Ecumenism and the Bishop of Rome

One of the most difficult ecumenical questions remaining to be faced is that of the Bishop of Rome. Pope Paul VI himself said that "the Pope ... is the gravest obstacle in the path of ecumenism."

Nothing more immediately or clearly symbolizes the unity of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world than this office. The images and symbols connected with the papacy - the tiara and the keys, the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, the figure of Peter himself, even the name Roman Catholic - all these signal a Church united throughout the world under a chief shepherd.