ROME – The formal recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine brings "a wind of hope" that new opportunities will be created for dialogue and concrete cooperation in the search for Christian unity, said the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY – The dream of restoring full unity between Catholics and Orthodox can be a prophetic sign of legitimate differences coexisting rather than just simply agreeing on everything, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Common veneration of relics is one of the tools Pope Francis is using to foster ecumenical relations with the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

VATICAN CITY – In a letter to Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, Pope Francis said he hoped that both their churches can continue along the path of true unity and communion.

VANCOUVER – Four hundred years after he was killed with an axe while trying to unify the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, St. Josaphat’s goal of church unity remains as important as ever, say priests of the religious order that resulted from his reforms.

VATICAN CITY – The day after an explosion at the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo killed 25 people, mostly women and children, Pope Francis called the head of the Church to offer prayer, and to say they are united the blood of their martyrs.

WASHINGTON – Anna Schalk finds herself weeping each time she enters an Orthodox church and gazes at the flat, colorful icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

VATICAN CITY – Defending religious freedom, fighting indifference to attacks on human dignity and promoting care of creation are obligations that Orthodox and Catholics share and areas where Pope Francis said he and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople are in deep harmony.

VATICAN CITY – Leading Catholic and Orthodox bishops were meeting in Italy to continue discussions on the key issue keeping their Churches apart: the role of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

VATICAN CITY – Professing the same faith in the mercy of God, Catholics and Orthodox must do more to ensure mercy marks the way they treat each other, Pope Francis told a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

TORONTO – In a country that is more than 90-per-cent Orthodox, the biggest event  in Armenia this year will be a three-day visit by Pope Francis.

ROME – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople called on his brother patriarchs and primates of the Orthodox churches to honour their commitments and join him for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will send high-level observers to the pan-Orthodox council meeting in Crete as a sign of respect, support and encouragement of the Orthodox Church.

WARSAW, Poland – Russia's Catholic Church has launched a joint project with Russian Orthodox leaders to rebuild churches and monasteries destroyed during the war in Syria.