UNION OF KREMLIN AND VATICAN
Meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill is possible if Vladimir Putin wants it very much.
by Konstantin Ettert
DW, 16 June 2015
"Imagine what would happen if the Roman pope comes to Moscow. Our fanatics would encircle the St. Daniel's monastery and pelt it with stones, if not with 'Molotov cocktails!'" That's the terrible picture drawn for me by an employee of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate 12 years ago, during the pontificate of John Paul II. "You understand that for our radicals the pope is a heretic, an enemy of Orthodoxy. We cannot fail to consider the possibility of a schism in the church if he comes to Russia or even meets with our chief in a third country."
Unfulfilled dreams Karol Wojtyla
St. John Paul very much wanted to be in Russia or at least to meet with Patriarch Alexis II. For Karol Wojtyla, by his own statement, Orthodoxy and Catholicism were two lungs of the same body of Europe. In Patriarch Alexis' eyes, everything seemed entirely different: the Polish pope wanted a final triumph over the Russian greatness that was defeated in the "cold war," partly by his efforts. The patriarch, to put it mildly, treated Catholics generally with reserve.
About fifteen years ago the patriarchate articulated two chief problems, with whose resolution both a visit by the pope to Russia and his meeting with the head of the RPTs were impossible. These were the "seizures" by Greek Catholics of Orthodox churches in western Ukraine and the so-called proselytism (missionary activity among Orthodox believers) in Russia itself.
Actually, Greek Catholics did seize for themselves churches in western Ukraine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in the main, these were Greek Catholic churches that had been transferred to the Moscow patriarchate as the result of the destruction of the Greek Catholic (Uniate) church of Ukraine by Stalin. So that the question of who, whom, and from where it had been driven never had a simple answer. And missionary activity by the Catholic Church in Russia was not particularly widespread.
Hostility toward USA as occasion for rapprochement
By the efforts of two papal nuncios (ambassadors) in Moscow—Archbishops Antonio Mennini and Ivan Yurkovich—relations of the two hierarchies in the past 12 to 13 years have noticeably warmed. Particular complaints by Orthodox about harassment in western Ukraine have not been heard for a long time now. Nor about the luring of Orthodox believers in Russia itself also. And nevertheless recently the patriarch again responded with a refusal to an invitation from Pope Francis to meet during the World Day of Youth in 2016.
The situation could change greatly after the June meeting of Vladimir Putin with the pontiff. Judging by everything, Pope Francis and the Russian leader found a common language. Indifferent to history, especially to European history, and indifferent to the problems of the "cold war" and its consequences for post-communist countries, the Argentine pope has devoted priority to themes that are fashionable among leftists—the fate of migrants, inequality of incomes, global warming, and restriction of the influence of transnational corporations and banks.
The pope has not concealed his hostility toward the United States, primarily as the center of global capitalism. Judging by everything, it is hostility toward USA that has drawn Francis and Putin closer and perhaps even made them political allies.
Pope and Crimea
In addition, according to information from Vatican insiders, the pontiff has a nonjudgmental attitude toward the annexation of Crimea by Russia. In the opinion of the pope who is little experienced in the intricacies of post-communist history, Putin did what his native Argentina has still been unable to do with respect to the Falkland Islands owned by Great Britain—to take them for itself and thereby restore "historical justice."
In the course of the past year the pontiff has steadfastly rejected any specific assessments of the situation in Ukraine. Those vague statement that he nevertheless made permit one to suggest that the pope assesses it as a civil war, that is, essentially the same as the Kremlin presents it to the world.
The pope and the president also view the situation in the Middle East similarly, particularly the conflict in Syria. Both Moscow and the Vatican are concerned for the fate of Christians in the region and they do not conceal their sympathies toward Syrian President Bashar Assad, who, in contrast with the Muslim radicals who are fighting against him, has always regarded local Christians as loyal. The fact that the Russian president has successfully cultivated the image of a defender of traditional family values also has partly helped in his communication with the pontiff.
Vatican as Putin's ally
In the context of the confrontation with the West, the sympathies of the Vatican are a definite support for the Russian leader. Pope Francis enjoys great popularity in the world. In this situation, to facilitate a meeting of the patriarch and the pontiff is a winning course for Putin. The more so since in 2007 he has already played an important role in the history of the Russian church when he helped reunite the RPTs with the emigrant Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
I am sure that in the coming months, the Kremlin will persistently urge Patriarch Kirill to consent to a state visit to Russia by the pope. As an absolute monarch of the Vatican state, Francis can come to Moscow on the invitation of the Russian president. An historic visit with the patriarch could become a part of the program of the visit. The pope from Argentina, who does not pity Americans, is a much more acceptable figure than the Polish John Paul II or the German Benedict XVI, even from the point of view of the Russian fundamentalists who are suspicious of non-Orthodox Christians.
For both the Kremlin and the Holy See, rapprochement promises political benefit. I think that Vladimir Putin has adequate formal and informal arguments, from the political to the financial, to be able to persuade Patriarch Kirill not to oppose a meeting with the pontiff any longer. (tr. by PDS, posted 20 June 2015)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 17 June 2015
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