Cardinal Kasper handed Aleksij II a message in which the Pope expressed his esteem and gratitude to the Russian Patriarch. According to the Vatican the meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere; invariably though the Patriarchate highlighted all the unsolved problems that come between the two Churches like the Uniate Church, Catholic orphanages and the Ravenna Statement.
Medvedev’s oath as the third head of the Russian Federation is blessed in a function presided by the patriarch of Moscow. The new president talks about further developing the “trust-based” relationship between state and Church. The Kremlin uses the occasion to present itself as the defender of traditional moral values as the Patriarchate carves for itself a special place amongst religions.
Number two in the Department for External Church Relations urges Orthodox not to pray with members of other confessions, adding that “nowadays no one speaks seriously about reunification”.
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