Pope cancels meeting with ROC Primate: "Now is not the time"
Pope Francis has announced that his meeting with Patriarch Kirill, scheduled for June, will not take place, reports the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
"I regret that the Vatican had to cancel the meeting with Patriarch Kirill that we had planned for June in Jerusalem. But our diplomacy understands that a meeting at that time could lead to great confusion," Francis said, stressing that he has always advocated interreligious dialogue.
The pontiff also explained why he did not go to Kyiv.
"I cannot do anything that jeopardises the higher goals, which are the end of the war, the truce or at least the organisation of humanitarian corridors. What good does a trip to Kyiv do to the Pope if the war continues the next day?" he asked.
At the same time, the Pope described his relations with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church as "very good".
As reported, President Zelensky asked the Pope to mediate in negotiations with Russia.
Read also
Most Britons oppose abortions, poll finds
The survey found that 62% of UK residents support legal protection for unborn children from the moment their heartbeat is first detected.
Annual academic conference opens at Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary
The fifteenth annual conference was dedicated to the anniversaries of Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrožský and Metropolitan Rafail (Zaborovský).
Feminists attack Roman Catholic churches in Latin America
During protest actions, members of radical groups attacked cathedrals in several Latin American countries, assaulted police officers, and threw paint at believers.
UOC hierarch takes part in German bishops’ conference
Bishop Veniamin of Boyarka took part in the OBKD assembly in Düsseldorf.
Ivano-Frankivsk scraps school project planned on demolished UOC church site
The authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk have dropped plans to build the school for whose construction a UOC church was demolished.
Shostatsky to UOC: If you are so righteous – do not cling to your churches
The OCU metropolitan called on UOC faithful and clergy to pray rather than defend their churches from seizures.