Vatican City: Pope Francis Departure Tuesday for a peace meeting of world religious leaders in Kazakhstan marked by the apparent absence of Russian Orthodoxy Patriarch Kirillone who supports war Ukraine,
Kirill was expected to attend the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and Francis had said several times that he was willing to speak to them.
Their meeting in Cuba in 2016 was the first between a pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch since the Great Controversy of 1054 divided Christianity into eastern and western branches.
But, he Russian Church Last month it was suddenly announced that Kirill would not attend the meeting in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. It did not give any reason.
Some top Vatican officials were relieved that the Pope’s meeting with a prominent supporter of the Russian president would not lead to an encounter because of the poor optics of the meeting. Vladimir PutinThe invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior Vatican source.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrei Kurashoalso told the Vatican that his government would not look positively at the papal-patriarchal meeting, preferring that the pope visit first. KyivAccording to the source.
Kirill gives it enthusiastic support RussiaThe invasion of Ukraine, which the patriarch sees as a dam against a West he calls decadent.
His stance has caused a rift with the Vatican and sparked an internal rebellion that has led some local Orthodox churches to break ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Vatican is trying to mend strained relations with Ukraine after the pope last month upset Kyiv by citing Russian ultra-nationalists. river doublewho was killed by a car bomb near Moscow as an innocent victim of the war.
Still, the war in Ukraine is likely to cast a long shadow over the meeting, which will be attended by more than 100 delegations from around 50 countries.
In his Sunday address, Francis called his visit to Kazakhstan a “pilgrimage to dialogue and peace” and called on the front line to pray for the Ukrainians, whom he has often said were “martyrs”.
The travel logo is a dove carrying an olive branch.
Of the 19 million population of the vast Central Asian country, a former Soviet republic, only 125,000 are Catholic. About 70% of Kazakhs are Muslim and about 26% are Orthodox Christians.
Francis, who uses a cane and wheelchair because of a knee ailment, will hold a Mass for the small Catholic community.
Religious leaders will offer a silent prayer at the beginning of the meeting on Wednesday and issue a joint statement at the end.
Francis is scheduled to hold private meetings with several religious leaders but the Vatican has yet to announce who they are.
Kirill was expected to attend the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and Francis had said several times that he was willing to speak to them.
Their meeting in Cuba in 2016 was the first between a pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch since the Great Controversy of 1054 divided Christianity into eastern and western branches.
But, he Russian Church Last month it was suddenly announced that Kirill would not attend the meeting in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. It did not give any reason.
Some top Vatican officials were relieved that the Pope’s meeting with a prominent supporter of the Russian president would not lead to an encounter because of the poor optics of the meeting. Vladimir PutinThe invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior Vatican source.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrei Kurashoalso told the Vatican that his government would not look positively at the papal-patriarchal meeting, preferring that the pope visit first. KyivAccording to the source.
Kirill gives it enthusiastic support RussiaThe invasion of Ukraine, which the patriarch sees as a dam against a West he calls decadent.
His stance has caused a rift with the Vatican and sparked an internal rebellion that has led some local Orthodox churches to break ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Vatican is trying to mend strained relations with Ukraine after the pope last month upset Kyiv by citing Russian ultra-nationalists. river doublewho was killed by a car bomb near Moscow as an innocent victim of the war.
Still, the war in Ukraine is likely to cast a long shadow over the meeting, which will be attended by more than 100 delegations from around 50 countries.
In his Sunday address, Francis called his visit to Kazakhstan a “pilgrimage to dialogue and peace” and called on the front line to pray for the Ukrainians, whom he has often said were “martyrs”.
The travel logo is a dove carrying an olive branch.
Of the 19 million population of the vast Central Asian country, a former Soviet republic, only 125,000 are Catholic. About 70% of Kazakhs are Muslim and about 26% are Orthodox Christians.
Francis, who uses a cane and wheelchair because of a knee ailment, will hold a Mass for the small Catholic community.
Religious leaders will offer a silent prayer at the beginning of the meeting on Wednesday and issue a joint statement at the end.
Francis is scheduled to hold private meetings with several religious leaders but the Vatican has yet to announce who they are.