The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a statement criticising Pope Francis

[speak easy]

The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a statement criticising Pope Francis, saying that the Pope misrepresented the last conversation he had with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera earlier this week, Pope Francis said:

I spoke to Kirill for 40 minutes via Zoom. The first 20 with a card in hand he read me all the justifications for the war. I listened and told him: I don’t understand anything about this. Brother, we are not clerics of state, we cannot use the language of politics, but that of Jesus.

Russia’s RIA news agency is carrying a statement from the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, which says:

The negotiations of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Pope and the head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby took place online on 16 March. They discussed the problems of helping refugees, the right of everyone to confess their faith and native language without political persecution, and the role of Christians in the search for peace in Ukraine.

It is regrettable that one and a half months after the conversation with Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis chose the wrong tone to convey the content of this conversation. Such statements are unlikely to contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches, which is especially necessary at the present time

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/may/04/russia-ukraine-war-russia-attacks-azovstal-steel-plant-after-first-evacuated-civilians-reach-safety-live#block-62727f738f08bc8c65c74aa5

[lapfog_1]

1. why is it that I believe the Pope and not the cleric

who has RELENTLESSLY justified the war to anyone that will listen to him (that is, whenever he can disengage his lips from Putin's butt).

[maxsolomon]

2. THE ROC hitched their wagon to Putin's project a long time ago.

"I spoke to Kirill for 40 minutes via Zoom. The first 20 with a card in hand he read me all the justifications for the war."

That's called Gaslighting, Francis. half the time he spent lying to you; running out the clock. Putin does it to Macron, any other leader. Lavrov does it to the press. They don't want to discuss. They have no interest in debate.

[hunter]

5. It's the same reason our Evangelicals supported Trump.

These churches will tolerate any evil if it increases their own political power.

Even within the U.S. Catholic Church there's a split between the conservative authoritarians who supported Trump and those who support the mainstream "love your neighbor" Catholicism of Joe Biden.

Unfortunately the U.S. Supreme Court has be ruined by Republican endorsed conservative Catholics.

[pwb]

3. Krill lost his way or Putin has a foot on his throat?

The Pope is right IMO. Church and State need to stay seperate.

[speak easy]

4. Kirill was KGB

http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/kirill_KGB.html

[pwb]

6. O k was that in the article? I admit to only reading the post.

That figures though.

[speak easy]

7. No. Not in the article.

After the war broke out I went looking for what made the guy tick. Finding out he had been KGB went a long way to explaining a whole lot.

[Gore1FL]

8. They all suck.

They all use fear to manipulate.