Missing from local media coverage...

has been any significant analysis of the meeting of Patriarch Bartholomew I and Pope Benedict XVI this past week in Constantinople (Istanbul). Dallas Morning News editor and Beliefnet columnist Rod Dreher offers an important corrective to this oversight.

Here's a snippet:

"...the division between and among Christians is indeed, as Pope Benedict said, a scandal. I do pray -- literally, I do pray -- that the goodwill between Catholics and Orthodox that comes out of this historical pilgrimage will bear fruit in the near and long term. There is so much good in both the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, and as someone who has lived on both sides, I earnestly believe there is much we have to learn from one another, and thank God for the marvelous work He did in Constantinople this week."

Read all of Rod's column here.

Also, be sure to visit the official website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which has a number of press releases and magnificent photos of the various events of the week.