POPE PAUL VI (1897–1978), Pope from 1963. Giovanni Battista Montini, the son of a parliamentary delegate and editor of a Catholic newspaper, Il Cittadino di Brescia, was a delicate child; he was educated at home and attended the diocesan seminary only as circumstances permitted. After his ordination in 1920 he went to the Sapienza and then the Gregorianum in Rome. Apart from a few months at the nunciature in Warsaw in 1923, he held office in the Papal Secretariat of State from 1922 for over 30 years. In 1931 he became a domestic prelate and in 1938 he accompanied E. Pacelli (the future Pius XII) to the Eucharistic Congress at Budapest. After the death of L. Maglione, the Secretary of State, in 1944, Pius XII appointed no successor and Montini, as pro-secretary for the internal business of the Church, discharged his business directly under the Pope. In this capacity he was responsible for Papal relief work, and he played a large part in the organization of the Holy Year in 1950 and the Marian Year in 1954. His appointment as Abp. of Milan in 1954, involving his departure from Rome, is sometimes thought to have been due to internal Vatican politics. In Milan he did much to restore and rebuild churches destroyed during the Second World War, as well as trying to deal with the acute social problems of a highly industrialized diocese. In 1958, on the death of Pius XII, his name was widely mentioned as a candidate for the Papacy. Pope John XXIII, Shortly after his election, created Montini a Cardinal; he continually brought him forward at the Second Vatican Council, and during the first session Montini was a member of the Secretariat appointed to examine the questions raised by members of the Council. On the death of John XXIII in 1963 he was elected Pope. He quickly promised to continue the Council and declared his intention of pursuing the same policy as his predecessor.

Within three weeks of his election he convened the Second Session of the Vatican Council, which he opened on 29 Sept. 1963. Before the opening of the Sessions he had issued a revised Ordo Concilii to expedite business, and he introduced a number of procedural reforms, Such as the admission of laymen as auditors and the establishment of a press committee. In Nov. 1963 he enlarged the Conciliar Commissions to make them more representative. Before the meeting of the Third Session in 1964, he also admitted Some women, both religious and lay, as auditors. He refused to intervene in the Third Session when he was asked to overrule a decision postponing a vote on the Schema on religious liberty, but on his own authority he modified the Decree on Ecumenism and he declared the BVM ‘Mother of the Church’ despite the fact that the fathers of the Council had refused to attribute the title to her. He also directed that an explanatory note (‘nota praevia’) be added to the text of the 1964 constitution on the Church containing important clarifications. At the Fourth Session he announced that he was establishing a permanent ‘Synod of Bishops’, which would have deliberative as well as consultative powers at the Pope’s discretion. At the close of the Council he proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee or Holy Year, to be observed from 1 Jan. to Whitsunday (29 May) 1966, in order that the faithful might be familiarized with the teaching of the Council and the life of the Church renewed. [For the decrees of the Council, see vatican council, second.]

Paul VI established a number of post-conciliar Commissions to put into effect the wishes of the Council and confirmed the permanent Secretariats for the Promotion of Christian Unity, for Non-Christian Religions, and for Non-Believers. The most far-reaching reforms of his pontificate were effected largely through the working of these Commissions, most notably the publication of a new Missal in 1970, with its accompanying lectionary, and a new Breviary in 1971, which together involved a reordering of the Mass and Office; these changes coincided with the introduction of the use of the vernacular. Other reforms, such as that of the Codex Iuris Canonici, were put in hand, though this was completed only under John Paul II. Paul VI’s own encyclicals generally appeared more conservative; the most important include Mysterium Fidei (3 Sept. 1965) reaffirming the traditional doctrine of the Eucharist, Sacerdotalis coelibatus (24 June 1967), insisting on the need for priestly celibacy, and Humanae Vitae (25 July 1968) condemning artificial methods of birth control. However, he also dealt with social, economic, and political issues in Populorum Progressio (16 March 1967). After 1968 he had to face growing tensions within the Church; the demand for celibacy was challenged and many religious sought secularization; there was widespread criticism of Humanae Vitae, and traditionalists, such as Abp. M. Lefebvre, refused to accept the conciliar reforms. In 1970 Paul VI proclaimed the first women, St Teresa of Ávila and St Catherine of Siena, Doctors of the Church, but any idea of the ordination of women to the priesthood was firmly rejected. He also convened a number of episcopal synods on social and economic justice and on the priesthood (1971), evangelization (1974), and catechesis (1977).

