Moscow Patriarchate criticizes the Pope: “Use wrong tones”

The Patriarchate of Moscow criticizes the Pope. The words spoken by Bergoglio in the interview with Corsera in which, speaking of Patriarch Kirill, the Pontiff recalled that “we are pastors of the same people of God, annoyed the Russian Orthodox Church. seek ways of peace, to cease firing of weapons. The Patriarch cannot become Putin’s altar boy “. “It is regrettable – writes today the communication service for external relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow – that a month and a half after the interview with Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis has chosen the wrong tone to convey the content of this interview. It is unlikely that such declarations may contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, which is particularly necessary at the moment “. The Patriarchate of Moscow then reports” what the Patriarch said concretely during the conversation with Pope Francis March 16: ‘Thank you for the opportunity to organize this interview. When we met in Cuba in 2016, I told her we met at the right time and in the right place. And although our interview now takes place via remote means of communication, I am convinced that we are talking again at a good time. With his permission, I would like to share with you my vision of the difficult situation we are currently experiencing. Of course, we live in different fields of information: the Western media have hardly talked about some facts to which I would like to draw your attention ‘”. Patriarch Kirill, the Patriarchate of Moscow emphasizes,” noted that the conflict began in 2014 with the events of the Maidan in Kiev, which led to a change of power in Ukraine. In particular, he drew the interlocutor’s attention to the events in Odessa and their consequences: “A peaceful demonstration of Russian-speaking residents took place in this city who intended to defend their right to use their mother tongue and culture. This peaceful meeting was attacked by members of some Nazi groups who started beating protesters with sticks. People started seeking refuge in the nearby building of the House of Trade Unions. And at that moment something terrifying happened: this building was closed to key and then set on fire. People tried to escape by jumping from the second or third floor and, of course, they killed each other. Those who approached the windows, afraid to jump out, were shot from below. We followed all this on television almost This horrible “lesson” from Odessa influenced the decision of the people of southeastern Ukraine to defend their right ‘”.” Furthermore – notes the Patriarchate of Moscow – Patriarch Kirill recalled that at the end of the Soviet era, Russia was reassured that NATO would not move one centimeter to the east. However, this promise was broken, and even some of the former Soviet Baltic republics joined NATO. As a result, a very dangerous situation has developed: NATO borders are located 130 kilometers from St. Petersburg, the flight time of missiles is just a few minutes. If Ukraine were admitted to NATO, the flight time to Moscow would also be a few minutes. Russia could not and cannot allow this to happen. In conclusion, the Patriarch underlined: ‘Of course, this situation hurts me deeply. My flock is on both sides of the conflict, mostly Orthodox people. Part of it also belongs to His flock. Therefore, I would like, abstracting the geopolitical component, to raise the question of how we and our Churches can influence the state of things? How can we contribute to pacification with a single goal: to achieve the strengthening of peace and justice? It is very important in the current conditions to avoid a further escalation ‘”.” Pope Francis’ response – the Patriarchate of Moscow continues – was correctly summarized by the Vatican Press Office in the message of March 16:’ In thanking the Patriarch of all the Russias for the meeting, “motivated by the desire to indicate, as shepherds of their people, a path to peace”, the Pope agreed with the Patriarch that “the Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus” . “We are pastors of the same Holy People who believe in God, in the Holy Trinity, in the Holy Mother of God: for this we must unite in the effort to help peace, to help those who suffer, to seek ways of peace, to stop the fire”. As noted in the same message, ‘the parties underlined the exceptional importance of the ongoing negotiation process’ ”.