22 January 2004 16:42
Top Vatican cardinal to meet Russian Orthodox head
A top Roman Catholic cardinal will meet the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow next month in a new effort by the Vatican to improve prickly relations with the Russian church.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican's department in charge of Christian unity, will meet Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II during a visit to Russia from February 16-20, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement said Kasper was making the trip at the invitation of Russian Catholics, but the visit was also "motivated by a feeling of respect towards the Russian Orthodox Church".
Alexiy said last month he categorically refused to meet Pope John Paul until relations between their churches improved, pouring cold water on the ailing pontiff's long-held hope of visiting Russia.
The frail 83-year-old pope has long had his sights set on a visit to Moscow to help bring about a reconciliation between the two churches, divided since the Great Schism of 1054.
The pope, an inspirational figure in the downfall of communism in eastern Europe, has made trips to many ex-Soviet states but has never secured an invitation to Russia.
He met President Vladimir Putin in Rome in November last year and both expressed their wishes for positive developments in the dialogue, but the Russian leader stopped short of inviting the pontiff to Moscow.
The Russian Orthodox Church complains that Catholics in Russia are poaching congregations. Catholic leaders deny proselytising and say new dioceses and the naming of new bishops are strictly to serve the faithful. Tensions have spilled over into other ex-Soviet states. Georgia postponed the signature of a pact with the Vatican last September after objections from the local Orthodox Church.
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