This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/meeting-between-pope-and-patriarch-highlights-ancient-rifts-and-current-worries/2016/02/12/e7780868-d199-11e5-b2bc-988409ee911b_story.html
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Meeting between pope and patriarch highlights ancient rifts and current worries | Meeting between pope and patriarch highlights ancient rifts and current worries |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| HAVANA — Pope Francis made a brief stopover in Cuba for a historic encounter Friday with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a meeting that bridged a nearly 1,000-year rift in Christianity but whose focus was believed to be the current turmoil in the Middle East. | HAVANA — Pope Francis made a brief stopover in Cuba for a historic encounter Friday with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a meeting that bridged a nearly 1,000-year rift in Christianity but whose focus was believed to be the current turmoil in the Middle East. |
| The two-hour conversation between Francis and Patriarch Kirill I marked the first meeting between the religious leaders of the Vatican and Moscow since a 11th century Christian schism over papal authority and other disputes. The two leaders signed an agreement and praised a new spirit of collaboration, but said little about the substance of their talks or the content of the document. | The two-hour conversation between Francis and Patriarch Kirill I marked the first meeting between the religious leaders of the Vatican and Moscow since a 11th century Christian schism over papal authority and other disputes. The two leaders signed an agreement and praised a new spirit of collaboration, but said little about the substance of their talks or the content of the document. |
| “We spoke as brothers,” Francis said, prior to departing Havana for Mexico, where he will begin a six-day visit. Sitting beside Kirill, whom he embraced after signing the agreement that the pontiff described as “a series of initiatives...that are viable and achievable,” Francis said the two men “spoke frankly and without mincing words.” | |
| In his short remarks, Kirill said the two churches would work together “to help Christians all over the world,” and to “protect human life.” | |
| The 30-point statement signed by the two leaders pledges new areas of cooperation for the two long-estranged churches to protect Christians in the Middle East, while affirming a shared opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. | |
| The declaration praises the demise of “miltant atheism” in formerly communist Eastern Europe — also once the official policy of communist Cuba — and urges unity and dialogue as a path to healing the various divisions and schisms among the world’s Chrisitians, including war-torn Ukraine. | |
| “In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated,” the statement read. | |
| Francis’s Alitalia jet landed just before 2 p.m. at Havana’s José Martí International Airport, and the pope was received on the tarmac by Cuban President Raúl Castro, who walked with him into the meeting. | |
| The small, decrepit airport terminal in communist-run Cuba was an improbable setting for the encounter between Francis and Kirill, two powerful religious leaders in flowing vestments who preside over empires of architectural splendor. | The small, decrepit airport terminal in communist-run Cuba was an improbable setting for the encounter between Francis and Kirill, two powerful religious leaders in flowing vestments who preside over empires of architectural splendor. |
| Cuban state television showed images of the two men seated beside one another in a dark wood-paneled room, with a large crucifix on the wall behind them. | Cuban state television showed images of the two men seated beside one another in a dark wood-paneled room, with a large crucifix on the wall behind them. |
| The Cuban venue for the meeting fit Francis’s view of the island’s importance. In his statement, the pope thanked Castro for hosting the meeting, and said Cuba was becoming “a capital of unity.” The island is also the site of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and leftists FARC rebels whom Francis supports. And the pope has played a key role in the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. | |
| The meeting Friday between Francis and Kirill has several political dimensions far beyond the Americas. | The meeting Friday between Francis and Kirill has several political dimensions far beyond the Americas. |
| For the Vatican, the moment culminates decades of overtures to the Russian church. It also could open greater channels with Moscow over the humanitarian fallout from Middle East conflicts, including the flood of refugees into Europe and ravages against ancient Christian communities and their sites by Islamist militants, such as the Islamic State. | For the Vatican, the moment culminates decades of overtures to the Russian church. It also could open greater channels with Moscow over the humanitarian fallout from Middle East conflicts, including the flood of refugees into Europe and ravages against ancient Christian communities and their sites by Islamist militants, such as the Islamic State. |
| [Why the Russian church has agreed to meet the pope] | [Why the Russian church has agreed to meet the pope] |
| On Sunday — with an eye toward the upcoming meeting with Kirill — the pope decried the bloodshed in “beloved Syria,” where Russia has carried out airstrikes to aid the government of President Bashar al-Assad. | On Sunday — with an eye toward the upcoming meeting with Kirill — the pope decried the bloodshed in “beloved Syria,” where Russia has carried out airstrikes to aid the government of President Bashar al-Assad. |
| The United States, Russia and other powers agreed Friday to a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war within the next week, as well as humanitarian access to besieged areas. But the pact also leaves room for continued Russian air attacks. | |
| Moscow could view the patriarch’s meeting with Francis as a chance to display Russia’s role in the Middle East and seek stronger bonds with the Vatican at a sensitive time. | Moscow could view the patriarch’s meeting with Francis as a chance to display Russia’s role in the Middle East and seek stronger bonds with the Vatican at a sensitive time. |
| Russia faces increasing pressures from the West over flash points, such as Ukraine, where Moscow annexed the strategic Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backs pro-Russian separatists battling the government in Kiev. Meanwhile, Russia has denounced NATO plans to expand forces in Europe. | Russia faces increasing pressures from the West over flash points, such as Ukraine, where Moscow annexed the strategic Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backs pro-Russian separatists battling the government in Kiev. Meanwhile, Russia has denounced NATO plans to expand forces in Europe. |
