Pope Benedict XVI has ordered one of his nine official titles to be dropped. In the new edition of the Vatican yearbook, the German pontiff is no longer referred to as Patriarch of the West.
He is simply Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Province, Sovereign of Vatican City and Servant of the Servants of God.
According to sources in the Vatican publishing house, the move - noticed by only the most observant of
Vatican-watchers - was requested by the pope himself. It is seen as a sign of Benedict's desire to overcome
the 992-year division between Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
It is a "sign of ecumenical sensitivity", officials said.
"In the past the patriarchate of the West was contrasted with that of the East. I think the pope wanted to remove this sort of contrast and his act is intended as a spur to ecumenical progress," said Cardinal Achille Silvestrini.
"The Catholic Church does not consider itself the Church of the West," said the cardinal, who is head of the Vatican department dealing with Eastern branches of Catholicism. Dropping the Patriarch of the West title was reportedly also considered by Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, who made significant inroads in promoting dialogue between Orthodox Christians and the Catholic Church.
But some commentators noted that the move could backfire, saying the Orthodox Church might interpret it in a different way. "That world is very attached to traditions and could see the papal innovation as...an indirect affirmation of himself as 'universal patriarch'," wrote Luigi Accattoli in Corriere della Sera.
Usage of the term Patriarch of the West goes back some 1,466 years but, as experts note, it was only ever really used by leaders, or 'patriarchs', of the Christian Church in the east.
