In an interview with one of Italy’s most prestigious newspapers, Il Corriere della SeraPope Francis spoke of his efforts to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and also of the conversation he had with the highest representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Pope said that he had spoken with Patriarch Kirill via video conference. “During the first 20 minutes, he read to me on a piece of paper that he had in his hand all the reasons that justify the Russian invasion,” Pope Francis said. “I listened to him and then I replied: I don’t understand any of this. Brother, we are not clerics of the State, we must not speak the language of politics, but the language of Jesus. We are shepherds of the same holy flock of God. That is why we must seek a path to peace, we must stop the fighting. A patriarch cannot stoop to becoming Putin’s altar boy.”
The pope added that he and Kirill had canceled a meeting in Jerusalem on June 14, saying “we agreed that it might send the wrong message.”
For its part, the Russian Orthodox Church evaluated his comments as “regrettable”. The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate said in a statement on May 4 that it was “unlikely that the Pope’s words would contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue” between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.
“It is unfortunate that a month and a half after the conversation with Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis chose the wrong tone to convey the content of this conversation. Such statements are unlikely to contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, which is especially necessary at this time.”
Catholic bishops across Europe have called on Patriarch Kirill to speak out against the invasion of Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 civilians since February 24.
The statement by the Russian Orthodox Church came on the same day that the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is considering imposing sanctions on Patriarch Kirill.
Pope Francis has been invited by President Volodimir Zelenskiy to visit Ukraine, but has said he does not feel ready to visit kyiv, even though he has sent two Vatican representatives to the war zone.
The Italian newspaper also reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis could not take place at the moment.
