Pope Francis closes the door to an upcoming meeting with the Patriarch of Moscow
Pope Francis after the Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, Sunday, March 6, 2022. AP - Andrew Medichini
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The meeting was to be held in June in Jerusalem, but the war in Ukraine, supported by the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, reshuffled the cards for the sovereign pontiff.
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It is in an interview with the Argentine daily
La Nacion
that Pope Francis explains that this meeting with the Patriarch of Moscow cannot take place as planned.
The diplomacy of the Holy See "
understood that a meeting at this time could lead to a lot of confusion
", nevertheless explaining that its relations with Kirill remain "
good
", reports our correspondent at the Vatican,
Éric Sénanque
.
The two religious leaders had met for the first time in Cuba in 2016. For months, a second meeting had been in preparation, in Rome as in Moscow, but the Russian war in Ukraine, blessed by Patriarch Kirill, changed the situation for the Vatican.
In his interview with
La Nacion
,
François also explains that a round trip to Ukraine on his part is not appropriate.
“
What would be the use of the pope going to Kiev if the war continues the next day?
he asks, assuring that the Vatican "
never rests
" in its diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.
Pope Francis has multiplied calls for peace, recently lambasting "
the ever more horrible cruelty
" in Ukraine.
An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Patriarch Kirill, for his part, defended the military operation, again asking in mid-April to rally around power to fight the "
external and internal enemies
" of Russia.
In mid-March, the heads of the two Churches had a video interview on the war in Ukraine, during which they wished for "a
fair peace
", according to the Moscow Patriarchate.
But also on the occasion of which the pope pointed out to the patriarch that the Church should “
not use the language of politics
”, according to the Vatican.
All of our daily, live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
© FMM Graphic Studio
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