous healings in the United States.
The Holy Father addressed pilgrims at the close of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which concluded in Philadelphia on July 5.
