Pope Francis headed to Cuba on Friday looking to heal a 1,000-year-old rift in Christianity before embarking on a tour of Mexico dominated by modern day problems of drug-related violence and migration.
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While the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill is undoubtedly historic, according to Ivan Plis of The National Interest, not much will actually change in the relationship between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
The leaders of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches meet in Havana on Friday.
Popular convention dates the split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches to the so-called Great Schism in 1054, when the western pope excommunicated the head of the eastern church in Constantinople – now Istanbul – over differences in worship practices.
Such hoped-for progress may seem naive, since the Russian church has always been reluctant to engage in theological dialogue over the primacy of the pope, said the Rev. Stefano Caprio, one of the first priests who arrived in Russia in 1989 to minister to the Catholic community and now is a professor of Russian history and culture at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.
Pope Francis admitted a few days ago that the meeting had been being secretly prepared for two years.
Photos obtained by Reuters showed the Pope beaming as he tried on the hat, which was decorated with the shape of Latin America, and the religious leader’s own face.
Now, after centuries of rough going, the heads of the two churches are to meet for the first time.
Russian news agencies reported from Havana that Patriarch Kirill told Castro that the Cuban people “have proved their right to live in the way they believe is fit”.
Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, and the Diocesan Bishop of the Russian Orthodox, Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh, say they are joining believers around the world in lifting the summit up in prayer. The Vatican has repaired relations with several branches of Orthodox Christianity in recent decades, but the Russian Church accused Catholics of trying to convert Russians after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989, leading to tensions between the churches.
“In this tragic situation, we need to put aside internal disagreements and pool efforts to save Christianity in the regions where it is subject to most severe persecution”, Illarion said. “Having said that, this is still a very, very important step”.
Francis was asked the question as he greeted journalists en route to Havana on Friday.
“China and Russian Federation, I have them here”, he said, pointing to his heart.
When the Pope visits Mexico February 12-17, he is not expected to tussle with Trump or directly criticize US immigration policy.
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Kirill will continue on a visit to Brazil and Paraguay after his meeting with the pope.
