Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Pope and patriarch to meet

byStaff writers
30 May 2010
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

VATICAN CITY (CNS): While a meeting between Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Pope Benedict XVI has not been scheduled, the head of ecumenical relations for the Russian Church hinted that the possibility of such a meeting is greater than ever.

President of the Moscow Patriarchate’s office for external relations Metropolitian Hilarion of Volokolamsk told reporters at the Vatican on May 19 that a meeting “is a desire, it is a hope and we must work for it”.

He repeated the long-standing position of Russian Orthodox leaders that a pope-patriarch meeting could not be held as long as Catholic-Orthodox tensions remain in Western Ukraine and that the meeting should cap a process of preparing an agreement on common points of faith and on concrete collaboration.

“I think the atmosphere of dialogue has improved and without a doubt relations improve along with the theological dialogue. But I think the theological dialogue still has a long way to go,” he said.

“What is important is not the speed of dialogue, but the quality of the results we achieve,” the metropolitan said. He was in Rome for a series of events on Russian culture and spirituality sponsored by the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate.

“An encounter between a pope and a patriarch should be a historic event, not just because it is the first meeting between the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church but especially because such a meeting must be a sign of the intention to move our relations forward, which is why it must be prepared for well,” he said.

“I hope there could be an encounter not between just any pope of Rome and patriarch of Moscow, but between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI,” Metropolitan Hilarion said.

Pressed on the question, he said, “By mentioning these two concrete people, I tried to indicate somewhat a desired deadline.”

He told reporters that most of the Russian Orthodox clergy and faithful have a very favourable opinion of Pope Benedict and particularly appreciated his efforts to promote traditional moral values and to strengthen the Christian culture of Europe.

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity president Cardinal Walter Kasper told reporters later that the Vatican’s position was that a meeting between the pope and patriarch could be the best way to begin to settle the tensions and questions that the Russian Orthodox want resolved before a meeting.

Related Stories

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

In addition, he said, it would be an opportunity “to give witness to an increasingly secularised world that our churches have the same positions on moral questions”.

“We hope that this meeting will not be something eschatological” – dealing with the end of time – “but that it would take place in our age,” the cardinal said.

However, the cardinal, who is 77 and expected to retire in the next few months, said he did not think he would still be working at the Vatican when the meeting finally happened.

 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

An interesting and compelling journey

Next Post

Students unite for justice

Staff writers

Related Posts

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”
News

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

24 May 2022
Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village
News

US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

24 May 2022
Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village
News

Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

24 May 2022
Next Post

Students unite for justice

Life in focus

United in hope

Popular News

  • From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Catholic environmentalist says Australia has failed as God’s caretakers of earth following interim report

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”
News

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

by Mark Bowling
24 May 2022
0

BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge has used the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians to call...

Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

24 May 2022
Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

24 May 2022
Life ‘is always sacred and inviolable’, Pope Francis says

Life ‘is always sacred and inviolable’, Pope Francis says

23 May 2022

From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

23 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping