RPTs
NAMES
CONDITION OF NEXT MEETING OF POPE FRANCIS AND PATRIARCH KIRILL
The
next meeting
of Roman Pope Francis and Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill
will be held
when they are again ready for it, declared the head of the
Department of
External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church [RPTs],
Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion.
On
the
anniversary of the meeting of Patriarch Kirill with Pope
Francis, a conference
will be held in Vienna at which representatives of the RPTs, the
Vatican, and
Middle Eastern churches will discuss the issue of aid for the
Christian
population of Syria. From the Roman Catholic Church the
conference will be
attended by the head of the Pontifical Council for Promotion of
Christian Unity,
Cardinal Kurt Koch.
"The
decision
about where and when to meet depends on the pope and patriarch.
The
decision to meet in Havana was unexpected; it was a joint
decision of these two
people. I think that when they are ready to meet again, they
will find an
appropriate place for it," the metropolitan said before the
conference.
The historical meeting of Patriarch Kirill and Roman Pope Francis was held on 12 February 2016 in a building of the international airport of Havana. The meeting at such a level was the first in the entire history of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 February 2018)
PATRIARCH'S
PRESS
SECRETARY: VISIT OF POPE TO RUSSIA NOT BEING DISCUSSED
A
new meeting of
Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill with Roman Pope Francis,
just like also
a possible visit of the latter to Russia, are not topics of
discussion within
the context of inter-church dialogue, Father Alexander Volkov,
the press
secretary of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, told
RIA Novosti on
Friday.
"The
topic
of such a visit is not being discussed in the context of
bilateral contacts
between the Russian church and the Catholic church. The
priorities are active
joint efforts for support of Christians in suffering regions,
primarily in the
Middle East; the defense of moral values in society; support for
family values;
peacemaking; and various aspects of cooperation in the academic
sphere,"
the priest said.
The
12th of
February will mark two years from the time of the historic
meeting of the
patriarch and pope in the international airport of Havana.
Speaking
at a
press conference devoted to the anniversary of the historic
summit in the news
agency Russia Today, the general secretary of the Conference of
Catholic
Bishops of Russia, Igor Kovalevsky, noted that he does not see a
possibility
for the Roman pope to come to Russia because of the "unreadiness
of
society."
In its turn, the representation of the Vatican in the Russian federation refused to comment on Kovalevsky's statement. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 February 2018)
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