Vatican City, Jun 28, 2016 / 11:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic and Orthodox Churches find unity in God's mercy and in the responsibility to spread the Gospel, Pope Francis said Tuesday to a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

“Acknowledging that the experience of God's mercy is the bond uniting us means that we must increasingly make mercy the criterion and measure of our relationship,” the pontiff said during the June 28 audience at the Vatican.