MEETING OF POPE FRANCIS AND PATRIARCH KIRILL CANCELLED
Pope Francis reported that his meeting with Patriarch Kirill that was planned for June in Jerusalem has been cancelled, and he stressed that there is no sense in his visiting Kiev if Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be renewed "the next day." This is reported by Crux.
"I am not able to do anything that is beyond my power, specifically as regards the end of the war, a truce, or at least a humanitarian corridor," the pope said to the Argentine newspaper La Nacion, and he added: "What is the use of the pope's going to Kiev if the war continues the next day?"
Regarding his refusal to mention Russia or its president, Vladimir Putin, Francis said that no pope has ever condemned a head of state, "much less a country, which is above a head of state."
The pope and Patriarch Kirill met for the first time in 2016 in the airport of Havana in Cuba. Then a repeat meeting was planned.
According to the pontiff, the Vatican is always trying to work for lasting peace.
"I am not able to describe for you details, because there would not be further diplomatic efforts. But the attempts never cease," Francis added.
Speaking about his unprecedented visit to the Russian embassy at the Holy See on the day after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Francis said that it was his personal decision.
"For those who want to see this as good, I gave a signal to the government that it could put an end to the war at that moment," he said. "To tell the truth, I would want to do something so that there be no more deaths in Ukraine, not one. And I am ready to do everything for this."
Francis also said: "Every war is an anachronism in this world and at this stage of civilization. Therefore I also have publicly kissed the Ukrainian flag. That was a gesture of solidarity with their dead, with their families, and with those who are suffering in emigration."
Speaking about Kirill, a close associate of Putin's, who is supporting the war, Francis said that his relations with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church are "very good," and that he regrets that the Vatican has had to cancel a second meeting scheduled for June in Jerusalem.
"Our diplomacy understood that the meeting between us at this time could lead to great confusion," the pope said.
"I have always
promoted
inter-religious dialogue," Pope Francis emphasized, responding
to the
journalist Joaquin Morales Solá. "When I was archbishop of
Buenos Aires I
joined Christians, Jews, and Muslims in fruitful dialogue. This
was one of the
initiatives of which I am most proud. It is the same policy that
I promote in
the Vatican." (tr. by PDS, posted 22 April 2022)
VATICAN CANCELS MEETING OF PATRIARCH KIRILL AND ROMAN POPE IN JERUSALEM
Roman Pope Francis declared that the Vatican cancelled his meeting with the head of the RPTs, Patriarch Kirill, which was supposed to occur in Jerusalem in June.
"I regret that the Vatican has had to cancel a second meeting with Patriarch Kirill, which we had planned for June in Jerusalem. But our diplomacy understood that the meeting of the two of us at this time could lead to great confusion," he declared in an inte4rview with the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
According to the pontiff, he has always worked for the development of inter-religious dialogue. His relations with the head of the RPTs, Pope Francis called "very good."
In early April, the secretary of state of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated that a meeting of Roman Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill could occur on neutral territory. This appears to be the basic condition. As a proposed site, both sides viewed the Near East. In mid-April, news media reported that the Vatican was studying the possibility of conducting the meeting in Jerusalem.
A historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill occurred on 12 January 2016 in Havana. This was the first such meeting in history: the primates of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches had never met over the course of centuries. In 2021, the RPTs and the Vatican announced the preparation of a new meeting. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 April 2022)
R.P.Ts. REPORTS THAT PATRIARCH'S MEETING WITH POPE IS POSTPONED BECAUSE OF EVENTS OF RECENT MONTHS
Interfax-Religiia, 22 April 2022
A meeting of Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill and Roman Pope Francis, which supposedly could occur this summer, has been postponed because of difficulties connected with international events of recent months, the head of the synodal Department of External Church Relations, Metropolitan Ilarion, reported.
"Events of the past two months have forced us to make corrections in plans and to postpone the meeting," Metropolitan Ilarion told journalists on Friday.
He noted that an agreement about conducting a meeting in 2022 was reached back in the autumn of last year. "As one of the possibilities, it was considered to conduct the meeting in the Near East, more correctly, in Jerusalem, possibly in June. However the date and place had not been announced. Moreover, we had not even begun to develop either the logistics of the meeting or its substantive aspect, the representative of the RPTs said.
At the same time, he noted that recent communication between the pope and the patriarch by means of remote communication was "very warm and cordial." "It helped to discuss the most pressing questions and we will leave the rest for the future," Metropolitan Ilarion concluded. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 April 2022)
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