Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis. File photoROME, Apr 22Pope Francis announced that the Vatican has canceled his meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, which was to be held in Jerusalem in June.»I regret that the Vatican had to cancel the second meeting with Patriarch Kirill, which we planned for June in Jerusalem. But our diplomacy understood that the meeting of the two of us at this time could lead to great confusion,» he said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper la Nacion.
«We can lose this». What the Jerusalem Patriarch warned Christians aboutAccording to the pontiff, he has always worked to develop interreligious dialogue. Pope Francis called his relationship with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church “very good.” In early April, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill could take place on neutral territory, this is the main condition. Both sides considered the Middle East as the proposed location. In mid-April, the media reported that the Vatican was exploring the possibility of holding a meeting in Jerusalem. The historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill took place on February 12, 2016 in Havana. It was the first such meeting in history: the primates of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches had never met for centuries. The preparation of a new meeting was announced in the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican in 2021.