In Jan. 1964 on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land he embraced Athenagoras, the Oecumenical Part. of Constantinople, in Jerusalem, and at the close of the Vatican Council he took part in a historic gesture of friendship with the Eastern Orthodox Church: before Mass on 7 Dec. 1965 a joint declaration was read in which Paul VI and Athenagoras expressed their mutual regret for the events of 1054, when Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida and Pair. Michael Cerularius had excommunicated each other. After the Mass the Pope exchanged embraces with Athenagoras’s envoy. With Anglicans and other Churches Paul VI fostered good relations. He received in Rome two Abps. of Canterbury (A. M. Ramsey and F. D. Coggan) and established the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. He also addressed the World Council of Churches in Geneva in 1969. He was the first Pope to travel extensively abroad, going to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly in 1965 and visiting Uganda in 1969 and the Philippines and Australia in 1970. He expanded the college of cardinals, making it a truly international body, and restricted the right of cardinals to vote in Papal elections to those under the age of 80. He also fixed a retirement age of bishops and clergy at 75. He reorganized the Curia, reduced the ceremonial pomp of the Papacy and sold his tiara for the benefit of the poor. The cause for his beatification was opened on 11 May 1993.

Official does. are pr. in the AAS for the years of his pontificate. Insegnamenti di Paolo VI (16 vols. + index to vols. 1–12, Vatican City, 1965–79; Fr.tr., Documents Pontificaux de Paul VI, 17 vols. + 3 vols. of index covering the whole pontificate, St-Maurice, Switzerland, 1967–83). N. Vian (ed.), Anni e opere di Paolo VI [1978]. Paul VI et la modernité dans l’Église: Actes du Colloque organisé par l’École française de Rome (Rome 2–4 juin, 1983) (Rome and Brescia, 1984). P. Hebblethewaite, Paul VI: The First Modern Pope (1993). P. Arató, SJ, and N. Vian, Paulus pp. VI, 1963–1978: Elenchus Bibliographicus (Pubblicazioni dell’Istituto Paolo VI, 1; Brescia, 1981). There are other specialized vols. in this series and in the series Quaderni dell’Istituto Paolo VI (ibid., 1981 ff.). A. Boland, SJ, in Dict. Sp. 12 (pt. 1; 1984), cols. 522–36, s.v.; G. M. Vian in Enciclopedia dei Papi, 3 (2000), pp. 657–74.

Common_Declaration_with_Pope_Shenouda_III_1973

Paul VI, Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, and Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, give thanks in the Holy Spirit to God that, after the great event of the return of relics of St Mark to Egypt, relations have further developed between the Churches of Rome and Alexandria so that they have now been able to meet personally together. At the end of their meetings and conversations they wish to state together the following:

We have met in the desire to deepen the relations between our Churches and to find concrete ways to overcome the obstacles in the way of our real cooperation in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ who has given us the ministry of reconciliation, to reconcile the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5, 18-20).

In accordance with our apostolic traditions transmitted to our Churches and preserved therein, and in conformity with the early three ecumenical councils, we confess one faith in the One Triune God, the divinity of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word of God, the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His substance, who for us was incarnate, assuming for Himself a real body with a rational soul, and who shared with us our humanity but without sin.

The divine life is given to us and is nourished in us through the seven sacraments of Christ in His Church: Baptism, Charism (Confirmation), Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony and Holy Orders.

We venerate the Virgin Mary, Mother of the True Light, and we confess that she is ever Virgin, the God-bearer. She intercedes for us, and, as the Theotokos, excels in her dignity all angelic hosts.

We have, to a large degree, the same understanding of the Church, founded upon the Apostles, and of the important role of ecumenical and local councils. Our spirituality is well and profoundly expressed in our rituals and in the Liturgy of the Mass which comprises the centre of our public prayer and the culmination of our incorporation into Christ in His Church. We keep the fasts and feasts of our faith. We venerate the relics of the saints and ask the intercession of the angels and of the saints, the living and the departed. These compose a cloud of witnesses in the Church. They and we look in hope for the Second Coming of our Lord when His glory will be revealed to judge the living and the dead.

