Report: Patriarch Kirill will not meet Pope Francis in Kazakhstan

CNA Staff   By CNA Staff

 

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill makes the sign of the cross during the Easter Mass at the Christ The Saviour Cathedral on April 24, 2022 in Moscow, Russia. / Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 25, 2022 / 05:37 am (CNA).

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow will not attend an interreligious summit in Kazakhstan in September, where it was hoped he would meet with Pope Francis to discuss a peaceful resolution to the six-month-long war in Ukraine.

The pope will travel to the Central Asian nation for the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the city of Nur-Sultan on Sept. 13-15.

The Russian Orthodox Church will send a delegation to the congress, but Kirill will not go, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the head of the Russian Church’s Department for External Church Relations, told RIA-Novosti.

There had been speculation that the two religious leaders — who met in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 — might meet in person, possibly in Jerusalem, to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Kirill has publicly supported.

“However, in the spring of this year, to our deep surprise, the Vatican unilaterally publicly announced that preparations for the meeting had been suspended, and that this meeting itself wouldn’t take place,” Metropolitan Anthony told RIA-Novosti.

The Holy See has said it stands ready to mediate peace talks between the two countries.

At the end of his general audience Wednesday, Pope Francis, marking the six-month anniversary of the fighting, asked for prayers for “the beloved Ukrainian people who have been suffering the horrors of war for six months now.”


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 11941 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. Report: Patriarch Kirill will not meet Pope Francis in Kazakhstan – Catholic World Report – The Old Roman

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*