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Presses of Russia and Ukraine have differing takes on Putin's meeting with pope

PUTIN DISCUSSED UKRAINIAN CRISIS WITH ROMAN POPE—PESKOV

Interfax-Religiia, 11 June 2015

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Roman Pope Francis discussed international affairs during a meeting, including the Ukrainian crisis, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, declared.

 

"A meeting with the pope was held in Rome. It lasted more than an hour. They discussed the current situation in world affairs and naturally they mentioned the crisis in Ukraine," he told journalists.

 

In addition, V. Putin and the pontiff discussed universal and humanitarian values which to a great extent unite the Catholic and Orthodox worlds as well as all religion as a whole.

 

"Both sides expressed concern in connection with the situation of Christians in the Middle East and, of course, in the first place those situations that often involve threat to the life of Christians: in Syria and the conflicts continuing there. This truly represents an extreme crisis situation," D. Peskov said.

 

On the whole, he said, V. Putin considered the meeting with the pope very deep and thorough. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)

 

 

ROMAN POPE URGES PUTIN TO MAKE EFFORT TO ACHIEVE PEACE

UNIAN, 11 June 2015

 

During an audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is visiting, Roman Pope Francis urged him to make a sincere and great effort for achieving peace in Ukraine. This was reported by Radio Liberty, citing the Vatican press service.

 

Both sides came to an agreement that it is necessary to restore a climate of dialogue and that all sides should fulfill the Minsk agreements, and that it is necessary to respond to the serious humanitarian situation in the eastern part of Ukraine.

 

They also discussed the situation in the Middle East, in Syria and Iraq, the report says.

 

During the meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes, inter alia Pope Francis presented to Putin a medallion with an image of the angel of peace and urged him to build "a world of solidarity and peace, based on justice."

 

At the same time as the audience, there was also a meeting of the Vatican secretary for foreign relations, Paul Richard Gallagher, and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, during which they talked mostly about the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, the Vatican reported.

 

UNIAN had reported earlier that problems in Ukraine may become one of the topics of conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Roman Pope Francis. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)



POPE FRANCIS URGES PUTIN TO FULFILL MINSK AGREEMENTS

RISU, 11 June 2015

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin was late to his meeting with the Roman pope by an hour and ten minutes, Catholic News reports on Twitter. The meeting of the Russian president and Pope Francis lasted about an hour behind closed doors in the papal library.

 

During the conversation Pope Francis called all sides having anything to do with the Ukrainian conflict to fulfill the Minsk agreements.

 

Putin presented to the pope a mural with an image of the church of Christ the Savior and several volumes of the Orthodox Encyclopedia.

 

In response, the pope presented to Putin a medallion with an image of a peacemaker angel. "This medallion, made by an artist of the last century, portrays an angel who brings both peace, justice, and solidarity, and who protects. As well as this text in which there are reflections on the fact that the gospel brings to us light in life and joy, and geopolitical reflections both about us and about our life," the pontiff told the president. We recall that the pope gives this traditional gift in his meetings with world leaders.

 

On 6 June, Roman Pope Francis declared that he feels "an atmosphere of war" in the world. "Many current conflicts in the world resemble some kind of third world war which is developing in stages and in the context of global communications we feel an atmosphere of war," the pontiff declared. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)

 

 

POPE FRANCIS RAISES PROBLEMS OF WAR IN UKRAINE IN CONVERSATION WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN AND PRESENTS SYMBOLIC MEDALLION TO HIM

Portal-credo.ru, 10 June 2015

 

An official communication about the meeting of Roman Pope Francis with Russian President Vladimir Putin was distributed in the evening of 10 June in Italian by the press service of the Holy See.

 

The communication reports, in particular, that the pope and president discussed the situation in Ukraine, in which the Russian federation is involved, while Francis emphasized the necessity of strict adherence to the Minsk agreements.

 

The head of the Catholic Church presented to Putin a medallion by the artist Guido Veroi, which represents the angel of peace, calling for the creation on earth of a community of cooperation and peace, based on justice, and also a copy of the apostolic letter "Evangelii Gaudium", a unique manifesto of the current pope issued in 2013. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)


PESKOV ON STATEMENT OF U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VATICAN: THIS IS A BLATANT CASE OF TRYING TO DIMINISH THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ANOTHER COUNTRY

Interfax-Religiia, 11 June 2015

 

A statement by the American ambassador to the Vatican pointing out to the pontiff how he should deal with Russia is assessed in the Kremlin as a blatant attempt at diminishing the sovereignty of another country.

 

"This is a blatant case of attempting to diminish the sovereignty of other countries. It is impossible to characterize this differently. This is what President Putin has always categorically disagreed with and does not agree with, and this is, from our point of view, absolutely impermissible in international relations," D. Peskov told journalists.