We humbly recognize that our Churches are not able to give more perfect witness to this new life in Christ because of existing divisions which have behind them centuries of difficult history. In fact, since the year 451 A. D., theological differences, nourished and widened by non-theological factors, have sprung up. These differences cannot be ignored. In spite of them, however, we are rediscovering ourselves as Churches with a common inheritance and are reaching out with determination and confidence in the Lord to achieve the fullness and perfection of that which is His gift.

As an aid to accomplishing this task, we are setting up a joint commission representing our Churches, whose function will be to guide common study in the fields of Church tradition, patristics, liturgy, theology, history and practical problems, so that by cooperation in common we may seek to resolve, in a spirit of mutual respect, the differences existing between our Churches and be able to proclaim together the Gospel in ways which correspond to the authentic message of the Lord and to the needs and hopes of today’s world. At the same time we express our gratitude and encouragement to other groups of Catholic and Orthodox scholars and pastors who devote their efforts to common activity in these and related fields.

With sincerity and urgency we recall that true charity, rooted in total fidelity to the one Lord Jesus Christ and in mutual respect for each one’s traditions, is an essential element of this search for perfect communion.

In the name of this charity, we reject all forms of proselytism, in the sense of acts by which persons seek to disturb each other’s communities by recruiting new members from each other through methods, or because of attitudes of mind, which are opposed to the exigencies of Christian love or to what should characterize the relationships between Churches. Let it cease, where it may exist. Catholics and Orthodox should strive to deepen charity and cultivate mutual consultation, reflection and cooperation in the social and intellectual fields and should humble themselves before God, supplicating Him who, as He has begun this work in us, will bring it to fruition.

As we rejoice in the Lord who has granted us the blessings of this meeting, our thoughts reach out to the thousands of suffering and homeless Palestinian people. We deplore any misuse of religious arguments for political purposes in this area. We earnestly desire and look for a just solution for the Middle East crisis so that true peace with justice should prevail, especially in that land which was hallowed by, the preaching, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and by the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we venerate together as the Theotokos. May God, the giver of all good gifts, hear our prayers, and bless our endeavours.

From the Vatican, 10 May 1973.

At their April 28, 2023 meeting, Francis and Tawadros II signed a joint declaration indicating their gratitude for the chance “to exchange a fraternal embrace and to join again in common prayer.”

Below is the full text of the statement:

1. We, Francis, Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, and Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, give thanks to God in the Holy Spirit for granting us the joyful opportunity to meet once more, to exchange a fraternal embrace and to join again in common prayer. We glorify the Almighty for the bonds of fraternity and friendship existing between the See of Saint Peter and the See of Saint Mark. The privilege of being together here in Egypt is a sign that the solidity of our relationship is increasing year by year, and that we are growing in closeness, faith and love of Christ our Lord. We give thanks to God for this beloved Egypt, the “homeland that lives inside us,” as His Holiness Pope Shenouda III used to say, the “people blessed by God” (cf. Is 19:25) with its ancient Pharaonic civilization, the Greek and Roman heritage, the Coptic tradition and the Islamic presence. Egypt is the place where the Holy Family found refuge, a land of martyrs and saints.

2. Our deep bond of friendship and fraternity has its origin in the full communion that existed between our Churches in the first centuries and was expressed in many different ways through the early Ecumenical Councils, dating back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the contribution of the courageous Church Father Saint Athanasius, who earned the title “Protector of the Faith”. Our communion was expressed through prayer and similar liturgical practices, the veneration of the same martyrs and saints, and in the development and spread of monasticism, following the example of the great Saint Anthony, known as the Father of all monks. This common experience of communion before the time of separation has a special significance in our efforts to restore full communion today. Most of the relations which existed in the early centuries between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church have continued to the present day in spite of divisions, and have recently been revitalized. They challenge us to intensify our common efforts to persevere in the search for visible unity in diversity, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

3. We recall with gratitude the historic meeting forty-four years ago between our predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III, in an embrace of peace and fraternity, after many centuries when our mutual bonds of love were not able to find expression due to the distance that had arisen between us. The Common Declaration they signed on 10 May 1973 represented a milestone on the path of ecumenism, and served as a starting point for the Commission for Theological Dialogue between our two Churches, which has borne much fruit and opened the way to a broader dialogue between the Catholic Church and the whole family of Oriental Orthodox Churches.

