Pope-Patriarch Reunification Talks Gains Momentum
Pastor Dale Morgan
Pope-Patriarch Reunification Talks Gains Momentum *
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 10, 2008; 3:23 PM
BERLIN -- Chances of a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and the Russian
Patriarch Alexy II at a neutral location for reunification talks are
improving, a top official in the Russian Orthodox Church was quoted as
telling a German magazine this week.
In an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel, Metropolitan Kirill, the
top foreign relations official in the Russian church, said relations
between the two churches have become warmer since Benedict was elected
pope in 2005; and that after his own meeting with the pontiff last
month, it is evident that "relations have improved."
Asked whether he could imagine the pope and patriarch meeting in a third
country, away from Russia and the Vatican, Kirill replied that "it's
certainly possible," Der Spiegel reported.
He was quoted as saying that "the entire development in bilateral
relations and reunification talks is moving in the direction of such
meeting coming about."
Relations between Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholics have at times
been tense.
The Russian Orthodox Church has accused Roman Catholics of improperly
seeking converts in traditionally Orthodox areas. The Vatican has
rejected the claim, saying it only ministers to the country's Catholics,
mostly of Eastern European and German origin, and who number about
600,000 in a country of 142 million.
The tensions prevented Pope John Paul II from realizing his dream of
visiting Moscow in his quest to bring Orthodox and Catholics closer
together.
Benedict has also made efforts toward Orthodox-Catholic unity a priority
of his pontificate.
Kirill told Der Spiegel that Benedict had "removed the issue of a visit
to Moscow from the agenda."
"This sort of visit would not have solved any problems, but it would
have provoked new ones," he was quoted as saying. "Many of the faithful
in Russia mistrust Catholics. This is a legacy of the wars and of
proselytization efforts in the 17th and 18th centuries."