THAW BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND RUSSIAN ORTHODOX IS POSSIBLE
Bishop
Comments on President Putin's Visit to John Paul II
MOSCOW,
JUNE 5 (ZENIT.org).- Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting John
Paul II in the Vatican. Bishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Apostolic Administrator
of Moscow and European Russia, said it is an absolutely positive event:
"It means that the Pope is considered an important figure here as
well."
"It is
difficult to make predictions," explained the "Catholic Bishop" of
Moscow, who took advantage of the occasion of his public statements to manifest
openness toward the Orthodox Church. "I am convinced that with good will
the existing problems between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches can be
overcome. I believe that Christian Churches should be united in collaboration
for the good of the Russian people, for their re-evangelization," he
explained.
The last
time Bishop Kondrusiewicz met with Alexy II, the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow,
was May 7, at Putin's presidential inauguration in the Kremlin. The meeting was
the latest stage in the "process of relaxation" in relations between
Catholics and Orthodox, which began after the fall of communism. Among the
signs of dialogue is the visit of a delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate to
the exposition of the Holy Shroud in Turin.