 

Earlier the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Kenneth Hackett, stated that the Vatican should take a sterner position with regard to Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine.

 

In K. Hackett's opinion, the Vatican "could declare its concern regarding territorial integrity" "It is possible that now the opportunity has arisen for the Holy See to express concern in a private meeting," K. Hackett said, as quoted by the British Guardian.

 

"From our point of view this is a new word in world diplomatic practice. To teach the Roman pope something and to claim to have the right to teach the Roman pope—that is a very important thing," D. Peskov noted. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)


 

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VATICAN URGES PONTIFF TO TAKE STERNER POSITION WITH RESPECT TO RUSSIA

Interfax-Religiia, 10 June 2015

 

The Vatican should take a sterner position with respect to Russia, Kenneth Hackett, the American ambassador to the Vatican, is sure, the website of the British Guardian reports on Wednesday. In K. Hackett's opinion, the Vatican "could declare its concern regarding territorial integrity."

 

"It is possible that now the opportunity has arisen for the Holy See to express concern in a private meeting," K. Hackett declared, as quoted by the newspaper.

 

It is expected that later on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with Roman Pope Francis. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)

 

ON EVE OF FRANCIS-PUTIN MEETING, UGKTs HEAD ASKS PONTIFF "TO BE THE VOICE OF THE VICTIMS OF WAR"

Religiia v Ukraine, 11 June 2015

 

On 9 June at a press conference in Warsaw, UGKTs Major Archbishop Sviatoslav declared that Ukraine has become the victim of unjust aggression by its large neighbor, and despite the efforts of the international community and the Minsk agreements, in Ukraine there still has not been "a regime of cease-fire" and recently many heavy weapons and equipment have been inserted into Ukrainian territory, Religiia v Ukraine reports, citing the website of UGKTs and KAI.

 

The UGKTs head noted that his church is trying "to serve its nation and to be a voice of those who are suffering, in order to tell the truth about the war against Ukraine which is a 'war of disinformation.'" "Because of propagandistic efforts of our northern neighbor, many lies exist in news media," he said.

 

The head of UGKTs noted that while praying during his visit to Poland before the image of the Theotokos on Yasnaia Gora, who is not only a Polish queen but also the mother of Ukraine, he prayed for peace in the country. And also that this aggression not spread to other regions of the country and not touch the Polish nation. "One may say that the situation in Ukraine at the present time encompasses Europe also. Therefore the independence of Ukraine is a question of the security of Europe and peace in the European Union," the UGKTs major archbishop noted.

 

He added that Pope Francis is well informed about what is happening in Ukraine. Therefore the meeting of the pontiff with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has been announced for 10 June, is "one of the means to stop this war."

 

"I do not know how this conversation will proceed, but in a letter to the Holy Father I beseeched him to be the voice of the victims of this war and those who are suffering, as a father who tries to protect his children. We have seen that now both international diplomacy and international law are not able to stop the aggression. However we Catholics think that the Holy Father, as a successor to Christ on earth, has the special grace of the Holy Spirit which will prevent the continuation of this aggression and war," the head of UGKTs said on the eve of the meeting of the pope and the Russian president. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)

 

 

POPE FRANCIS WILL NOT CHANGE PUTIN'S "DIABOLICAL NATURE"—CATHOLIC BISHOP

RISU, 11 June 2015

 

Bishop of Kharkov and Zaporozhe Stanislav Shirokoradiuk of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine does not believe that Pope Francis can change Putin's "diabolical nature." He described this in a commentary in Obozrevatel [Observer].

 

"I do not share an optimistic point of view, because Putin is Putin. Such people do not change," the bishop said.

 

He said, "This is a diabolical stubborn nature and it will be like this to the very end." In this context the bishop added: "The devil's problem is that he cannot repent," and therefore "for people who shed much blood it is difficult to beg for the grace of conversion."

 

"The pope prays for him and the pope says to him what he can say. But whether he can take this into account? I doubt it. He may turn the other way. He may say: 'The pope understands me, the pope supports me.' And better yet he may ask that the pope bless him in such a matter. And he may ask for it."

 

The Catholic bishop noted that he continually prays for Ukraine and shares all our alarm and pain. "He does what he can. He is not a golden fish or the Lord God. He is the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, the successor of St. Peter. He requests and he appeals, he urges and speaks constantly, and he prays. The pope already has appealed to countries and clergy for help for Ukraine—material and spiritual. This also has great significance, if the pope asks for help for Ukraine," Bishop Stanislav Shirokoradiuk added. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 June 2015)


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