Pope visits Russian embassy
Indice
The meeting and the thirty-point statement were reported in the media, especially in Russia, highlighting the joint call of the two leaders to end the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and the wars in the region. The statement also expressed the hope that the signatories of that act would help contribute to the reestablishment of the union of Christianity between the two churches. Other issues were also mentioned in the declaration, including atheism, secularism, consumerism, refugees, the importance of the family, marriage, and in relation to abortion and euthanasia. The document did not resolve any of the lingering doctrinal and ecclesiastical differences between the two churches, but contains a compromise on marriage in accordance with the Balamand Declaration, as well as the conflict in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and others in Ukraine later criticized.
The Eastern Schism left the Christian world divided between the Greek East and the Latin West. Attempts were made in the following centuries to end the division, such as the Second Council of Lyon in 1274 and the Council of Florence 1439 but both failed. More recent attempts to bring the relationship between the churches closer, including the 1965 Catholic-Orthodox Declaration, continued with the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in Jerusalem. After this meeting and this declaration, several meetings, visits and symbolic events took place involving Catholics and Orthodox leaders (including the views of Pope John Paul II, and especially between several popes and Bartholomew I of Constantinople), but never a meeting between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. The first time a pope visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country was in 1999, when John Paul II visited Romania.
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Pope Francis denies that he intends to resign (“It has never crossed my mind. Not at the moment”), denies rumors that he is ill with cancer. Instead, he reiterates his desire to travel to Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, perhaps in September. He also says he respects the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the termination of pregnancy and reiterates his strong condemnation of abortion. The Bishop of Rome gave a lengthy interview to Reuters correspondent Phil Pullella on Saturday. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and this is a first summary with part of the content published by the agency.
The Pope was also asked to comment on the ongoing debate in the United States over whether a Catholic politician, who personally opposes abortion but supports the right of others to choose, can receive communion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, is barred from receiving the Eucharist by the archbishop of her diocese, San Francisco, but regularly receives communion at a Washington parish, and last week received communion from a priest during Mass at St. Peter’s presided over by the Pontiff.
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The Pope’s visit to Kazakhstan is very important for us, the Russian Catholic faithful. First of all, because we do not know if and when the Pope will be able to come to visit us, and Kazakhstan is the closest country to us among those visited by the Pope, so it is a great opportunity, also because it is possible to travel to Kazakhstan with a certain freedom. It is also an opportunity to be able to express our fidelity, our following and above all our love for the Pope, because Russians love the Pope. That is what moves us to go on pilgrimage to meet Pope Francis.
Ukraine
Pope Francis denies that he intends to resign (“It has never crossed my mind. Not at the moment”), denies rumors that he is ill with cancer. Instead, he reiterates his desire to travel to Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, perhaps in September. He also says he respects the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the termination of pregnancy and reiterates his strong condemnation of abortion.
The Bishop of Rome gave a lengthy interview to Reuters correspondent Phil Pullella on Saturday. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and this is a first account with part of the content published by the agency.
The Pope, at the same time, as he has done several times in the past, explained that the possibility of resigning is taken into consideration, especially after the election made by Benedict xvi in 2013, in case health makes it impossible for him to continue in his ministry. “When I see that I cannot do it, I will do it”. Francis referred to Benedict’s gesture, stressing that “it was a good for the Church and for the Popes” and that he remains a “great example”.