The Pope offers to meet with Putin

Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that he had offered to go to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin to try to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but had not yet received a response. Francis said he made the offer in about three weeks. Russia’s invasion through Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. For decades, the popes have sought to visit Moscow as part of a long-standing effort to restore relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which split with Rome more than 1,000 years ago. But there was no invitation. “Of course, the Kremlin leader would have to make some opportunities. But we have not yet received an answer, and we are still seeking, even though I fear that Putin cannot and does not want to have it. meetings at this moment, ”the newspaper Corriere della Sera quotes Francis. Franciszek recalled that in March he had talked to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for 40 minutes by video conference and for the first half “read all the justifications for the war with a piece of paper in his hands.” I listened and he said, “I don’t understand any of this. Brother, we are not the clergy of the state, we cannot use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus. … For this we need to find ways of peace, to stop firing. ” “The recent Franciszek gave several interviews to friendly media, emphasizing his call for an end to the war and initiatives to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians. He defended his decision not to name Putin or Russia publicly, saying the popes were not doing so. But he freely mentioned Putin’s name in his statement to Corriere and seemed to equate the massacre in Ukraine with the genocide in Rwanda. a quarter of a century ago. “Such cruelty, how not to try to stop it? Twenty-five years ago in Rwanda we saw the same thing,” he quotes.