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Pope Francis has said he has given up plans to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has backed Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The Holy Father, who has repeatedly implicitly criticized Russia and the Russian president for the war, told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview that he regretted the plan should be “suspended” because Vatican diplomats had advised him that a meeting such “could cause a lot of confusion at the moment.”
Reuters reported on April 11 that the Vatican was considering extending by one day the Pope’s trip to Lebanon scheduled for June 12-13, so that he could meet with Cyril on June 14 in Jerusalem.
Kirill, 75, has given his full blessing to the Russian occupation of Ukraine since it began on February 24, a position that has caused divisions in the Orthodox Church around the world and sparked an internal rebellion that theologians and academics say is unprecedented.
Pope Francis, 85, has used expressions such as unwarranted aggression and interference in his public comments on the war and has criticized atrocities against civilians.
Asked in an interview why he never mentioned Russia or President Putin directly, Francesco was quoted as saying: “A pope never mentions a head of state, let alone a country that is above his head of state. ”
President Putin, a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, has described Moscow’s actions as a “special military operation” in Ukraine aimed at demilitarizing and “denationalizing” the country. Moscow has denied targeting civilians.
Francesco has specifically rejected Russian terminology, calling it a war that has caused “rivers of blood”.
The pope said earlier this month that he was considering a trip to Kiev, telling reporters during a flight to Malta on April 2 that such a thing was “on the table”. He has been invited by Ukrainian political and religious leaders.
Asked in an interview with the Argentine newspaper why he has not yet made the trip, he said: “I can not do anything that would jeopardize the highest objectives, which are the end of the war, a ceasefire or at least a humanitarian corridor. What value would it have for the Pope to go to Kiev if the war continues the next day? ”
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