Evidently hoping to eliminate one possible obstacle to ecumenical progress with the Orthodox world, the Holy Father has renounced the title "Patriarch of the West."
It doesn't appear to be an ecumenical gesture, in the sense that it's a concession to the Eastern Orthodox, though:
Pope Benedict, who reportedly made the decision himself to drop the title, evidently wished to eliminate any notion that the Holy See represents the Church of "the West," and is therefore separate from the Eastern tradition.
I'll be curious to see how the oftentimes touchy Eastern Orthodox respond to this. Maybe it'll be seen as an attempt to expand Rome's turf. The article doesn't say what the EO have thought about the title "Patriarch of the West," and I've never seen the issue come up before.
My alma mater, the University of Michigan, it should be noted, is still the champions of the West.
