The Tuscon Citizen sees a Pope dream: Healing ancient Christian rift a distant glimmer

and produces a surprisingly sensible analysis.

I know little about the divisions between Orthodox churches and Rome. Certainly historical grievances complicate an already far-from-simple relationship. But from what I understand, Orthodox churches enjoyed an even closer tradition of altar-and-throne arrangements than even the Church in the West. Nationalism has been a correlary of faith in Orthodox cultures such as the Serbs. Whether that's particular to the balkans or a trait of Orthodox in general, I do not know.

But if it is a general trait, then there could be another complication: John Paul the Great's success in helping Poland liberate itself from the Soviet Union. It may have soured relations with the Russian Orthodox patriarch:

Pope John Paul II turned his attention to the Orthodox world late in his nearly 27-year papacy. He traveled to several predominantly Orthodox nations and built close ties with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the "first among equals" among Orthodox leaders. In Greece in 2001, John Paul apologized for "sins of action and omission" by Catholics against Orthodox.

The mutual outreach wasn't enough to win over one of the most powerful figures in Orthodoxy, the ailing Russian Patriarch Alexy II. He refused to allow a papal trip to the world's most populous Orthodox nation.

Yes, the Orthodox have concerns that the Roman Catholic Church in traditionally Orthodox lands are "poaching" Christians. Could there be a deeper concern? I'm not sure what relationship, if any, The Kremlin of the Soviet era had with the Russian Orthodox Church. The fall of communism certainly ended whatever relationship there could have been. While it may have been better for the Orthodox overall, it still represented a slap at Russian nationalism. Today, Putin has concerns that the United States--as heir to the West--exerts far too much influence in Russia's former commonweaths. The Orthodox Church may be responding to this latest "affront" to Russian nationalism by challenging that other great symbol of the West.

This certainly leaves Pope Benedict XVI facing a diplomatic minefield:

In spiritual terms, it's an epic invitation to repair the broken foundation of the faith - at a time when the European Union is erasing the last Cold War separations and some Christian leaders appeal for greater cooperation to challenge the rise of militant Islam.

But then comes a reality check. Even the smallest steps toward reconciliation can kick up disputes that require the finesse of a diplomat and the perspective of a historian to overcome. And, in the end, any serious bids at rapprochement will force the Vatican to confront some core differences such as honoring Orthodoxy's traditions of autonomous leadership and married clergy.

Greek theologian Athanasios Papathanasiou calls it "the pain of brotherly debate."

Still, the struggle is essential. Europe faces an existential crisis of continental proportions. Turkey waits in the wings and wonders if it should bother becoming part of the EU. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Persian Gulf dictatorships blow at the lit fuse of democracy that burns slowly towards the powder keg of popular uprising beneath their feet. All the while, the spiritual cancer of egocentric nihilism that calls itself modern thinking infects even spiritual strongholds such as Poland. The Orthodox nationalities can stand against it along no longer than the West. Catholics and Orthodox need each other. We must breathe out of the Christianity of two united lungs. If we don't, we have only Christ's promise that the gates of Hell will not stand against the Church build upon the Rock. That gurantees no nationality or national culture a serene future until the end.