Pope Francis has announced that he will not attend the June meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Francis, who is a public critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, told the La Nacion newspaper that he regrets having to suspend the plans, after Vatican advisors suggested that the meeting 'could lend itself to much confusion at this moment'.
The 85-year-old has described the war in Ukraine as unjustified.
In the interview, responding to why he has not specifically named Russia or Putin, he said:
"A pope never names a head of state, much less a country, which is superior to its head of state."
This would be the second time such a meeting would be taking place. The first meeting was back in 2016 in Cuba in 2016, and was the first time where a Pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church met since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054.
Francis has been invited to visit Kyiv by religious and political leaders. When asked why he has still not made the trip, he responded:
"I cannot do anything that would jeopardize higher objectives, which are an end to the war, a truce or at least a humanitarian corridor. What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continues the next day?"
[Based on reporting by: Reuters]
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