A meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, appears to be scrapped after the cleric, who has been widely criticised for his justifications for the invasion of Ukraine, pulled out of a meeting of religious leaders in Kazakhstan next month. According to Reuters, a senior Russian Orthodox official Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill’
Patriarch Kirill cancels Kazakhstan trip and chance to meet with Pope Francis
Monday, August 29th, 2022Kirill must not be Putin’s altar boy, says Pope
Thursday, May 5th, 2022
Pope Francis has warned the leader of Russia’s Orthodox Church that he “cannot become Putin’s altar boy.” In a recent media interview Francis says Patriarch Kirill’s support of the war in Ukraine became clear to him during their 40-minute zoom discussion in March. In this, Kirill spent half the time reading out justifications for President Read more
Francis cancels meeting with Kirill. No visit to Kyiv
Thursday, April 28th, 2022
A meeting between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow planned for June has been cancelled out of concern it could cause “confusion”. And there will be no papal visit to Kyiv while war rages, Pope Francis said in an interview with the Argentine daily newspaper La Nación on 21 April. Pope Francis Read more
Pope: New meeting with Russian Orthodox patriarch possible
Thursday, December 9th, 2021Pope Francis said Monday there were plans for a possible second meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, after their historic 2016 encounter in Cuba became a landmark in mending relations severed by the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity. Francis said he planned to meet next week with the Russian church’s foreign envoy Read more