| [What the “Francis effect” hasn’t delivered in Cuba] | [What the “Francis effect” hasn’t delivered in Cuba] |
| “To have [the pope], with his internationally recognized authority, not as a critic but as an ally or at least simply as a neutrally silent figure, is highly attractive to Putin and his associates,” wrote Yury Avvakumov , an assistant professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in Eastern church affairs. | “To have [the pope], with his internationally recognized authority, not as a critic but as an ally or at least simply as a neutrally silent figure, is highly attractive to Putin and his associates,” wrote Yury Avvakumov , an assistant professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in Eastern church affairs. |
| Vatican contacts with the Orthodox world are not new. | Vatican contacts with the Orthodox world are not new. |
| Pope John Paul II — who once praised the East by saying the church must “breathe with two lungs” — made landmark trips to Greece and other mostly Orthodox nations. He also held groundbreaking talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is based in Istanbul and is considered the spiritual head of the patchwork of highly autonomous Orthodox churches and patriarchs. | Pope John Paul II — who once praised the East by saying the church must “breathe with two lungs” — made landmark trips to Greece and other mostly Orthodox nations. He also held groundbreaking talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is based in Istanbul and is considered the spiritual head of the patchwork of highly autonomous Orthodox churches and patriarchs. |
| But the Russian church is by far the most powerful in terms of size, influence and wealth. Its backing for dialogue could begin reshaping the Christian landscape in profound ways. | But the Russian church is by far the most powerful in terms of size, influence and wealth. Its backing for dialogue could begin reshaping the Christian landscape in profound ways. |
| [Gallery: Cuba embraces the pontiff] | [Gallery: Cuba embraces the pontiff] |
| Chances for a “full and organic reconciliation” between the churches are extremely remote at the moment, said the Rev. Paul McPartlan, a Catholic University professor who has taken part in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue since 2005. | Chances for a “full and organic reconciliation” between the churches are extremely remote at the moment, said the Rev. Paul McPartlan, a Catholic University professor who has taken part in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue since 2005. |
| “But this is a step, what I would call a moment of grace,” said McPartlan. “When that happens, other things can flow.” | “But this is a step, what I would call a moment of grace,” said McPartlan. “When that happens, other things can flow.” |
| The fundamental issues of the millennia-old break still loom large: the power of the papacy and other theological splits. In recent decades, another point of friction was added over Orthodox accusations of Roman Catholic reach into traditionally Orthodox regions, such as Ukraine and Belarus, through Vatican-affiliated churches. | The fundamental issues of the millennia-old break still loom large: the power of the papacy and other theological splits. In recent decades, another point of friction was added over Orthodox accusations of Roman Catholic reach into traditionally Orthodox regions, such as Ukraine and Belarus, through Vatican-affiliated churches. |
| Such differences with the Vatican could still block a quest that has eluded the Holy See: an invitation for a papal visit to Russia. Even just arranging the airport encounter took two years of “secret negotiations” by bishops, Francis was quoted as saying in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper. | Such differences with the Vatican could still block a quest that has eluded the Holy See: an invitation for a papal visit to Russia. Even just arranging the airport encounter took two years of “secret negotiations” by bishops, Francis was quoted as saying in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper. |
| [Aid groups hopeful and skeptical after Syrian peace deal] | [Aid groups hopeful and skeptical after Syrian peace deal] |
| The backdrop of Cuba — far from quarrels in Europe — also had resonance. | The backdrop of Cuba — far from quarrels in Europe — also had resonance. |
| It gave the Argentine-born Francis an opportunity to showcase his Latin American roots and the reemergence of the Catholic Church on the island, a former Soviet satellite that in recent years has also rekindled ties to Moscow. Francis visited Cuba in September before making his first trip to the United States. | It gave the Argentine-born Francis an opportunity to showcase his Latin American roots and the reemergence of the Catholic Church on the island, a former Soviet satellite that in recent years has also rekindled ties to Moscow. Francis visited Cuba in September before making his first trip to the United States. |
| Kirill, who is on a tour of Cuba, Brazil and Paraguay, looks to project Russian influence in the region, including construction of a major Orthodox church in Havana despite relatively few followers. He arrived in Havana on Thursday, where he was received by Castro, 84, and the patriarch was also expected to meet separately with 89-year-old former president Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2006. On Sunday, Kirill will celebrate Mass at Havana’s Russian Orthodox Church. | Kirill, who is on a tour of Cuba, Brazil and Paraguay, looks to project Russian influence in the region, including construction of a major Orthodox church in Havana despite relatively few followers. He arrived in Havana on Thursday, where he was received by Castro, 84, and the patriarch was also expected to meet separately with 89-year-old former president Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2006. On Sunday, Kirill will celebrate Mass at Havana’s Russian Orthodox Church. |
| Francis’s jet left at 5:25 p.m. — nearly an hour behind schedule — for the two-and-a-half hour flight to Mexico, the world’s second-largest majority-Catholic nation after Brazil. | |
| In what is perhaps the most anticipated event of his trip to Mexico, Francis on Wednesday will celebrate a large public Mass in Ciudad Juarez, right along the U.S. border, in a speech expected to highlight the plight of the world’s migrants and refugees. Francis will also visit the southern state of Chiapas, one of Mexico’s poorest, as well as the crime-ravaged state of Michoacan, a notorious drug cartel battleground. | |
| Murphy reported from Washington. | |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world |