4. With deep gratitude we recall our own fraternal meeting in Rome on 10 May 2013, and the establishment of 10 May as the day when each year we deepen the friendship and brotherhood between our Churches. This renewed spirit of closeness has enabled us to discern once more that the bond uniting us was received from our one Lord on the day of our Baptism. For it is through Baptism that we become members of the one Body of Christ that is the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12:13). This common heritage is the basis of our pilgrimage together towards full communion, as we grow in love and reconciliation.

5. We are aware that we still have far to go on this pilgrimage, yet we recall how much has already been accomplished. In particular, we call to mind the meeting between Pope Shenouda III and Saint John Paul II, who came as a pilgrim to Egypt during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. We are determined to follow in their footsteps, moved by the love of Christ the good Shepherd, in the profound conviction that by walking together, we grow in unity. May we draw our strength from God, the perfect source of communion and love.

6. This love finds its deepest expression in common prayer. When Christians pray together, they come to realize that what unites them is much greater than what divides them. Our longing for unity receives its inspiration from the prayer of Christ “that all may be one” (Jn 17:21). Let us deepen our shared roots in the one apostolic faith by praying together and by seeking common translations of the Lord's Prayer and a common date for the celebration of Easter.

7. As we journey towards the blessed day when we will at last gather at the same Eucharistic table, we can cooperate in many areas and demonstrate in a tangible way the great richness which already unites us. We can bear witness together to fundamental values such as the sanctity and dignity of human life, the sacredness of marriage and the family, and respect for all of creation, entrusted to us by God. In the face of many contemporary challenges such as secularization and the globalization of indifference, we are called to offer a shared response based on the values of the Gospel and the treasures of our respective traditions. In this regard, we are encouraged to engage in a deeper study of the Oriental and Latin Fathers, and to promote a fruitful exchange in pastoral life, especially in catechesis, and in mutual spiritual enrichment between monastic and religious communities.

8. Our shared Christian witness is a grace-filled sign of reconciliation and hope for Egyptian society and its institutions, a seed planted to bear fruit in justice and peace. Since we believe that all human beings are created in the image of God, we strive for serenity and concord through a peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims, thus bearing witness to God's desire for the unity and harmony of the entire human family and the equal dignity of each human being. We share a concern for the welfare and the future of Egypt. All members of society have the right and duty to participate fully in the life of the nation, enjoying full and equal citizenship and collaborating to build up their country. Religious freedom, including freedom of conscience, rooted in the dignity of the person, is the cornerstone of all other freedoms. It is a sacred and inalienable right.

9. Let us intensify our unceasing prayer for all Christians in Egypt and throughout the whole world, and especially in the Middle East. The tragic experiences and the blood shed by our faithful who were persecuted and killed for the sole reason of being Christian, remind us all the more that the ecumenism of martyrdom unites us and encourages us along the way to peace and reconciliation. For, as Saint Paul writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26).

10. The mystery of Jesus who died and rose out of love lies at the heart of our journey towards full unity. Once again, the martyrs are our guides. In the early Church the blood of the martyrs was the seed of new Christians. So too in our own day, may the blood of so many martyrs be the seed of unity among all Christ's disciples, a sign and instrument of communion and peace for the world.

11. In obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the Church, keeps her throughout the ages, and leads her to full unity – that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed: Today we, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II, in order to please the heart of the Lord Jesus, as well as that of our sons and daughters in the faith, mutually declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our Churches for any person who wishes to join the other. This we confess in obedience to the Holy Scriptures and the faith of the three Ecumenical Councils assembled in Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus. We ask God our Father to guide us, in the times and by the means that the Holy Spirit will choose, to full unity in the mystical Body of Christ.

12. Let us, then, be guided by the teachings and the example of the Apostle Paul, who writes: “[Make] every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:3-6).

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